Thursday, May 26, 2022

BLOG TOUR: Crown of Crimson by Karina Halle

Hiya, Booknerds! I am participating in the Blog Tour of CROWN OF CRIMSONAs such, I will give you some details about the interesting book as well as its lovely author. 

And you also get a BOOKISH BONUS: 

*A delightful morsel of an excerpt can be found below*

ABOUT THE BOOK:



PublisherSelf-published
Release Date: May 23, 2022
GenreAdult Dark Fantasy Romance
Pages: 460

THE STORY:
The next thrilling instalment in the Underworld Gods series. Perfect for readers who want high steam Hades/Persephone and Beauty and the Beast vibes with a dark Nordic folklore twist.
All Hanna Heikkinen wants is to be reunited with her father again. After all, that's why she ventured into the dark and dangerous fantasy world of Tuonela, the Land of the Dead, in order to save his life. But this time her devotion to her father comes at a cost---her growing relationship with Tuoni, the God of Death himself, who held Hanna captive in exchange for her father's life. The last thing she expects is to feel remorse at how she left things with Death, yet the dark and sexy God is all she can think about.
Death has always prided himself on never trusting the living, but Hanna's apparent betrayal has left a scar fathom's deep. Vowing revenge on his future bride, and making sure she upholds her end of the bargain, Death sets out across his realm to steal Hanna back, which only fans the flames between them. But Death and Hanna aren't just fighting each other---malevolent Old Gods are rising to power within the realm, magic is being poisoned, and buried secrets are brought to light, secrets that may cause Hanna to lose everyone she loves dear once again.
BUY LINKS:

EXCERPT:

He shakes his head ever so subtly, his fingers bruising my skin. “After all you’ve seen, all you’ve done, all you’ve felt, and you’re still blind to the world around you. This is your world, Hanna. You know it is. You know you belong here more than you’ve ever belonged in your other life, and more than that, you belong here with me.” My jaw tightens as I try to ignore the way my heart is skipping in my chest. “You’re sounding sentimental.” “You’re mistaking sentiment with facts,” he says, lowering his masked face toward mine. “A mistake I’m sure you won’t make again. You belong with me, because that is the bargain we made. There is no escape for you. Not now, not ever. You made a promise to me, and your promise will be held to the very end.” There’s a finality in his words that makes my blood run cold. For a moment he loosens his grip and sighs deeply. “I know you don’t like being told what to do, but you could have had it all,” he says, almost wistfully. “You could have had my trust. Now you will become my wife and there won’t be an ounce of trust or love between us.” My heart skips again. “Who said anything about love?” “Hmmph.” He tilts his head, examining me. “I could have loved you, you know.” Oh. That I didn’t know. And for reasons I can’t explain, it feels like he’s pulled a pin out from my heart and I’m slowly deflating.


Excerpted from Crown of Crimson by Mara Rutherford, © 2022 by Karina Halle. Used with permission from Social Butterfly PR.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books. Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.


Connect with Karina

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3LCSTIw
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2vo9pq4
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3LHKB21
Join her Reader Group: https://bit.ly/3wAzpQt
Stay up to date with Karina by signing up for her newsletter here: 
https://bit.ly/3PAEqQy
Website: http://authorkarinahalle.com


Happy Reading!

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Wishlist Wednesday


*Wishlist Wednesday is where you show a book that is on your bookish wishlist*

FROM TORMENTED TIDES by Val E. Lane

Publisherunk
Release Date: July 25, 2022
Pages: unk

THE STORY:

Unravel the past. Break the curse. Pass midterms.
And don’t fall in love with dead pirates…
Katrina Delmar has no idea that Milo, the charming guy she meets at a college party, was supposed to have died at sea 300 years ago. She only knows that she's drawn to him right away. But she’s also caught the attention of his crewmate, Bellamy, whose mysterious allure is hard to resist.
Falling for undead pirates is the least of her worries when there seems to be something sinister lurking beneath the surface. And when the ruthless captain of the ship discovers Katrina may hold the key to breaking the crew’s curse, he's hellbent on taking it from her at whatever cost.
With time running out, Katrina must learn who she can trust and unlock the mysteries of the past before she and those she loves are pulled under by a curse of her own.
LINK: Goodreads


MEET THE AUTHOR



Hi! I’m Val. I love to write. From the first time I picked up a Little House on the Prairie book in my elementary school library, I knew I wanted to be a writer. And now I’m inviting you along for the adventure as I launch my debut novel FROM TORMENTED TIDES, the first book in a series with a modern twist on pirates, mermaids, and of course romance!






Want to see my entire Wishlist? Check it out on Amazon: Bookish Wishlist

Happy Reading!

Monday, May 9, 2022

Review: The Lord of Population by Elizabeth Stephens


*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Publisher
 Elizabeth Stephens
Release Date: March 3, 2022 
Pages: 550
Source: Paperback 

THE STORY:

Dark and action-packed, Lord of Population is a steamy, end of days romance ripe with unexpected twists and epic battles, perfect for fans of JR Ward or Laura Thalassa.

She thinks she can steal from me, the little human. Adorable. I can't decide what will be more fun – the hunt, or what I will do to her when I catch her. And I will catch her. There is nowhere she can run.

Abel was of perfectly sound body and mind when she looted the Other's corpse. He looked dead. Wait. Did he just smirk up at her? No. Definitely not... 

Hiding out in an abandoned townhouse, Abel doesn't expect to hear that same bloodsucking alien come knocking on her door or that, when trouble finds them, he might stand at her back, rather than stab her through it.

But when he offers to help her cross the ruined world of Population, Abel knows better than to believe him. Because when he looks at her, it's with a hunger that seems to go beyond the taste of her blood and, when he asks for payment, he requires the one thing she can't give up. 

Her trust. 

Run all you like, little human. The sword you carry won't be enough to stop me from coming for you. You're mine. Blood. Body. Heart.
BUY LINKS: Goodreads


RATING:

ONE-WORD REVIEW: [EMOTIONAL] ROLLERCOASTER

OPENING LINE:

I lay there at the edge of the bed, closest to the door knowing that it's also the closest spot to danger.



REVIEW:
*TW: SA, dubious consent, PA

LORD OF POPULATION takes place in post-apocalyptic America and follows Abel who fights to survive gangs and Others. The Others are vampire aliens who have come to Earth to escape their destroyed planet. After losing everything and everyone from her world before, Abel gives all she can to keep her best friend and her daughter alive. Abel is a survivor, a higher who runs on instinct and loyalty to keep her two people alive. When what little meaning o her life remains is snatched from her, is desperate for revenge she enlists her worst enemy. An Other.

"𝐼'𝓂 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒶 𝒽𝒶𝓁𝒻-𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒻 𝑔𝒽𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒸𝑜𝓇𝓅𝓈𝑒𝓈. 𝒜 𝓇𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝓋𝒾𝓋𝒶𝓁. 𝒜 𝓇𝒶𝓉, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒷𝒾𝑔𝑔𝑒𝓇."

The first half was 4 enchanted roses—not 5 because of the pacing and editing issues—then came the disaster of the second half. 

Had I known there was going to be cheating and an almost faux love triangle in this book, I would not have read it.

Mikael. Mikael and Abel. 

After everything with Kane, Abel cheats on him with his asshole, out of his head (not in the fun way) younger brother who is crazy jealous of him while he was held captive and tortured.

Mikael who had major anger issues was an alcoholic, and physically assaulted her with his fist—not to mention his words time and again. I feel no sympathy for Abel. When she came to After he punched her in the face, she did nothing but brush it off. When my guy Kane took her to his estate to get help and figure out a plan to save her sister, she went berserk and attacked him. 

Some argue Abel was assaulted Mikael. I can definitely see why. I know this is a touchy subject and I am in no way trying to make light of the situation in the slightest. From my persepective, Abel was a grown woman with the sound of mind who was assaulted before and not young and naive enough not to know the difference. Not only that, but she enjoyed what she's done with Mikeal. But what actually sealed the deal for Abel's guilt was: the ONLY reason why she pushed Mikael off was that she started feeling painthe cheating pains took away the pleasure. The heffer had TWO whole ass orgasms for Christ's sake before she gathered the sense to push Mikael off (again, only because of the pain)! She would've carried on with Mikael if the cheating pains had not surfaced. That’s cheating. At the very least this is dubious consent. I’m sorry, but I don’t see this as only Mikeal’s fault. And Kane deserves better than the both of them. After reading that scene, followed by her not punishing him for what he did but also sticking up for him time and time again as well as going out of her way to be kind to him made me burn with rage.  Mikeal can have Abel, they belong together in their disloyal fuckery.

After being so emotionally invested only to be betrayed by the second half, I am furious. What a waste of time. There should be a content warning for the cheating or something. Readers beware.

"𝐼 𝒿𝓈𝓊𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓉𝑜 𝓀𝒾𝓈𝓈 𝓂𝑒. 
𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓎 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓂𝑒." 

*le sigh* I really needed to get that out of my system. I was NOT prepared for that scene when it happened and it took me a lot longer to process the betrayal of it for longer than I want to admit. Nevertheless, the book isn't bad. This may be shocking based on the first half of my review but I actually really quiet enjoyed LORD OF POPULATION.

Luckily, there is redemption for Abel in the second half as well which makes me a smidgen less pissed out about what happened between Abel and Mikael. My baby Kane was able to get his HEA with Abel even if I have to be mad at her on his behalf. He also go retribution against his brother for what he did to and with Abel.

"'...𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓎'𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒾𝓃 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀.' 
'𝒟𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂?' 
'𝒩𝑜. 𝒴𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓁𝑒𝑒𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝑔𝑒 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊.' 
'𝒪𝓀𝒶𝓎. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝒶𝓃 𝓊𝒽𝒽...𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉. 𝐼 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝐼'𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓈𝓅𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽.' 
'𝒪𝓊𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃.' 
'𝒟𝒾𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝒶𝓎 𝒾𝓉'𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒, 𝓉𝑜𝑜?' 
'𝒟𝒾𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝐼 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝒶 𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻𝒾𝓈𝒽, 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓁𝑒? 𝒪𝓇 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒, 𝒜𝒷𝑒𝓁?' 
'𝒲𝑒𝓁𝓁, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒, 𝓉𝑜𝑜.' 
'𝒴𝑒𝓈,...'"

Overall, as much as I protested in my review, I'm actually really glad I read LORD OF POPULATION! In fact, I even recommend the book. I wish there were more books that follow Kane's and Abel's story but there are two more stories that follow two other male characters we meet in LORD OF POPULATION.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elizabeth Stephens writes romance of the SciFi, paranormal and suspenseful varieties. Her favorite trope is enemies-to-lovers and she loves to world-build so much so that she sometimes gets lost in places that don't exist.

One year into her author journey, she's been shocked to see her books listed among Amazon's bestsellers in their categories. Still, her favorite pieces of fanmail are from BIPOC women expressing surprise and gratitude that they've found an author who looks like them and (does her very best!) to write books that make them feel included.

When she isn't tip-tap-typing away, you might find her getting her hands dirty on a pottery wheel, traveling as much as she can, or learning a new language. A Seattle native, after over 15 years spent in Johannesburg, Cairo, Beirut, Geneva, Addis Ababa, and Berlin, she's made her way back home with her loving husband and doggo, King Louis.

To find out more about her projects and upcoming releases visit her website at booksbyelizabeth.com.

Happy Reading!

 
Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Wishlist Wednesday

*Wishlist Wednesday is where you show a book that is on your bookish wishlist*

ABOUT THE BOOK:



 CROWN OF CRIMSON by Karina Halle
Publisher
Self-published
Release Date: May 23, 2022
GenreAdult Dark Fantasy Romance
Pages: 460

THE STORY:
The next thrilling instalment in the Underworld Gods series. Perfect for readers who want high steam Hades/Persephone and Beauty and the Beast vibes with a dark Nordic folklore twist.
All Hanna Heikkinen wants is to be reunited with her father again. After all, that's why she ventured into the dark and dangerous fantasy world of Tuonela, the Land of the Dead, in order to save his life. But this time her devotion to her father comes at a cost---her growing relationship with Tuoni, the God of Death himself, who held Hanna captive in exchange for her father's life. The last thing she expects is to feel remorse at how she left things with Death, yet the dark and sexy God is all she can think about.
Death has always prided himself on never trusting the living, but Hanna's apparent betrayal has left a scar fathom's deep. Vowing revenge on his future bride, and making sure she upholds her end of the bargain, Death sets out across his realm to steal Hanna back, which only fans the flames between them. But Death and Hanna aren't just fighting each other---malevolent Old Gods are rising to power within the realm, magic is being poisoned, and buried secrets are brought to light, secrets that may cause Hanna to lose everyone she loves dear once again.
BUY LINKS:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books. Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.


Connect with Karina

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3LCSTIw
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2vo9pq4
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3LHKB21
Join her Reader Group: https://bit.ly/3wAzpQt
Stay up to date with Karina by signing up for her newsletter here: 
https://bit.ly/3PAEqQy
Website: http://authorkarinahalle.com


Happy Reading!

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