Tag: tasha suri

Mini Reviews: Reading Challenge Edition

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Hello, reader!

I am, once again, woefully behind when it comes to writing reviews these days. 2022 has been a busy year with loads of change happening and I’ve found myself with less and less time to sit and write reviews. Though I’ve been reading a ton! Perhaps that is the problem 😂

That being said, I thought I would try and catch up with some of my reviews by talking about three books I’ve finished from one of the year long reading challenges I’m doing in 2022. I’ve not been doing great with my 22 in 2022 TBR, but I’ve checked up a good amount from my 12 friends, 12 recommendations TBR! And, today, I’m going to finally review three of them.

Title: Battle Royal

Author: Lucy Parker

Publisher: Avon

Genre: Romance

CW/TW: Death of a parent (past), abusive familial relationship, emotional abuse (past)

Rating: ★★★★

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

This was such a delightful read! It made me realize that food + romance may just be my thing, because I loved the backdrop of this sweet story. Two rival bakers competing to bake a royal wedding cake while also working together on a hit baking competition is apparently the recipe to win my heart, haha. Not only did I get a cute (and sometimes steamy) romance, but I got to drool over delicious sounding desserts at the same time. Win-win!

I truly enjoyed the chemistry between Sylvie and Dominic, though Sylvie is hands-down my favorite character. Sorry, Dominic… but she has an enchanted forest in her bakery’s basement! That’s a default win! They were both wonderfully written and complex characters, though, and I truly enjoyed getting to know them throughout this book. There were a few plot points that stretched the imagination, but, overall this was a charming and fun romance that left me smiling from ear to ear.

And the steamy bits weren’t half bad, either 😈

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Top 5 Tuesday: Anticipated Reads From Jul – Sep 2022

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Top 5 Tuesday is a fun, weekly meme that asks you to pick 5 books that fit that week’s theme. It was created by Bionic Bookworm and is currently being hosted by Meeghan Reads. You should check out their wonderful blog for more details and the list of prompts!

Hello, reader!

We’ve made it to another Tuesday and that means it’s time for Top 5 Tuesday! This week’s topic is a tough one. Out of all the incredible books that will be releasing between now and the end of September, I have to choose my top five. Which is gonna be tough! I’m so excited for a lot of books that will be releasing soon, so whittling this down to my top five took some effort.

But the books have been chosen, so let me show you which ones made the cut!

#1. Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston

Starting off strong with one of my most anticipated reads of 2022! I absolutely adored Amari and the Night Brothers, this first book in this magical middle grade series. It’s such a beautiful book with strong characters and a lot of fun ideas going on. I’m eager to jump back into Amari’s world!

Expected Publication Date: Aug 30th, 2022

#2. Babel by R.F. Kuang

I’ve wanted to read this book ever since I saw the full title: Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution. Like, come on! That sounds absolutely intriguing! The fact that it’s written by R.F. Kuang, who wrote the incredible Poppy War series, makes me even more eager. Kuang + dark academia = I NEED IT!

Expected Publication Date: Aug 23rd, 2022

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WWW Wednesday: Feb 16, 2022

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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:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What did you recently finish reading?
  3. 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 Reads

  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Yes, I’m finally reading one of the darlings of the bookish community. So far, I have to say I’m glad I jumped on the hype train! This is such an incredible read, with complex characters and a peek into the glamour and awfulness of Old Hollywood. I’m swiftly learning that I really enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing because this book has absolutely captivated me.
  • The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri: Speaking of captivating, this book is just phenomenal! The setting is so vivid and lush, the characters are nuanced and intriguing, and the politics are capturing my interest. I’m loving everything about this story, so far, and have been thoroughly pulled into the tale. It’s a real struggle when I sit down to read on which book I want to pick up more!
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First Lines Friday #33

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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 😉)
  • Finally… reveal the book!

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

Hello, reader!

I’m so glad it’s Friday and I actually have the weekend off. It’s supposed to be a cold one, but I’m just happy to have two days off in a row 😂 In celebration of some free time, let’s do a First Lines Friday! This week, I’m featuring a book that I’ve been eager to read since I got it in a book box. And, honestly, since it came out! This book is on both my “12 friends, 12 recommendations” TBR and my “22 in 2022” TBR and I’m doing a buddy read for it this week. I’m so excited to get started.

Let’s see if the first few lines can get me even more excited about picking it up!

The Line(s):

“In the court of the imperial mahal, the pyre was being built.
The fragrance of the gardens drifted in through the high windows – sweet roses, and even sweeter imperial needle-flower, pale and fragile, growing in such thick profusion that it poured in through the lattice, its white petals unfurled against the sandstone walls. The priests flung petals on the pyre, murmuring prayers as the servants carried in wood and arranged it carefully, applying camphor and ghee, scattering drops of perfumed oil.”

The Hints:

This book is part of the “sapphic trifecta”.

It is the first book in a new fantasy series inspired by the history and epics of India.

It has an absolutely gorgeous cover 😍

The Reveal:

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22 Reads In 2022

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Hello, reader!

A couple of weeks ago over on Instagram, I shared a post about another reading challenge I want to accomplish in 2022. I picked 22 books that I want to prioritize reading this year. Now, to keep myself accountable, I wanted to bring it over to the blog, as well!

Now I tried to wiggle out of my comfort zone a bit and now choose all fantasy novels. Fantasy is definitely a significant portion of the stack, but I wanted to make sure I had a bit of variety. I’m really happy with the books I’ve chosen and I think it’ll make for an even more exciting reading year! Let’s go through my choices by genre.

Fantasy

Though I tried to choose more than just fantasy, it doesn’t mean I can’t start with my favorite genre! It also makes up the majority of my list because, being a fantasy lover and someone who loves completing challenges, I want to give myself a fighting chance of finishing this, lol. Twelve of my 22 books fit in the fantasy genre and they are as follows:

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Jade City by Fonda Lee
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

These Violents Delights by Chloe Gong
Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar
Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown

The Part About the Dragon was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Equal Rights by Sir Terry Pratchett

Mystery/Thriller

The rest of the genres that make up my stack of 22 are sprinkled throughout in smaller numbers. The next highest would be the mystery/thrillers! I found three that I’m desperate to read and I’m hoping I’ll love them! The three books I chose from this genre are as follows:

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

Science Fiction

This is another genre that is high up on my favorites list. You wouldn’t really know it with as little sci-fi I read in a year, though 😅 I don’t know why I don’t pick it up more… I tend to really love the books I do read in this genre. Hence it being one of my favorites! I’m hoping the same holds true for the two science fiction books I picked. Although one could be considered fantasy, but I felt like it had more of a sci-fi feel. The two books I chose from this genre are as follows:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Romance

As I may or may not have mentioned before on the blog, I’ve been feeling the urge to read romance rising as of late. I’m not sure where this urge is coming from as I’m really not a big romance reader. No shade, it’s just not a genre I gravitate towards. I blame my generally apathetic attitude towards most rom-com movies. Lately, though, I’ve noticed that if the rom-com is in book form, then I am totally on-board! That being said, I’ve chosen two romance novels for my stack, and those are as follows:

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Well Played by Jen DeLuca

Horror

There was no way I was making a list of books to read in 2022 and not including any horror novels! What would I read during the spooky season? Or whenever I feel like a good scare? Horror is a genre that can be pretty hit or miss for me, so I tend to be a little wary when I pick them up. I’m hoping that the two I chose will be hits! The two horror novels I picked are as follows:

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

Poetry

Rounding out my list is a genre that I rarely, if ever, pick up: poetry I talked about this in a recent Book Blogger Hop, but poetry is definitely on the low end of genres I willingly choose to read. But I honestly think I just haven’t found the right poetry for me! So, though there is only one poetry book on this stack, it hopefully won’t be the only one I read in 2022. I really want to give this genre the chance it deserves. That being said, the one poetry book that made it on my stack is as follows:

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

Did you make a list of 22 reads you want to read in 2022? Have you read any of the books I’ve included in my stack? Let me know in the comments!

And, as always, happy reading!

The 12 Challenge: 12 months, 12 books, 12 friends

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Hello, reader!

If you spend anytime in the online bookish community, you probably already know what this post is about. You probably saw a certain graphic floating around the internet at the beginning of 2022. If not, let me give you a peek at the beautiful template made by @shadowbooker over on Instagram!

Image

This graphic/challenge prompts you to read 12 books that have been recommended to you by 12 friends. It sounded like fun (and was literally everywhere), so I figured I would give it a shot! So, through a mix of both online and IRL friends and family, I cobbled together a TBR of twelve recommendations that I wish to read in 2022.

My 12 Challenge

First, I want to say “Thank you!” to everyone who gave me a recommendation! I made sure to ask for books beyond my usual SFF realm and y’all certainly delivered. I think I have a good mix of SFF, mystery/thriller, and romance going on here and that’s exactly what I asked for. I do love my fantasy and science fiction, but 2022 feels like a good year to try and branch out a little more. That being said, let’s take a look at the books that I ended up choosing from all your wonderful recommendations ❤

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