108:120 Bright Thrones by Kate Elliot

The story of Bettany and what happened to her after her family's fall from grace and then after she runs into her twin, Jessamy.  Bettany was taken to the mines but managed to show that she could be more useful to Lord Agular as a scribe and assistant but she also realizes that he is not exactly what he appears to be either and that maybe they can help each other.

It was interesting to see more of what happened with Bettany since she was the only sister who was separated from the group and basically remained so for most of the trilogy. I wanted to like this and there were parts that I did but at the same time I was disappointed with the what felt like a forced romance.  Her falling for Lord Agular given her contempt and disgust with the upper classes made no sense at all and fell flat which then made much of what she did later in the story just not work for me either.  I just wish she had stayed more true to who she thought she was.


Page count: 98p/19,687p ytd/291,090p lifetime

78:120 Buried Heart by Kate Elliott

The conclusion to the Court of Fives trilogy.  Jes and Kal are now fighting for their lives and the path that Effea will take going forward.  Jes still believes in Kal and her father but even if they can win and put Kal on the throne, what will that mean for Effeans going forward? Back to the way things have been, Commoners and Patrons?  It's looking more and more like Effea is ready to rise and if you are not with her, you are against her and there will be no mercy.

This was a fabulous conclusion to this tale although it did feel a bit too HEA with the ending but I am going to gloss over that.  I'm not a huge fan of tying everything up with a pretty bow at the end so it all works out for your main characters but at the same time, I'm also kind of in the mood for that at the moment.  The book was fast paced, the twists and turns fun and not always predictable, the characters relateable. In all, I definitely recommend the series.



Page count: 481p/16,174p ytd/287,306p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 3rd Quarter 2017

My usual disclaimer:
Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

I'm still falling behind on my reading goals for this year.  But then again, I feel like I'm behind with everything these days so I guess that's not a surprise.  I'm hoping to be able to find time to get more reading in this summer to maybe start gaining some ground on my To Read list. *crossing fingers*

Grave Ransom by Kalayna Price starts off the quarter.  I'm really happy that whatever caused the long break between books 3 and 4 seems to be resolved and we have a new one so soon.  I like the magic/Fae stuff in this world a lot so it's nice to be able to return.

Release Date - July 4


Two are coming out later in July. Buried Heart by Kate Elliot is the conclusion to the Court of Fives trilogy.  War is coming and Jessamy must try to bring the two sides of her country together to save those she loves.

Release Date - July 25

Also coming that day is Wildfire by Ilona Andrews, the third book in the Hidden Legacy series.  Book two was delayed and I haven't read it yet so I need to catch up on what is going on between Rogan and Nevada since it looks like things are getting more interesting between the two of them with this book.

Release Date - July 25


Only a week later and there are another two books out that are on my radar.  The Urban Enemies anthology collects stories from 17 authors including some of my faves like Seanan McGuire and Kelley Armstrong and lets them tell tales from one of their villains points of view. Since villains rarely see themselves as such, it should be interesting to see how each of these see themselves.

Release Date - August 1


I'm less excited about this one.  Ride the Storm by Karen Chance is the latest in the Cassie Palmer series and I just didn't enjoy the last one very much.  I feel like we are in some sort of static bubble where nothing really happens or changes with the plot or the characters. I've been hoping for the last couple of books to see things move forward and it looks like this might finally be doing that.  Here's hoping.

Release Date - August 1


Rituals by Kelley Armstrong is the final book in the Cainsville series which I have been really enjoying but am unfortunately a book behind in.  Need to hurry up and fix that because I'm dying to see how all this resolves!

Release Date - August 15

September starts off with what I'm sure will be a good laugh with White Trash Zombie Unchained by Diana Rowland.  These books have amazed me with the fact that they are so much fun but at the same time, the character growth and development is phenomenal!  Not what I would ever have expected from a zombie series, let alone one titled as White Trash Zombie.

Release Date - September 5

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire finishes out the 3rd quarter and I can't wait to see what trouble Toby gets into this time.  With her mother demanding that she find her long lost sister, I mean really, what could possibly go wrong?

Release Date - September 5

81:120 Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliot

Jes has been singled out to move quickly up the ranks of the Fives Court but while she trains hard, always in the back of her mind is her family and their safety and how to protect them from Lord Gargaron.  With Kal and her father off to the frontlines, she needs to rely on others who are not as watched as she is but trust is hard for her, especially with so much at stake.  Then she starts overhearing things, plots within plots at the highest levels of the palace but she has no one she can trust with this information and certainly no one who would believe her.  When she is taken on a traveling party to inspect the gold mines, she finds her twin sister and thinks things might finally be coming together but then her party is attacked and plots start unfolding faster than the rings turn in the Fives Court.  Jes who can see how those rings move so clearly on the Court is having a much harder time figuring things out when she is in the middle of so many different plots pushing her in so many different directions but who can she turn to for help.

A good follow-up to the first book.  Jes is growing as a character even if sometimes it's painfully slow and that is something that I really want to see in books.  Some of the twists and turns were beautifully orchestrated and a few I wasn't expecting at all which is always a bonus.  I'm now bummed that I have to wait almost a year for the end of this trilogy.


Page count: 480p/21,883p ytd/271,033p lifetime

58:120 Night Flower by Kate Elliot

A prequel to Court of Fives which shows the meeting of Jessamy's parents, Kiya and Esladas.  Kiya is a Commoner who has just arrived in the city of Saryenia under her uncle's care to see city life before returning to her village and taking her place as a full adult member there.  Esladas is the youngest son of a Patron with no prospects for inheritance and has made his way to the city to become a soldier and make his own way.  He has just barely arrived when he wanders into the Market and finds the most beautiful woman selling fruit.  He and Kiya do not speak a word of each other's language and following where their hearts are leading will mark them both as outsiders to their people but sometimes you have no choice.

I almost feel like reading this made their parting so much worse in Court of Fives but it was an incredible read and now I'm bummed that I have to wait for the next book in the series.


Page count: 60p/15,746p ytd/265,706p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 3rd Quarter 2016

My usual disclaimer:
Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

So while the last couple of quarters were fairly light in the new releases department, I still haven't managed to get caught up and this quarter is chock-full of stuff that I want to read the second I have it in my hands.  Considering many come out on top of each other, I'm thinking that sleep is just overrated.


There are a lot more short stories starting to come out in many of my favorite series for ereaders which I think is wonderful.  It allows for more backstory, side stories, and general bits and pieces that don't fit well into the main books but are nice for long time readers of the series.  Unwanted by Jennifer Estep is one such side story which follows Finn after the events in Bitter Bite which have him feeling very much unwanted.

Release Date - July 18


Imprudence by Gail Carriger is the second book in the Custard Protocol series which follows Rue, the daughter of Alexis and Lord Maccon from the Parasol Protectorate series. I have not started this series yet since I'm so behind on things but I did just start the Finishing School series and will go into this one after so maybe I'll be ready to read it by the time it comes out.

Release Date - July 19


August is super filled with fabulous new releases and starts off with three right off the bat. Flight from Mayhem by Yasmine Galenorn is the second book in the Fly by Night series with Shimmer the blue dragon and Alex the vampire.  It is set in the world of her popular Otherworld series and this one sees Chase coming to the Fly by Night detectives to help solve the mystery of older fae being brutally murdered after having their bank accounts drained.

Release Date - August 2


We also get Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter is the start of a new series, Soulwood, which takes place in the Jane Yellowrock series but follows Nell after she is found by Jane who recommends her to PsyLED who sends Rick to talk to her.   Nell has been a pretty mysterious figure in the Yellowrock series and I'm really hoping we get to learn more about her and the relationships between her and all the team members.

Release Date - August 2


And the first release date ends with Full of Briars by Seanan McGuire which is a short story in the October Daye series but this time narrated by Quentin, her squire.  His parents have come to meet the new Queen of the Mists and take him home.  Unfortunately, he doesn't want to go and Toby doesn't want him to either.

Release Date- August 2


Betrayals by Kelley Armstrong comes out just a week later so no time to catch my breath.  Ricky is being fingered in a series of street children murders and now Olivia needs Gabriel's help to prove his innocence.  Doing this means that their futures are being even more intertwined but will it be in the relationship of their choosing or that of the forces trying to win a war that they are at the center of?

Release Date - August 9


Then we have the sequel to Court of Fives, Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliot coming out.  I read Court of Fives for book club and while it's YA I found myself very invested in the characters and can't wait to see how things progress.  Jessamy is doing well as a Challenger which is good since her winnings are what is supporting her mother and sisters while they are in hiding.  Unfortunately, an attack on her traveling party looks to be putting her more squarely in the war that Lord Karkillios is in and now running the Fives may no longer be enough.

Release Date - August 16


The month wraps up with Unraveled by Jennifer Estep.  In the aftermath of Biter Bite, Gin is trying hard to find out who is behind the mysterious Circle and how to disrupt that organization that tore apart Finn's mother and who was likely behind Mab's killing of Gin's family as well.  Unfortunately the trail has gone cold so when Finn finds out about an inheritance, they figure they might as well all get out of town for a vacation but trouble is never far behind Gin.

Release Date - August 30



September has fewer books coming out but they are all ones I've been chomping at the bit to get my hands on. It starts with Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire.  Toby's diplomatic mission to the Court of Silences did not go nearly as planned however she did return with the cure for elfshot but also a whole lot of political headaches for everyone involved. Now there is a convocation of rulers hosted by her Queen of the Mists with the High Kind and Queen in attendance. Of course, nothing is ever simple in Toby's life so it's not long before a dead body hits the floor and Toby needs to find the killer to protect those she loves.

Release Date - September 6


I get a few weeks to catch up before the release of Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews.  Kate and Curran are finally planning the wedding but before they can say "I do", Roland has kidnapped Siamin and is draining him for his magic and the dire warnings are coming fast and furious from the witches.  I can't wait to see how Kate gets around all this because darn it, I want to see them get their HEA!

Release Date - September 20


Next up is Feedback by Mira Grant.  This is a parallel novel to Feed but we are following a different group of reporters trying to get their foot in the door.  Considering how much I love this universe, I'm really jazzed about this book and am just hoping that I can get behind these characters nearly as much as I ended up loving Shuan and Georgia.

Release Date - September 27


The quarter ends with Shadow Silence by Yasmine Galenorn, the sequel to Whisper Hollow.  Kellis's best Peggin has been cursed since escaping the watery embrace of the Lady of the Lake but curing her will reveal many secrets that certain people want to remain buried.

Release Date - September 27

52:120 Court of Fives by Kate Elliot

Jessamy is frustrated with her life. She is the daughter of a Patron father who is a soldier on the rise and she is expected to act as a proper Patron girl who is barely seen and whose only job is to make a suitable match which in her case is impossible because her mother is a Commoner which makes her a mule and unfit to be the wife of a Patron.  Add to this that she is restless and her only desire is to run the Fives, a series of intricate physical trials that is a pathway to glory, even for Commoners.  She has convinced her sisters to lie for her so she can run in a real Fives challenge even if she must lose at the end to avoid being unmasked and risking her father's wrath.  On the course, she meets Killiarkos, a noble Patron who is having family difficulties of his own and an unlikely friendship strikes up between them.  However the forces that are trying to control Killiarkos's life have now decided to meddle with Jessamy's family as well.  Now they must work together if either is to have any hope of controlling their lives.

An interesting world where you are dealing with racial tensions between a conquering and conquered peoples but we are seeing it mainly from the point of view of a young teenage girl who straddles both sides and thus is claimed by neither.  It works well especially as she is dealing with her own turbulent emotions inside and a world that is crumbling around her on the outside.  It was well paced with engaging, believable characters and my only issue with it was that as Jessamy has been being strong and brave for the entire book, along comes a scene where all of sudden for no really good reason she has to fall apart so Killiarkos can step in to rescue her.  I felt that it was out of character for her and was done just to have her rescued by the "prince" at the very end which seemed disingenuous.  I am looking forward to the second book coming out in a few months.


Page count: 438p/14,511p ytd/264,471p lifetime