Tag Archive for: Book of the Month

These Summer Storms

These Summer StormsTitle: These Summer Storms
Author: Sarah MacLean
Genre: Romance
Format: Audio
Pages: 384
Length: 13h 17m
Narrator: Julia Whelan
Source: Owned
Reason: Book of the Month
Rating:

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed reading THESE SUMMER STORMS. So much family drama and I loved it! I really loved Alice. I felt so much sadness and anger on her behalf because of how her family treated her. I’m glad she and her siblings made up as much as they could and learned to step outside of their parents’ shadows. I also really loved Jack. I loved the sexual tension between him and Alice. I’m glad that he could give her what she needed in a partner and chose her over the money.

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow

The Haunting of Paynes HollowTitle: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Horror
Format: Audio
Pages: 320
Length: 9h 24m
Narrator: E.J. Lavery
Source: Owned
Reason: Book of the Month
Rating:

My Thoughts

Wow! I’m so glad I chose THE HAUNTING OF PAYNES HOLLOW as my October Book of the Month pick. It was so much fun! I loved the callback to Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman. I loved the setting, the supernatural legends, the characters, and the big reveal at the end! When I wasn’t reading, I couldn’t wait to get back to the story. I’ll definitely be looking up more books by Kelley Armstrong.

,

Husbands & Lovers

Husbands & LoversTitle: Husbands & Lovers
Author: Beatriz Williams
Genre: Romance
Format: Audio
Pages: 384
Length: 12h 31m
Narrator: Helen Laser, Caroline Hewitt
Source: Owned
Reason: BotM Backlist
Rating:

My Thoughts

I absolutely adored HUSBANDS & LOVERS. I was hooked from the prologue. It was a beautiful story of love, loss, and betrayal. I equally loved reading both Hannah’s and Mallory’s stories and loved how they fit together.

I knew why Mallory left and didn’t talk to Monk about Sam way before the reveal. I’m sad I was right, but I’m glad the story happened the way it did. I also feel so much for Hannah and her life. She lost so much. I’m glad Mallory and Paige figured out what happened to her and got to meet Károly in the end.

Silver Elite

Silver EliteTitle: Silver Elite
Author: Dani Francis
Series: Silver Elite #1
Genre: Romantasy
Format: Audio
Pages: 528
Length: 19h 12m
Narrator: Amanda Dolan
Source: Owned
Reason: Book of the Month
Rating:

My Thoughts

I adored SILVER ELITE. I was hooked from the get go and I couldn’t put the book down. I loved the setting and the concept of the “modified” and I loved the dystopian aspect of the story. The story felt like THE HUNGER GAMES meets DIVERGENT and GRACELING, with a little bit of FOURTH WING thrown in as well (no dragons, though). It is more of a romantopian than a romantasy, but either way it was awesome.

I thought Wren was a great protagonist and heroine. She reminded me of all my favorite dystopian/fantasy heroines. I loved the chemistry between her and Cross. Their banter was amazing and none of the spicier scenes made me roll my eyes. (Francis really knows how to write good kissing scenes!) The other characters were also fantastic. I kept second guessing their motives and had a hard time deciding which side they were on. I’m really looking forward to reading the second book when it comes out next year.

As far as the controversy, I didn’t feel like SILVER ELITE was written by A.I. The writing may not be the best literature has to offer, but it seemed natural for a story like this.

Darling Girl

Darling GirlTitle: Darling Girl
Author: Liz Michalski
Genre: Retelling
Format: Audio
Pages: 341
Length: 11h 42m
Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden
Source: Owned
Reason: BotM Backlist
Rating:

My Thoughts

DARLING GIRL was a very interesting, dark twist on Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. I really enjoyed the topsy turvy nature of this story and flipping everything on its head. I thought the idea of Holly Darling looking for her daughter while trying to keep her son safe from what lurks in the shadows, windows, and wind was a fun concept.

At first, I thought Holly was selfish but as I learned more and more about the truth and what happened to her and her family, I realized that even though many of her decisions and actions were questionable, she did what she thought was best for her family. I liked her arc of character growth. I wish, however, she had done more in the story instead of relying on other people. The ending was a bit anticlimactic because of it. I also didn’t think she spent enough time with Christopher Cooke to warrant him being the love interest. I loved that he was, but I thought he needed more time and pages in the story.