My September Bookoplathon TBR 2021

Becca’s Bookoplathon is a readthon that’s taking place all month this September. It’s hosted by Becca and The Books and is focused on the tbr game that Becca has created. I love watching Becca’s monthly tbrs and Bookopoly looks like such a fun game so I thought it’d be great to join in the fun with this readathon. You can find all details about the readathon on the announcement video. It’s a book version of monopoly with different and unique prompts for every space on the board.  There’s a printable version of September’s board that you’ll find in the announcement video but I decided to draw it out in my bullet journal.

Roll 1: CHANCE

The Ninth Rain (The Winnowing Flame Trilogy #1) by Jen Williams – I’ve heard hardly anyone talking about this book and even though it is a bit daunting since it’s the start of an epic adult fantasy series I’m still very interested in reading it.

Roll 2: MYTH/LORE/FAIRYTALES

Redemptor (Raybearer #2) by Jordan Ifueko – The mythology of Raybearer is beautifully written and I loved how the mythology linked into the story. I loved Raybearer and have been eagerly awaited Redemptor since finishing Raybearer.

Roll 3: CHANCE

Divine Blood (Guardians of the Maiden #1) by Beck Michaels – I’ve seen this book around on Kindle Unlimited and after seeing it again on bookstagram I decided I wanted to read it. I haven’t heard that many people talk of it but it does sound very exciting.

Roll 4: LAST COLOUR

The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen – I chose this book because the writing on the cover in similar in colour (and shape) to the writing on Divine Blood and I’ve wanted to read this book for a while now.

Roll 5: REP

Witches Steeped In Gold (Witches Steeped in Gold #1) by Ciannon Smart – This book has been on my tbr for a few months now and I haven’t got to it yet but after seeing Ciannon Smart talk about her book on a recent YALC video, I’ve been even more excited about reading it.

Roll 6: PURCHASE

A Void of Magic (Kennedy Rain #1) by Sandy Williams – I’ve really loved Sandy Williams’ other book series and I’ve been highly anticipating this series since I found out about it, I can’t wait to read this book.

My tbr for September is very fantasy heavy, I didn’t plan it that way but I’m not mad about it. I’m excited for all these books and hopefully I’ll get to them all and even if I don’t it was still very fun to play. Are you participating in Becca’s Bookoplathon? What books are you reading in September?

The Quick Fire Fantasy Book Tag

This is an interesting tag that has quick fire questions all about fantasy books, the original creator is thebookwormdreamer. Fantasy is one of my favourite genres so I’m very excited for this tag!

The Questions:

1) Five Star Book – Raybearer (Raybearer #1) by Jordan Ifueko

2) Always Going To Recommend – Heart of Mist (The Oremere Chronicles #1) by Helen Scheuerer

3) Own It But Haven’t Read It Yet – Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

4) Would Read Again – State of Sorrow (Sorrow #1) by Melinda Salisbury

5) In Another World – Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

6) Back On Earth – Three Mages and a Margarita (The Guild Codex: Spellbound #1) by Annette Marie

Have you read any of these books? What are your thoughts on them?

Top Ten Tuesday – Quotes About Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is: Book Quotes. For this topic I decided to list some quotes that are about books themselves, I love reading quotes that speak to the reader inside me.

Quotes:

The book haunted like a ghost in her head coloring moods until she shook herself from it. – The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

How much easier it would be if everyone knew their role: the hero, the sidekick, the villain. Our books would be neater and our souls less frayed. But whether you have blood or ink, no one’s story is that simple. – The Library of Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

I spent my life folded between the pages of books. – Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

But life isn’t as orderly as a story or a song; it does not always begin and end at compelling points. – The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles

Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you? You leave the previous book with ideas and themes –characters even—caught in the fibres of your clothes, and when you open the new book they are still with you. – The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Most people couldn’t have ignored a demon sharing the library with them, but most people didn’t love books as much as I did. – Taming Demons for Beginners by Annette Marie

One must always be careful of books, and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us. – Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare

It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. – Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare

Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read. – Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

Never waste time on bad books. There were too many amazing stories out there waiting to be discovered. – Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters #1) by Jaymin Eve

Have you read any of these books? What quotes do you like?

April Wrap Up 2021

What I Read in April:

A Court of Silver Flames (ACOTAR #4) by Sarah J Maas – 5 STARS

Sarah J Maas is one of my favourite authors so it’s no surprise that I ended up loving ACOSF. I loved Nesta’s story and I was so invested in her story and her recovery, this book has many emotional moments and I loved reading about these characters and world again.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo – 3 STARS

I enjoyed this short story and I liked how it told the story within another story. It did take me a while to get into the book at the beginning but I enjoyed it once I did and I liked the last section of the book.

Havenfall (Havenfall #1) by Sara Holland – 3 STARS

I liked the set up of the world in Havenfall with the different worlds being connected by this Inn but I thought the overall story and characters were a bit predictable. I still did enjoy the book and I wish there was more exploration of the different worlds within it.

Chain of Iron (The Last Hours #2) by Cassandra Clare – 5 STARS

I enjoyed the first book in this series but I liked this one even more. I feel like you see the relationships between the characters really grow and develop in this book and I really enjoyed reading about all of them. It felt like the stakes were raised with both the plot and the characters interactions with each other. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series.

Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifters #3) by Jaymin Eve – 4 STARS

Reborn was a really good conclusion to Mera and Shadow’s story and I enjoyed reading about their adventures in this book. It did take me a while to get into this book because of where Reclaimed (book 2) leaves off but I still really enjoyed it and can’t wait to read the spin off books set in this world.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green – 2 STARS

I was really disappointed in this book, I didn’t like the main character at all and thought she was very selfish. I know that is a point the book tries to make with fame changing a person but I didn’t really care for her character before she got ‘famous’. I also didn’t really like the plot and thought it was a bit random, it reminded me of Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel which is another book I disliked.

Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1) by Linsey Hall – 3 STARS

Wicked Deal (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #2) by Linsey Hall – 3 STARS

Darkest Moon (Shadow Guild: Wolf Queen #1) by Linsey Hall – 3 STARS

I originally wanted to read Darkest Moon first but even though I think it could be read first it is part of the larger Shadow Guild series so I decided to read the first few books in that series first. I liked all these books but I don’t feel fully connected to the story yet. I did like the description of the Guild City, it felt like a cosy setting with the way all the guilds were in one place. I also enjoyed the mystery aspects of the books and thought they were enjoyable reads.

Dark Horse (A Demon’s Guide to the Afterlife #1) by Kel Carpenter and Aurelia Jane – 3 STARS

Dark Horse is a reverse harem paranormal book about Fury, a demon, tasked in the afterlife to go back to earth and help sort out three powerful supernatural beings who might end the world. I thought this was a fun read and I’m interested to see where the story goes. There were a few times in the book where Fury was passed around for the guys to ‘mind for her safety’ and that kind of threw me off.

Blog Posts I Did In April:

Most Anticipated Book Releases for April, May and June 2021

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune Book Review

Spring Cleaning Book Tag

Colourful Book Covers

Non-Human Main Characters

March Wrap Up 2021

What books did you read in April?

My Most Anticipated Book Releases for April, May and June 2021

There is too many book releases that I’m most excited for and I haven’t even read all of my most anticipated releases from Jan, Feb and March yet but I’m still very excited to get to the books listed below so here are my most anticipated book releases for April, May and June.

April:

The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman
The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Malice by Heather Walter
Witches Steeped In Gold by Ciannon Smart
Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard

May:

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Girl With Stars In Her Eyes by Xio Axelrod

June:

Monstrous Design (Battalion of the Dead #2) by Kat Dunn
Darling by K. Ancrum
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

What books are you anticipating to be released in April, May and June?

Book Review: Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters #1) by Jaymin Eve

Book: Rejected
Series: Shadow Beast Shifters #1
Author: Jaymin Eve
Genre: Adult/New adult, fantasy paranormal romance

My father made a terrible mistake. One I’m left paying for.

As a wolf shifter growing up in a strong pack, I should be living my best life. But after my father tried to kill the alpha, I’m labeled an outcast, traitor, less than dirt.

When I can’t take pack life any longer, I run, but apparently they don’t like losing their punching bag. Torin, the alpha’s son, drags me back before my first shift… a shift that will reveal my true mate.

I never could have predicted who mine would be, but the moment my wolf looks upon him, I’m filled with hope for a brighter future.

After all, no one ever rejects their true mate, right?
Wrong. Very wrong.

When the wolves attack, my soul screams for vengeance, and somehow I touch the shadow world. Somehow I bring him to our lands.

The Shadow Beast. Our shifter god. The devil himself.

Turns out being rejected by my mate was only the beginning.

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

I enjoyed reading this book but I did think about putting it down in the first 20 to 30 percent simply because I didn’t really know what to expect from the story. The pack is completely irredeemable in my eyes because of the way they treated Mera through the years but I was worried that the author would try to redeem them and that that would be the point of the story especially since we get hints at the beginning that Mera’s mate could be one of the pack members who treated her bad.

I was wary about all of that so I was glad when the story took a turn around a third of the way in and the Shadow Beast was introduced. This is where I really began to enjoy the story because I loved the interactions between Shadow and Mera. I didn’t like the way Shadow treats Mera when they first meet either but I feel like there is definitely a deeper connection there that is explored more as they get to know each other.

Mera is an okay character, I did feel sorry for her after everything she went through with her pack and I’m looking forward to future books where I know she’ll grow and have more confidence to kick some ass.

I liked the overall plot and I’m definitely more interested in the different worlds and the library/lair of the Shadow Beast and the plot of what went wrong with the shadow realm and the characters on that side of the story especially Shadow and his five friends as well as Angel. I don’t like reading the scenes with Mera’s pack and the plotline of that.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot even though I disliked the beginning and all the scenes involving Mera’s pack. I was a lot more interested in the story when the Shadow Beast appeared and I enjoyed reading about Mera and Shadows interactions with each other.