Welcome to August. I hope everyone had a lovely July. Only three more weeks and school starts here again .. YAY.... The beasts will go back to school lol. 

Reading wise July was slow for me, I didn't get as much reading done as I liked but it happens every summer and that is okay. I'm only 10 books away from my Goodreads goal so I have plenty of time with that. I also only have one review copy that I'm reading right not and with that I'm free to take a break and or read whatever I like before the next review rush comes. 

I put up the new giveaway sometime mid-July but in case you missed it I will add it to the bottom here. Make sure t o enter.

Here are some books that will be released in August according to Goodreads:

 

 

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter 

 

 

 

Blood Truth by J.R. Ward

 

 

 

At Death's Door Sherrilyn Kenyon

 

 

 

Currently on audio, I'm taking a break from Harry for a book and went back to Winter by Marissa Meyer, a series I adore and finally going to finish, I also have the hardcover so I can switch back and forth if needed. 

 

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mark her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend--the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer's national bestselling Lunar Chronicles series.

 

 

I'm also reading Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber, I'm about 2/3 through and most likely will finish it today sometime.I really enjoy this book, it is one of the make you feel good books. 

 

Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café.

It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.

As the truth about her past slowly becomes clear, Anna Kate will need to decide if this lone blackbird will finally be able to take her broken wings and fly.

       

 

Next I was planning on staring It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover, I saw many good things about this book and it gives me a break from fantasy that I sometimes need.

 

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

 

 

After that I was thinking about re-reading The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout to see if I might like it better. I wasn;t the biggest fan of it but I never understood why because I like Armentrout's books and I loved the Lux series, plus I was not in a good place when U first read it so I will give it another try to see if I like it better, the second time around. 

 

When seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher is caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen...but he is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she'd only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head...

#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the universe of the Lux in this brand new series, featuring beloved characters both new and old

     

 

And now to my July books, as always you can find the buy links in my review that is linked. 

I wish you all a great August and don't forget to enter the giveaway down below.

Happy Reading :) 

 

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Dragonslayer by Duncan M. Hamilton

 

 

In his magnificent, heroic, adventure fantasy, Dragonslayer, Duncan M. Hamilton debuts the first book in a fast-moving trilogy: a dangerous tale of lost magics, unlikely heroes, and reawakened dragons.

Once a member of the King’s personal guard, Guillot dal Villevaurais spends most days drinking and mourning his wife and child. He’s astonished–and wary–when the Prince Bishop orders him to find and destroy a dragon. He and the Prince Bishop have never exactly been friends and Gill left the capitol in disgrace five years ago. So why him? And, more importantly, how is there a dragon to fight when the beasts were hunted to extinction centuries ago by the ancient Chevaliers of the Silver Circle?

On the way to the capitol city, Gill rescues Solène, a young barmaid, who is about to be burned as a witch. He believes her innocent…but she soon proves that she has plenty of raw, untrained power, a problem in this land, where magic is forbidden. Yet the Prince Bishop believes magic will be the key to both destroying the dragon and replacingthe young, untried King he pretends to serve with a more pliable figurehead.

Between Gill’s rusty swordsmanship and Solène’s unstable magic, what could go wrong?

 

 

3 ★

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Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

 

Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.

When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…

 

 

4 ★

 

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Storm Front by Jim Butcher

 

 

HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD

Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he’s the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a—well, whatever. There’s just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks.

So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry’s seeing dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry’s name. And that’s when things start to get interesting.

Magic – it can get a guy killed.

 

 

5 ★

 

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Flynn Nightsider and the Edge of Evil by Mary Fan

 

 

Break the enchantments. Find the truth. Ignite the revolution.

A century ago, the Enchanters defeated the evil Lord of the Underworld, but not before he’d unleashed his monsters and ravaged the earth. The Enchanters built the Triumvirate out of what remained of the United States, demanding absolute obedience in exchange for protection from the lingering supernatural beasts.

Sixteen-year-old Flynn Nightsider, doomed to second-class life for being born without magic, knows the history as well as anyone. Fed up with the Triumvirate’s lies and secrecy, he longs for change. And when he stumbles across a clue that hints at something more – secrets in the dark, the undead, and buried histories – he takes matters into his own hands.

Before long, Flynn finds himself hunted not only by the government, but also by nightmarish monsters and a mysterious man with supernatural powers … all seeking him for reasons he cannot understand. Rescued by underground rebels, he’s soon swept up in their vision of a better world, guided by a girl as ferocious as the monsters she fights. But as the nation teeters on the brink of revolution, Flynn realizes three things.

The rebellion is not what it seems.

Flynn himself might be more than he seems.

And the fate of the world now rests in his hands.

 

 

 

3★

 

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Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews

 

Dina DeMille isn’t your typical Bed and Breakfast owner. Her inn defies laws of physics, her dog is secretly a monster, and the only permanent guest of the inn is a former Galactic tyrant with a price on her head. The inn needs guests to thrive and guests have been scarce, so when an Arbitrator shows up at Dina’s door and asks her to host a peace summit between three warring species, she jumps on the chance. Unfortunately, for Dina, bridging the gap between space vampires, the Hope-Crushing Horde, and the merchants of Baha-char is much easier said than done. To make the summit a success, she must find a chef, remodel the inn, keep her guests from murdering each other, and risk everything, even her life, to save the man she might fall in love with. But then it’s all in the day’s work for an Innkeeper.

   

 

 

 4 ★

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

In his magnificent, heroic, adventure fantasy, Dragonslayer, Duncan M. Hamilton debuts the first book in a fast-moving trilogy: a dangerous tale of lost magics, unlikely heroes, and reawakened dragons.

Once a member of the King's personal guard, Guillot dal Villevaurais spends most days drinking and mourning his wife and child. He's astonished--and wary--when the Prince Bishop orders him to find and destroy a dragon. He and the Prince Bishop have never exactly been friends and Gill left the capitol in disgrace five years ago. So why him? And, more importantly, how is there a dragon to fight when the beasts were hunted to extinction centuries ago by the ancient Chevaliers of the Silver Circle?

On the way to the capitol city, Gill rescues Solène, a young barmaid, who is about to be burned as a witch. He believes her innocent...but she soon proves that she has plenty of raw, untrained power, a problem in this land, where magic is forbidden. Yet the Prince Bishop believes magic will be the key to both destroying the dragon and replacingthe young, untried King he pretends to serve with a more pliable figurehead.

Between Gill's rusty swordsmanship and Solène's unstable magic, what could go wrong?

 

 

 

*I received a free copy from the publisher and chose to leave a voluntary review. Thank you!*

 

 

I read a sample of the book, on bookish first and I really enjoyed it. I won the book in their raffle and was excited. Once I got deeper into the book I liked it but not as much as I thought I would,

For a while I felt like something is missing, the world building , there is none really. we are just thrown in and we are there but that is just about it and sometimes even half way through I just felt lost.

Another thing that bothered me a bit was switching the POV randomly, just anywhere in a chapter without a warning the next paragraph was a different POV. This could, have been because it was a review copy but for this copy is was a bit confusing.

Other than that I enjoyed this book, I enjoyed the story, (for the most part.)

What I really enjoyed was that we get a voice of the dragon, and I really enjoyed that and we don't too often get that.

I liked that the book also deals with some real life issues, like alcoholism.

Overall, it was okay book and the while the writing was good it could have been better with the world building but other than that I liked it.

I give it 3 ★

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available NOW 

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“The Swordsman of Tanosa” is a short story set in the Middle Sea world of Duncan M. Hamilton, which has also been the setting for his Society of the Sword Trilogy and the standalone novel The First Blade of Ostia. And while I was totally unfamiliar with the author or his world before this story, I fully intend to pick up one of the Middle Sea novels in the near future.

 

The story itself centers on one Bafion: a swordsman who has seen his better days. The way he carries himself, his tattered clothes, his skill with a blade, and his courtly manners all suggest to his underworld employers that he once was much more than a sword-for-hire. But no one can say for sure, because Bafion will not speak of his past. It is a subject strictly off-limits. Any attempt to pry into it sure to result in blood being drawn.

 

But now Bafion is going to be called upon to face that mysterious past. For you see, a boss of the underworld has a job. A rather lucrative opportunity that he has offered to the swordsman. If Bafion fulfills said contract, he will finally have enough money to start a new life for himself. But in order to do so, he will have to go back to the place and the people he once left behind.

 

Call me a sucker for Three Musketeer-like swashbuckling but I really, really liked this story. It had a mystery, a down-on-his-luck and past-his-prime main character, and people dueling with rapiers. How can anyone not adore that type of fantasy? My only complaint was it was too short.

The Huntsman's Amulet (Society of the Sw... Fantasy Review Barn

That difficult middle book of the trilogy? Nope, no problem. Just send the hero off in a different direction altogether, with a bit of seafaring and... pirates! What could be better than chasing around the oceans, with a sea battle and a storm and... and... You can probably fill in some of the blanks here. Very little of this took me by surprise, but that doesn’t make it any less of an enjoyable romp.

The plot is, in many ways, a choppier affair than in ‘The Tattered Banner’. Main character Soren starts off looking for missing girlfriend Alessandra, then gets distracted by a search to find out more about his Gift (the mysterious power that overtakes him during a fight and makes him super-fast). That thread ends abruptly, and then a storm at sea leaves his ship vulnerable to pirate slave-traders, when that is resolved he falls in with an old acquaintance and sets off after the pirate... and so on. This kind of episodic story has some advantages, and there’s never a dull moment, but it does feel sometimes as if Soren is passively being pushed around by events. He ends up bouncing around all over the place, like a glorified travelogue of his world, and while the places he visits are interesting in themselves, the speed with which he hops from one to another, and the ease with which problems are solved, dulls the impact.

The most interesting place, to my mind, was the mysterious island in the centre of the ocean where there are the remains of a great city. The place is tainted with magic, so it’s dangerous to visit, and the peculiar and foreboding atmosphere of it is conveyed very well. But then, it becomes unexpectedly easy and frankly an excuse for a big info-dump, so in the end it’s a bit of a let-down.

The rest of the book is a giant boys-own adventure, with regular outings for Soren’s talent with a sword. In the first book, the fights, and the outbreaks of magic that accompanied them, were a highlight. Here much of the awesomeness is lost and the fights become rather mundane, as Soren tries to gain full control of his power so that it doesn’t overwhelm him. And it has to be said that the sheer number of times the swords come out makes this aspect of the book repetitious.

If this makes it sounds as if I was disappointed, well, perhaps I was, just a little. I would have liked more of the magic, more of the mind-blowing Gift-infused moments like the Belek battle in the first book (which remains an unforgettable image, still vivid in my mind), more times when things went wrong and I was taken by surprise. Everything was just a tad too easy and predictable. On the other hand, this was a cracking action-adventure, elegantly written and enjoyable from first to last, with no problems picking up the threads of the story from book 1, and no sign of middle-book doldrums. Four stars.

Duncan Hamilton's excellent biography of George Best points to some pivotal moments in his life and career. His greatest playing moment and the height of his sporting life was Manchester United's winning of the European Cup on May 29th 1968. Best was only truly happy when he was playing, scoring and receiving the adulation of his adoring fans. Nothing else mattered, the aftermath celebrations, the rewards, the copious amounts of alcohol, and the constant flow of beautiful women who entered his life briefly and ultimately departed soon after. It is said that Best was recognized as the first celebrity footballer, his life becoming public property and began quickly spiraling out of control. If only Best had been offered psychiatric counseling, if only Matt Busby had understood more fully his prodigal son, and rather than gently lecture him punished him in a more fitting and effective manner. George Best was a flawed genius, an outstanding sportsman, and it is a great pity that his footballing skills were always overshadowed by this darker side. However ultimately we all control our own destiny and must stand responsible for decisions made and actions taken throughout our life.