Review: The Lay of Lady Percival

'' ''I was wondering how future generations might remember this time.'' 

''That,'' Galahad said meaningfully, ''depends on who wins.'' ''

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:

Rome has fallen and the eagles have flown. Left alone with her child when her lover, Arthur, leaves these shores, Persephone finds her world changed when he returns - as war duke and then King of Britain. She has the one thing he needs:

His son.

But he will not accept her as herself.

Thus is born the legend of Percival.

She is willing to give up her life to protect the future of others. The only question is how far she has to go to accomplish her goal and is it worth it in the end?

Review: Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja)

“ The ceremony is over when there is no more water. ”

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:

Some secrets demand betrayal.

'You’re seventeen, and of age now, and therefore old enough to understand what I’m going to tell you,’ my father said. ‘This place doesn’t exist.’

‘I’ll remember,’ I told him, but didn’t realise until later what kind of promise I had made.

When Noria Kaitio reaches her seventeenth birthday, she is entrusted with the secret of a freshwater spring hidden deep within the caves near her small rural village. Its preservation has been the responsibility of her family for generations.

Apprenticed to her father, one of the last true tea masters, when Noria takes possession of the knowledge, she becomes much more than the guardian of ancestral treasure; soon, she will hold the fate of everyone she loves in her hands.

The heartbreaking ending is worth the wait. 

Review: Maybe Someday (Maybe #1)

“ Sometimes in life, we need a few bad days in order to keep the good ones in perspective. ”

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:

At twenty-two years old, Sydney has a great life: She's in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter's cheating on her--and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by Ridge, her mysterious neighbor. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there's something about Sydney that Ridge can't ignore, either. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one...

Original music created for Maybe Someday by musician Griffin Peterson can be accessed through the website listed in the ebook and paperback.

There's a soundtrack that is specially made in collaboration with this book. I can't get enough of it. I was vacationing in Mallorca when I read Maybe Someday and under the sun, I read it in one sitting. This book was addictive and I can't wait to read Maybe Not. 

Review: Confess

'' Everyday day of my life it feels as if I'm fighting my way up an escalator that only goes down. And no matter how fast or how hard I run to try to reach the top, I stay in the same place, sprinting, getting nowhere. ''

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:
Auburn Reed is determined to rebuild her shattered life and she has no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to become deeply attracted to the studio’s enigmatic artist, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?

The book begins with an ending that, in a way, plays a big part later on. To be honest, it caught me, I couldn't see it before I read it. Colleen Hoover does it again. 

Mini-Review: Holmes (Hotel #3)

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:
It's been six months since Holly broke her heart in paradise, but she didn't let the experience go to waste. She's moved to be close to the beach, and racked up some weekend frequent flyer points getting out to new experiences. She's not living to work anymore, but working to live. That dream job, it's exactly that. Holly's never had a better boss than Roger Holmes. But men. No, no men. Holly can't bear the thought of going through another heartbreak, and with Holmes City Resort hosting the International Conference for Hoteliers in a week, Holly definitely doesn't have time for a man. Yet, two men are standing there, demanding she choose one of them. Can Holly forgive the man who betrayed her and is now ready to try a real relationship? Or will promises kept win her heart back again?

Holly's heart has been crushed into little pieces by the revelation of Sean Cassidy's heritage and connections. Sixteen months ago she escaped back to Australia, but now the past wants to make amends with her, and neither of the men is willing to give her up. 

Review: Lies You Never Told Me

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:

Gabe and Elyse have never met. But they both have something to hide.

Quiet, shy Elyse can't believe it when she's cast as the lead in her Portland high school's production of Romeo and Juliet. Her best friend, Brynn, is usually the star, and Elyse isn't sure she's up to the task. But when someone at rehearsals starts to catch her eye--someone she knows she absolutely shouldn't be with--she can't help but be pulled into the spotlight.

Austin native Gabe is contemplating the unthinkable--breaking up with Sasha, his headstrong, popular girlfriend. She's not going to let him slip through her fingers, though, and when rumors start to circulate around school, he knows she has the power to change his life forever.

Gabe and Elyse both make the mistake of falling for the wrong person, and falling hard. Told in parallel narratives, this twisty, shocking story shows how one bad choice can lead to a spiral of unforeseen consequences that not everyone will survive.

I had no idea what the book was about when I turned the first page. I remember picking it up on a layover because it had a store recommendation on it, then I put it on my shelf only to pick it up a full year later. The Lies You Never Told Me falls into the same category as E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, it'll blow your mind with the truth you never expected.

Review: All Your Perfects

'' ''If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim.'' ''

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:
Colleen Hoover delivers a tour de force novel about a troubled marriage and the one old forgotten promise that might be able to save it.

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

An unfortunate coincidence brought them together. Life tore them apart. 

Review: The Sidewalk's Regrets

'' I love this boy. I love him. And he loves me. But is that enough? This time I'm not sure it is. ''

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Sacha McLeod isn’t looking for someone to rock her world. But when she hears the boy in the music store play the guitar, the music thrills her and she falls hard for Dylan and his sound.

Sacha finds herself spending less time with her violin and more time with this guy. Her plans for her violin-virtuoso future—and her self-confidence—are shattered when she screws up the audition for a summer music program. Failure isn’t something she’s had to face before, so when Dylan asks her to spend her vacation with him in the city, she lies to her parents, pretends she won a place in the summer school, and secretly moves in with Dylan.

She’s expecting romance, music, and passion, but when she finds herself playing second fiddle to Dylan’s newly acquired drug habit, she realizes despite what the songs say, sometimes love isn’t all you need.

Falling in love might change the priorities in our lives. What used to come first is now the last thing on your mind. At least for a while. Then, people around you begin to notice the changes you are experiencing, they start to get worried, and the vicious cycle of deceit and lying begins.

Review: Titus Fogg (The Wyrd #1)

'' ''This stuff, magic, isn't what you think it is. The word makes it sound whimsical, fantastical, like it's a fairytale, but there are things out there that would feed on your sanity, kill you in ways you couldn't possibly imagine, not because they're evil, but because of how insignificant we are as a species.'' ''

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:
Titus Fogg hates magic, and with good reason. Born into a murderous family of cruel and powerful casters in modern Massachusetts, magic has contributed to every bad thing that has happened to him since birth. After finally managing to banish the most likely evil (but definitely dirty-minded) entity called Shade from his body to the sidelines as his shadow, Titus has the chance to have a normal, magic free, high school life. But, when Tess Roe, his classmate, neighbor and model of justice at their school realizes she can see the creatures Titus calls the Wyrd too, Titus must return to the world of the strange to help her. Soon Titus's dark past comes to light as he must prove that he isn't responsible for the death of one of Tess's friends, and the theft of a magical book that could lead to the destruction of Arkham.

Titus is tired of everything. He hasn't slept well for ages and every time his head hits the pillow he can't escape the Dreamlands.

Review: The World Breaks Everyone

'' ''Ah, my dear, everyone has secrets.'' ''

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:

A Gripping Cat-and-Mouse Suspense Novel

Every day, I wake up certain of only three things:
I am responsible for my mother’s death.
My father has vanished.
Someone wants me dead.

 
I’m on the run. It’s me against the world.
I cannot let it break me.

When sixteen-year-old Olivia Jacobs and her celebrity chef father are brutally attacked after his French Quarter restaurant opening, the shell-shocked Olivia finds herself on the run on the streets of New Orleans.

Who wants her dead? And why?

Fasten your seatbelt and prepare yourself, this family has more secrets to hide than the eye can see. Olivia has carried blame from her mother's death on her shoulders of her own will, and just when her life has begun to normalize itself, an unknown attacker puts her life in shambles again. Now, she has no other option but to run if she wants to stay alive.

I was supposed to read only the first two chapters the night I started The World Breaks Everyone. The quick reading session turned out to be a little longer one, me having read a third of the book before taking my eyes off the first time. The plot will keep you in its grip tightly, and the book will just fly past. 

Review: The Artisan Heart

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:
Hayden Luschcombe is a brilliant paediatrician living in Adelaide with his wife Bernadette, an ambitious event planner. His life consists of soul-wrenching days at the hospital and tedious evenings attending the lavish parties organized by Bernadette.

When an act of betrayal coincides with a traumatic confrontation, Hayden flees Adelaide, his life in ruins. His destination is Walhalla, nestled in Australia’s southern mountains, where he finds his childhood home falling apart. With nothing to return to, he stays, and begins to pick up the pieces of his life by fixing up the house his parents left behind.

A chance encounter with a precocious and deaf young girl introduces Hayden to Isabelle Sampi, a struggling artisan baker. While single-handedly raising her daughter, and trying to resurrect a bakery, Isabelle has no time for matters of the heart. Yet the presence of the handsome doctor challenges her resolve. Likewise, Hayden, protective of his own fractured heart, finds something in Isabelle that awakens dormant feelings of his own.

As their attraction grows, and the past threatens their chance at happiness, both Hayden and Isabelle will have to confront long-buried truths if they are ever to embrace a future.

This is one of those books you know is going to have a happily ever after. Still, you are perched on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1)

'' Why is it so hard to say no to him? Is this what it's like to be in love with somebody? ''

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

Looking for the perfect beach read? The book to read on your commute home? The companion for rainy-days and cups of tea? You've found it. And the best part? It's a trilogy.

Review: One of Us Is Lying

'' ''Everybody's got secrets,'' he says. ''Right?'' ''

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:

Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.

Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond.

Bad body Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.

Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.

And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won't ever talk about any of them again.

He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.

Everyone has secrets, right?

What really matters is how far you'll go to protect them.
Withdrawals from the Gossip Girl series? Fret no more, this book is here to lift you from that awful pit of desperation.

Review: Save the Date

'' ''Charlie?'' He looked up at me, his expression grim. ''I think we have a problem.'' ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.
The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.
There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.
There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.
Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.
Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

Nothing is going according to plan. Almost every chapter could either begin or end with the sentence ''I think we have a problem.''

Review: The Last Cleric (The Blackwood Saga #3)

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
Trapped in a world where wizards rule, the Blackwood brothers from New Orleans have become entangled in events that threaten to upend the Realm.
Oldest brother Val, sentenced to die in wizard prison, is forced to undertake a quest for the Congregation to try to win his freedom—but which might cost him his soul.
Reunited with an old companion, Caleb must overcome his personal demons as he braves the dangers of the Barrier Coast to warn his ancestors of the coming invasion.
And in a distant unexplored jungle, Will must find his warrior spirit as he and Mala lead a party of adventurers in search of the Coffer of Devla, a fabled artifact thought to reside in the lost pyramid of Yiknoom Ukab K’ahk, the most powerful sorcerer king who has ever lived. Used to annihilate the enemies of its possessor, the coffer might be the only hope for the struggling revolution.
Yet even if Will’s expedition is a success, prophecy holds that the coffer can only be used by a cleric of Devla.
And no true cleric has walked the Realm for centuries . . .

The third instalment doesn't 't leave anyone cold. Keeping the readers on the edge of their seats the entire length of the book requires talent and maybe a little bit of magic, and Layton Green has them both.

The brothers are back at again. Separated to walk their own paths for a while, two of them by choice, the eldest not so much. Their journeys are full of life-threatening battles with the dangers of the world they currently have to call their home.

The character development in the books published so far is astounding. Looking back to the first book The Brothers Three there has been no downhills nor lulls in their development. Neither has there been any of those in plot development or in the writing style at all. I enjoy the way all the books are written and especially the way The Last Cleric was written. There is no gap between the previous books, they are respected and honoured and brought up in the third. The story flows throughout all of them creating a continuum which promises there is much to come.

The cliffhanger, in the end, left me craving for more. I have to know what happens next, I need to. You got me hooked in this series, Layton Green, and I couldn't be more grateful.

Review: Alex & Eliza (Alex & Eliza #1)

'' But that was the thing about Alex, a nameless orphan from the Caribbean, who had written his way up to General Washington's side, he was nothing if not determined. ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
Their romance shaped a nation. The rest was history.
1777. Albany, New York.
As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. Descended from two of the oldest and most distinguished bloodlines in New York, the Schuylers are proud to be one of their fledgling country’s founding families, and even prouder still of their three daughters—Angelica, with her razor-sharp wit; Peggy, with her dazzling looks; and Eliza, whose beauty and charm rival that of both her sisters, though she’d rather be aiding the colonists’ cause than dressing up for some silly ball.
Still, she can barely contain her excitement when she hears of the arrival of one Alexander Hamilton, a mysterious, rakish young colonel and General George Washington’s right-hand man. Though Alex has arrived as the bearer of bad news for the Schuylers, he can’t believe his luck—as an orphan, and a bastard one at that—to be in such esteemed company. And when Alex and Eliza meet that fateful night, so begins an epic love story that would forever change the course of American history.

The love story most of us weren't aware of before it popped on the surface a couple years back.

Mini-Review: Henderson (Hotel #1)

'' ''Do you love him, Holly?'' -- ''Better question. Do you think Benjamin Henderson loves you?'' ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
Holly Claire has been a faithful a committed employee. She's given herself to the job a hundred percent. Literally, body and heart. Her secret love affair with her sexy as hell boss, Benjamin Henderson, Hotel magnate, has never granted her any special privilege before, but she never expected it to be a handicap to her receiving promotion either.

Henderson is the first book in the Hotel Series, a three-part novella series following Holly from heartbreak to love.

She has worked hard to reach the place where she is in life. She worked hard to reach a new level, to gain more freedom in her life. Then, all she had worked for, all she wanted for a long time, was taken away from her. No wonder the woman is on a war-path.

Holly's character is someone any of us can relate to. We have all worked hard to gain something in life, and at least once, that something has been taken from under our eyes and there has been nothing that we could have done at the moment. Holly faces the same situation, she tries to get over it, in her way. She is strong, independent, maybe a little impulsive.

You can tell that this novella is just the beginning of Holly's story. There is so much more to know about her, I feel like the events of Henderson only scratched the surface. And the best part: It's available at the moment on Radish!

Review: Soul Catchers (How to Survive the Afterlife #2)

'' ''Well, you'll need some hastily painted signs, a few repetitive one-verse songs, and long, bushy beards.'' ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
As the demons gather to debate John's disappearance the scattered parts of his soul plan revenge on those responsible. All that stands in his way is his newly acquired Tourette's Syndrome and an increasing list of pursuers. Demons, Satan, and a gang of deceased dictators all want a piece of him. Fortunately there's plenty to go around.

Meanwhile the pigeon, Sandy Logan, contemplates his unfulfilled ambitions. What if he ruled Hell? All he needs is an army to spark revolution. While the demons are distracted, his dysfunctional army will attempt to pull off the greatest heist in the Universe.

On the Isles of Scilly a pale girl with bleached white hair sits on the grass studying a puzzle book. She isn't like her pirate obsessed brother. It's proving to be the hardest puzzle of all. Young fingers trace the letters on a black stone. They find a J, O, H, and finally, N. Yet the name is the second most interesting thing about it. Mysteriously chiseled on the headstone are the words, 'God Protects the King.'

The story just gets better and better with every page you turn. Tony Moyle keeps the reader laughing from page one until the very end. It's not all comedy, though. You'll be surprised. There are many riddles and puzzles mixed in the reader will have a field-trip with. You think you know the answer, but are you willing to bet on it?



Might contain mild SPOILERS as this is the second book in the How to Survive the Afterlife - series. The first book's, The Limpet Syndrome, Review and link to Goodreads.

Review: First Crush, Last Love

'' He needed her to give them a chance-the chance he threw away ten years ago.  ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
Back in high school, Lee Archer had the power to make Jessie Baxter’s cheeks flush and her heart race. But the popular athlete never wanted to be more than just friends. Ten years later, after a failed marriage and with her journalism career on shaky ground, Jessie’s come home for her high school reunion—and Lee still has the power to make her knees weak and her pulse pound.
Lee's teenage years were filled with more trauma and drama than anyone guessed. Though his damaged past has helped make him a successful police detective, it's hurt every relationship he's tried. But seeing the grown-up, stunning Jessie might just change his commitment-phobic mind.
Jessie’s psycho ex-husband had her convinced no one would ever love her, but Lee is ready to step out of the friend zone and into her heart. Can she learn to trust again before she loses her chance to turn her first crush into her last love?
Elizabeth McKenna’s novel will have you remembering the angst of high school, the grief of a failed relationship, and the joy of finding true love at last.

Sometimes it takes a little time to get to the point where everything is alright. Where the nightmares of the past have made way for the dreams of future. Oh god, how sappy does that sound? 😅

Review: Inspired (Inspired #1)

'' ''There are worse things than not remembering one's story,'' he said, his whisper-voice turned to gravel. 

''Like what?'' 

When his head swivelled back to face her, his pale face and eyes were dead. ''Like knowing how it ends'' ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
For a muse like Lucianíel, one story’s end is another’s beginning.
In the wake of his author’s sudden death, Luc takes ownership of her surviving creations—four fantastical characters with tales yet to be told—saving them from unwritten lives crumbling around them and giving them a second chance at a literary future.
Luc finds that chance in the unsuspecting mind of Annabelle Iole Gray, a quirky teen with her head in the clouds, nose in a book, and imagination ripe for a brilliant muse’s inspiration.
Or so he hopes.
Neither Luc nor Annabelle, however, realize all they’ve undertaken. Even with a to-write list including accounts of a shape-shifting cat creature, gentle knight-in-training, vigilante skater girl, and a mystery boy smothering in unspoken fear, the most remarkable saga created between author and muse just may turn out to be one stranger than fiction.
Their own.

There are characters already existing in our world. We can't see them but they're there, living independently among us.