Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Waiting on Wednesday #702

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

FIREBIRD BY JULIETTE CROSS

Goodreads Description:

Passion ignites in Firebird, a scorching, dark romantasy set in Ancient Rome. From acclaimed author Juliette Cross, this is House of the Dragon meets From Blood and Ash.

A conqueror captivated.
A witch prophesied to save them all.
A world where dragons rule Rome.

From the moment Roman general and nephew to the emperor Julianus Dakkia laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his dragon form to save her, an action that may result in his head on the imperial gate. But he and his dragon know one she belongs to them.

Malina can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality. His warrior prowess cannot be denied, yet it doesn't reveal the secret he hides. All Malina knows is his protection and gentle touch and how her soul has always seemed to answer his.

As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.

Firebird by Juliette Cross is the first fiery book in the The Fire That Binds romantasy series.

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover
Expected Publication: April 8, 2025 by Bramble
Pre-Order: Blackwells and Amazon US and Amazon UK

Oops. I somehow ended up pre-ordering the Waterstones exclusive of this book and the Amazon special first edition. And I have no idea if I will like this book at all. Ack. But I think it looks awesome. And I think it sounds great too. Curious about the dragon part. And so I am crossing all my fingers I will love this one :)
What are you waiting for on this fiery Wednesday?

Saturday, March 29, 2025

In My Mailbox #699

Ahhh. Surgery in just a couple of days. I am so nervous. Getting my tonsils removed. I'm so worried. But I think it will be good for me to get rid of them. So fingers crossed it will go okay, and that there will be zero bleedings, and that it will heal fast and well and have less pain. Ack. So yeah. Been busy this week being nervous, haha. I'm still a little sick, coughing a little each day. But I'm much better this week than last. So I think my surgery can still be done. Probably. These past few days I have gotten lots of instagram photos taken; so I have over three weeks of not needing to take photos after my surgery :) I also finished reading my book earlier this week, so now taking a reading break to focus on healing next week. It will take weeks of healing, ack. Anyway. I got way, way, way too much mail this week. Sigh. So many pop figures. So love them all, haha :D I shared my review of The Listeners. <3 This week I'm waiting on The Rose Bargain :) I'm not sleeping well enough lately; keep waking up so very early each day. Ugh. It's driving me a little bit insane, haha. And not sleeping good either. I hope it gets better soon :) Hope you are all doing well. <3

Star Wars: Someone Who Loves You. Had to get this, as I adore Beth. <3 Still haven't seen Star Wars :)
Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter. New Jay Kristoff graphic novel. Reading this one day. Hope it is good.
Sunrise on the Reaping. Eee. Haven't read the other spinoff yet either. But reading them all one day. <3
Ghost Girl. Finally decided to buy this book to give it a try :) Have read one book by this author already.
The Dark Refrain. Eee. Finally a print copy of book three in this series. <3 Must re-read book one soon.
Artifice + Bluebird. Paperback editions of two gorgeous books that I so adored. I so love this author. <3
Funko Pop. I forgot to include the Stitch pin and Bitty pops in my photo below. Love them. + Megan :D
Moana 2. These were all kinds of expensive. Ahh. But had to get UK 4K editions. <3 And the CD too.
Funko Nordic / Funtastic by Proxy. Eee! Thank you so very much lovely for this most precious newest free ambassador gift. <3 I so love the two new Snow White pop figures :D And the Goo Jit Zu squishy figures are amazing, eee. I love them so. Will be sharing about all of these on instagram next week. <3

Funko Europe. Oh, help. This is a total of three orders, oops. <3 There were simply too much awesome coming out, haha :) I had to get it all. Sigh. My poor money. Love the new Pokemon. I love all the cute new Hello Kitty and friends. Adore The Secret of Nimh. And The Electric State :D Love the rest too. <3

More Instagram photos here. <3

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Waiting on Wednesday #701

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

THE ROSE BARGAIN BY SASHA PEYTON SMITH

Goodreads Description:

The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.

Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen.

High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.

But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin… and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.

Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart—and at the center of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything Ivy knows.

Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Adalyn Grace.

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover
Expected Publication: February 4, 2025 by HarperCollins
Pre-Order: Blackwells and Amazon US and Amazon UK

I am pretty curious about this book :) As the Fairyloot edition I got of it is all kinds of gorgeous. Ahh. I so love the artwork in it, haha. And it made me think I would enjoy this book. Hoping to read it one day. <3 Though, well. I don't read many romantasy books. But I guess it's time to read some of them, at least :D
What are you waiting for on this enchanting Wednesday?

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Review: The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

Writing about this book is going to be complicated. As I have so many different feelings about it. And I'm not planning on sharing everything. Just enough. I'm giving this book four stars. As I had some issues with the beginning of it. Then I loved the last third of the book so very much. And the ending was pretty incredible too.

The writing was fantastic, as always, with books by Maggie. The setting was amazing too. I so loved reading about the mountains and the hotel as well. Especially the sweetwater and everything about it. I adored the three dachshunds, even though their role in the book was small. They were simply too cute. Loved the vibes.

There is simply too much to share about this story. And I am not sure where to begin. So I shall start with the year. It is set during the spring of 1942. The Avallon hotel is being forced to be a host for three hundred Axis diplomats. Nazis from different countries. Enemies of America. They are to stay there until those in charge are able to swap them for their own prisoners in Germany. I must confess that I hadn't heard about this part of history before now, about diplomats and such. At least not that I can remember. And so I did find it interesting and fascinating to read about, to learn more about the past as well. It was interesting to read about these people, to figure out who were actual enemies and who were just unlucky in their work. As there were several of those too.

But this book is more about the hotel than those staying at it. It tells the story of June Hudson, the woman who takes care of the hotel, the sort of owner of everything. It took a whole while before we finally learned her age, which did bother me a little. She was thirty-five. Which is a little old for me, and yet I didn't mind. As she was adorable and awesome and I just loved her to pieces. Getting to know June was the best. We slowly learn more about her childhood and how she ended up running this hotel. June was just incredible.

Then we spend pretty much half the book getting to know the hotel and the guests and everything around it. I do wish the book had been a little bit faster, as I had some trouble with the start. It grew a little boring for me. Since nothing happened. But still. I did enjoy the slow parts too, as I loved getting to know June. She worked for the Gilfoyle's, the owners of the hotel. She had been general manager of the hotel for ten years, having been there for over twenty years. The hotel was her home, the Gilfoyle's her almost family.

We learn about the sweetwater. The water that runs under the hotel and that everyone drinks from. It is sort of magical. And I so loved that. I wanted to know more. It seemed mysterious and awesome. There were four small pools at the Avallon and I enjoyed getting to know more about it. This book is about the hotel and about June. About the complicated state of having to host the Nazis. About June beginning to learn more about herself and about what she wants for her life. I honestly just liked this story a whole lot.

I have already said too much about this book yet not nearly enough about the plot. And yet. There was not that big of a story. It is a slow and lovely book. The last third had more happening, but it was pretty quiet as well. But I did not mind. I found this book to be precious. A little slow, but then better. I so loved June. I loved Agent Tucker and all we got to know about him. He was a mystery first. But he opened up and become someone better. I loved reading about him and June together. Him with everyone else too.

The book was filled with amazing characters. I'm not going to mention all of them, but have to talk about some. There was a ten-year-old girl, Hannelore. She was different. She did not speak, but she could sing. And scream. She had some fits at times. She was all kinds of smart and lovely and I adored her. We get some chapters from her, which I so loved. She was a little damaged, I think, but I could fully see why, with her parents being who they were. They seemed nice, but on the wrong side. Hannelore was so precious.

Then there was the state agent, Pennybacker. He was all kinds of fun and lovely. I adored reading about him and getting to know him. I liked when he and June were together. They grew some type of friendship that I liked. He did not have it easy. But he did his best and I adored him. There was a guest at the hotel who had lived there for years, never leaving her room. They just called her 411. We learned a little about her, but not enough. I thought she was pretty awesome. A little mysterious. But a special friend to June.

I'm not going to write about the war parts of this story. It is a complicated one. The hotel June works at have always served the rich, no matter if they were nice or not. But this is different, having the hotel filled with Nazis. The staff does not want to work for them. But they have no choice and they are getting paid for it. And June is their boss, their Hoss, and they love her and would help her with anything. And so they try their best to be civil to them all, even though it was hard. I loved that. But yeah. A heartbreaking time.

Going to mention the romance a little bit. There was not much of it. But what we got was pretty lovely. At first, June had a somewhat relationship with the eldest Gilfoyle son. She had loved him since she was a kid. And he kept coming back to her. But he was also with someone new almost every week. And I hated that so much. June deserved so much better. I love how she realizes this too. How she starts to slowly fall for Tucker. And how their relationship started. It's small and slow, but I loved it with all my heart. Precious.

The Listeners was such a different and special story. I had some troubles with it at first, with how slow it was. But then it got better and I started to love it a whole lot. I loved the hotel and the sweetwater. I just wanted even more details about it. The water was still such a mystery. And I wished to know more. It was awesome. I'm pretty sure there was a hint to The Scorpio Races island in there too, and I loved that very much. I loved the history of this book, how much of it was real. I loved that the book was honest and real.

The biggest thank you to the lovely PRH International for this free eARC copy of The Listeners to read and review via Edelweiss. I'm so glad that I got to read this one early. I should have read it a few months ago, but it took me a while to find the time. It was worth the wait, though. And I cannot wait to buy all the finished copies of this book too. Now to wait for Maggie to write more. The Scorpio Races will always be my favorite of her books. But they are all incredible. And you all really need to read The Listeners as well.

Goodreads - Blackwells - Amazon US - Amazon UK

Saturday, March 22, 2025

In My Mailbox #698

Uugh. I thought last week was a bad one, with little sleep and such. Ha. This week is the worst. I got sick suddenly. A cold, I guess. But gods, it is ruining me. I'm not doing very well at all. My head and nose and throat is so bad. And when I lie down to sleep, I start coughing like crazy all the time and it all really hurts. Ugh. I'm not happy about this at all. I have my tonsils surgery is just over a week. I need to be well before then, or it will get cancelled. Ahh. Fingers crossed, please. As I want this surgery to happen and be done with. Ugh. So yeah. I'm not doing well at all. And this sucks so badly. But I'm trying my best. And I started reading a new book, and I am liking it, somewhat. But it's just taking me a while to read, as I have trouble focusing since I'm sick. Sigh. And oh. I got all the mail this week, ahh. So many books. <3 And next week will be filled with pop figures. Ugh. I need to stop buying everything. And so I will have to try taking a little shopping break, haha :) Though I have a whole bunch pre-ordered. Oops :) this week I'm waiting on Dark and Darker Still. <3 I hope you are all doing well :D I'm just nervous about getting well before my surgery.

The Ragpicker King. Oh. Intl hardcover exclusive. UK paperback. Intl paperback. All gorgeous editons :D
Sword Catcher. Finally managed to buy the international paperback for my collection. <3 First ed. too :D
Fable for the End of the World. Regular UK hardcover. <3 Had to get it too. Oh, how I hope to love this :)
She Waits for You Beyond the Dark. Of course I had to had the hardcover for my collection, just because.
Ruthless Vows. New UK paperback edition :D I had to get the regular and waterstones exclusive. Oops.
The Mirror of Beasts. At last out in UK paperback. <3 Oh, how much I loved this duology. Perfection. <3
Deep Blue Sea. One of my all time favorite shark movies :D Of course I had to get this new 4K exclusive.
Movies. Smile 2. Excited to see this one :) Hope it's good. The Wild Robot. Looks so cute. Hope to love it.
Games. I couldn't help but get these Switch games. Smurfs looks adorable. Bought Mario for the goodies, haha :D Already have the boosters via my subscription. My sister will be getting the boost game code :D

More Instagram photos here. <3