BBNYA Finalist Spotlight: The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies

April 4, 2023 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

Today on the blog, I have a spotlight for our 7th place finisher in last year’s Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA)! The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies is an incredible gaslamp fantasy that features gods, heathens, and loads of tea. I had already read this book before the competition started (you can read my full review here) so I couldn’t judge it for BBNYA. I’m so glad that the book made it to the finals because it’s absolutely stellar! Before I tell you more about the book, though, let me give you more info on BBNYA.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Now, let’s get to today’s spotlight!

Title: The Thirteenth Hour
Author: Trudie Skies
Publication date: October 13th, 2021
Publisher: Self-published
Length: 535 pages
Genre: Fantasy/Gaslamp Fantasy
Age group: Adult
Content/Trigger Warnings: For a list of potential content and trigger warnings, check out this book’s page on BookTriggerWarnings.com

Book Links

B&N::Amazon::Goodreads

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monthly tbr

Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox TBR 2023

April 3, 2023 kerrimcbooknerd3 Comments

Hello, reader!

April has arrived and that means it’s time for the Orilium Spring Equinox readathon! This is a part of the Magical Readathon that I’ve been participating in since it’s conception and, I promise you, it is a blast. I always get pumped to head back to Orilium and help my character achieve her goals.

But what is the Magical Readathon? It is the brain child of the marvelous G @ Book Roast, who created the world of Aeldia, where Orilium dwells, and every aspect therein. It’s an incredibly creative readathon where you build a character, choose a guild, and guide your character through classes to achieve their calling. I am notoriously bad at giving all the details in a coherent way, so you should definitely watch G’s announcement video for the scoop:

My Character

✨✨✨ Name: Korrin Musgrave ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Guild: The Order of the Crescent Moon ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Current Guild Standing: Revered (210 gp)✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Conduit: Quarterstaff ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Legacy: Wolf familiar (Venandi) ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Background: Wildling ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Province: Irtheria ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Heritage: Earthling (earth element) ✨✨✨

If you want to learn more about these various choices, you can check out the Brief History of Aeldia on the Google drive. It’s awesome what G has dreamed up!

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bbnya spotlight · blog tour

BBNYA Finalist Spotlight: The Time Trials by Jon Mcconnell and Dayna Mcconnell

March 31, 2023April 4, 2023 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

Today on the blog, I have a spotlight for our 8th place finisher in last year’s Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA)! The Time Trials by Jon and Dayna Mcconnell is a sci-fi adventure that features a competition that sounds deadly. I’ve heard nothing but great things about it from fellow panelists, though I haven’t gotten the chance to read it myself. Before I tell you more about the book, though, let me give you more info on BBNYA.

Now, let’s get to today’s spotlight!

Title: The Time Trials
Author: Jon and Dayna Mcconnell
Publication date: September 21st, 2021
Publisher: Tiny Fox Press
Length: 358 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Age group: Young Adult

Book Links

Bookshop::TBD::B&N::Amazon::
Goodreads

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: Mar 29, 2023

March 29, 2023 kerrimcbooknerd3 Comments

It’s time for another WWW Wednesday! This is a bookish meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where bloggers answer the 3 Ws:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

If you’d like to learn more about any of these books, click on the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page.

Current Read

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

I just picked this up and I’m already captivated by this story! This is the Middle Grade Marvels pick for March. And, yes, I know there are only two days left in March, but I think I’ll fly through this! The writing in this is incredible and I find myself completely pulled into the world the author has created. I’ve honestly not heard a bad thing about this book and I’m starting to see why! I’m excited to read more and (hopefully) finish it soon.

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wrap up

February 2023 Wrap Up

March 28, 2023 kerrimcbooknerd6 Comments

Hello, reader!

Now that the month of March is almost over, perhaps it is time that I finally wrap up my reading from February 😂 March has been A Month and my focus has been shot because of it. I meant to get to this post ages ago but, hey, at least I’m here now, right? Right! February was a decent reading month, though I didn’t read as much as I did in January. Still, I read a lot of books that I thoroughly enjoyed and even had a five star read!

But enough of my rambling. Let me tell you all about the books I read in Feburary!

Books Reads

Sacrifice by Vicky Walklate: This was my first read for the currently running blog tours for all of BBNYA’s 2022 finalists! I say this every time I read one of these books, but I can see why this made it to the final round. This was such a quick read that had me immersed in the world the author created. I loved the characters and the worldbuilding. This book certainly made me excited to pick up the next in the series! You can read my full review here. ★★★★
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano: Here begins my binging of the Finlay Donovan series, haha. I wanted to join in on the Literally Dead Book Club discussion of the third book in the series, the pick for February, so I had to catch up! This first book was definitely my favorite in the series so far. It was fun, quirky, and charming in a way that had me completely invested in Finlay and her shenanigans. I have to give props to the audiobook narrator, Angela Dawe, because she really made the story come to life! This was a great first installment to a cozy mystery series. ★★★★
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano: I immediately jumped into the sequel because, ya know, I was on a timeline, lol. I enjoyed this one as well, but not as much as the first book. It was still fun and charming, but the shenanigans started to really stretch my suspension of disbelief. I think this is a concept that can only continue to get more and more unbelievable and I know it’s eventually gonna lose me because I can’t 😂 Still, this was fast-paced, engaging and I still love Finlay and Vero to pieces. Steven can die in a fire, but those two are great! ★★★★

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5 on my tbr

#5OnMyTBR – Over 500 Pages

March 27, 2023 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook where you chose five books from your to-be-read pile that fit that week’s theme. If you’d like more info, head over to the announcement post!

Hello, reader!

I hope you’ve had a great start to your week! I’m recovering from a busy work weekend and I am tiiiiired. But I have the next two days off so I’m pretty stoked about that. Now, though, it’s time for another 5 On My TBR! This week’s theme is all about books on the chonky side. That’s because I’m featuring five books on my TBR that are over 500 pages. I honestly have a long list of bigger books on my TBR because I’m easily intimidated, haha. Still, I’m sharing five that I would love to get to sooner rather than later.

With that said, let’s get to the list!

#1. The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

Perhaps the more times I put this book into a post, the more likely I’ll actually read it, lol. This book is doubly intimidating because it’s a bigger book and I know R.F. Kuang is gonna hurt me 😭 I just want Rin to be okay but I get the strong feeling that ain’t gonna happen. Still, I really need to finish this series! I loved the other two books and I know I’m gonna love this one.

#2. Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

I’m so curious about this book. I’ve heard there’s illustrations and it’s like a book within a book which are both aspects that make me want to read it! I’ve also heard a lot of conflicting reviews so that makes me a little hesitant. But I already bought it so I suppose I’m committed now, haha. I’m hoping I love this because the synopsis is super promising!

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first lines friday

First Lines Friday #76

March 24, 2023March 24, 2023 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first (I cheat a little bit here *cough*)
Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

Hello, reader!

We’ve made it to the end of another week and I, for one, am pretty happy about it! Though I do have to work this weekend so that’s less fun, haha. Still, the end of the work week means it’s time for another First Lines Friday! This week, I’m featuring a book that I just picked up from my local library. I’ve already started reading it and, I have to say, the first few lines definitely drew me into the story!

Now, let’s see if they can do the same for you.

The Line(s):

“The Masson House of Degener, Texas, was like the corpse of an old monster, too strange and feared for most to approach it, much less attempt to bury it. After all, it might be feigning death or dormant.”

The Hints:

This is a horror novel featuring a spooky house.

It is written by a Black author.

And it’s the Literally Dead Book Club pick for March!

The Reveal:

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: Mar 22, 2023

March 22, 2023 kerrimcbooknerd2 Comments

It’s time for another WWW Wednesday! This is a bookish meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where bloggers answer the 3 Ws:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

If you’d like to learn more about any of these books, click on the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page.

Current Read

Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart

If you remember seeing me talk about reading this book before, you have a good memory. I picked this up last year (or the year before… I can’t remember) and ended up DNFing it. I was 100 pages in and just so bored! The imagery was incredible, the characters were interesting, but it felt like nothing was happening. I wanted to give it another chance because I did like the writing so much. So far, the audiobook seems to be the way to go because I’m having a much better time this go-around!

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blog tour · book reviews

BBNYA 2022 Finalist Tour: Bloodlaced by Courtney Maguire

March 20, 2023 kerrimcbooknerd3 Comments

Hello, reader!

It’s time for another blog tour for one of the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) 2022 finalists! Today, I get to share my thoughts on a book that a lot of panelists were buzzing about last year. Bloodlaced by Courtney Maguire is a paranormal fantasy that has some dark themes and fantastic writing. I can see why the book made it all the way to the finals!

But, before I go on, let me tell you more about this award. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

And, now, let me tell you more about this book!

Title: Bloodlaced
Author: Courtney Maguire
Publisher: City Owl Press
Publication date: September 29th, 2020
Genre: Paranormal
Age group: Adult
Content/Trigger Warnings: Physical abuse, sexual abuse (off-page), self-harm, blood, graphic violence

Book Links

Bookshop::TBD::B&N::Amazon::
Goodreads

Kanjin hardly view their servants as human. Even less so when they are different.

Asagi is different. Both a man and a woman.

In the wake of his failure to protect a boy they saw as a son from their abusive master, Asagi is sold into the house of a young nobleman, Mahiro, who is the opposite of everything Asagi has ever known—gentle, kind, and generous.

Mahiro bonds with Asagi and their friendship blooms into a deep and profound love. But when Asagi is poisoned out of jealousy, Mahiro reveals himself to be youkai, a demon who feeds on blood, and he has no choice but to turn Asagi to save their life.

Asagi awakes reborn, strong, and eternally youthful. But the price for Asagi’s new life is high.

The blood of the innocent.

Just as Asagi’s trust in Mahiro falters, the boy they failed to protect, now a man, reappears.

New master, same threat.

With both a literal and proverbial monster at the door, Asagi must decide what it means to be human to protect what they loves most.

If you like Bella Forrest, P. C. Cast, AJ Tipton, or Anne Rice, you will love this beautiful dark paranormal fantasy romance.

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first lines friday

First Lines Friday #75

March 17, 2023 kerrimcbooknerd2 Comments

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first (I cheat a little bit here *cough*)
Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

Hello, reader!

I feel like it’s been a minute since I’ve done a First Lines Friday post. So, today, I wanted to feature a book I’ve been reading (and loving!) recently. Kick the weekend off the right way, ya know? This is a book I heard a lot about last year and definitely wanted to read. That’s why it was an easy add to my 12 friends, 12 recommendations challenge for 2023!

The first few lines definitely intrigued me. Lets see if they’ll do the same for you!