Tag #booktoread

April TBR (Possible Reads) #REALMATHON

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I have been in the worst reading slump lately. But I came across this fun read-a-thon for the month of April that seemed doable. The readathon is chosen in from what realm you want to read from so I chose team Enya which is read fantasy books. You have to pick prompts from the attack and defense side in order to pick your tbr reads. It’s easy and fun and it’s a large group of us participating. There is even a discord group to stay accountable.

Below is my tbr for April so books may change but this is it for now.

#BlogTour Shadows of Nightshade by Lyla Oweds

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This is my post during the blog tour for Shadows of Nightshade by Lyla Oweds. Shadows of Nightshade is a ghost story for romance and tragedy lovers.

 

This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 13 till 26 March. You can see the tour schedule here: http://www.lolasblogtours.net/blog-tour-shadows-of-nightshade-by-lyla-oweds

 

Shadows of Nightshade (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #1)

By Lyla Oweds

Genre: Paranormal Romance/ Paranormal Horror

Age category: Young Adult/ New Adult

Release Date: 8 March 2023

 

Blurb:

I dream of a time where I was warm, safe, and loved.

 

But my waking reality is starkly different.

 

Anxiety plagues me and spirits haunt the shadows. No matter how fast I run, I can’t seem to escape my past.

 

The only solace and steady force in my life is my best friend, Finn.

 

And now
 there’s a ghost haunting me. And I’m not certain if it wants help or if it wants to kill me. There’s only one person who can understand: Finn’s brother, Damen.

 

However, in reaching out, I’m betraying Finn and setting things into motion that cannot be undone.

 

But nobody ever said that doing the right thing was easy.

 

 

 

The Garden of Eternal Flowers is a re-envisioning of my Grimm Cases series. Eternal Flowers has taken my original vision of Bianca’s story and transformed it into something new and beautiful. Some chapters are similar, and some dialogue is the same, as The Grimm Cases, Origins, but overall, about 75% of the book has been entirely revisioned with new plot points, mystery, and interpersonal relationships. Also, unlike Origins (originally a Wattpad release), there is now a clear beginning, climax, and conclusion in each individual novel, which allows them to be read alone or as part of the ongoing series.

 

I hope that you will enjoy Shadows of Nightshade as much as I enjoyed writing it. Truly, it is an honor to write about Bianca and her boys, and all of these characters are near and dear to my heart.

 

Trigger Warning: This series deals with the aftermath of severe childhood trauma.

 

Links:

– Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79332348-shadows-of-nightshade

– Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/shadows-of-nightshade-the-garden-of-eternal-flowers-book-1-by-lyla-oweds

– Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BS9XJP81

About the Author:

Lyla Oweds is a paranormal / urban fantasy author who resides in the beautiful Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania with her husband, children, and animals. While she enjoys all genres of fiction, she has a deep appreciation for fantasy, romance, mystery, crime, and horror. Lyla has a bachelor’s in anthropology and will be completing her master’s in information technology in 2023.

 

Writing is her moonlighting passion, and she loves having the opportunity to share her perspective as a disabled (profoundly hard of hearing) woman. During the daylight hours, Lyla works as a principal / lead design and development specialist focusing on user experience and accessibility. When not working, Lyla is usually indulging in one of her many hobbies such as amusing her children, gardening, crocheting, interior decorating, baking, cooking, or playing video games.

 

Author links:

– Website: http://lylaoweds.com

– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lylaoweds/

– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyla.oweds/

– Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lyla-Oweds/e/B07FWW34N4 – Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18244784.Lyla_Oweds

Excerpt:

I wasn’t sure why he thought he deserved any special rights to my time, but it was obvious that he believed he could do whatever he wanted. How did he become so arrogant?
I opened my mouth to respond—which would probably have ended with me embarrassing myself—but nothing escaped. I stared at him, my heart racing, as I stood speechless. Then laughter—close enough for me to pick up—drifted over from the next row.
The sound shattered the enchantment cast over me—how could I have forgotten our position—and my face burst with heat. How would this scene appear to anyone passing by?
Damen’s eyes glinted mischievously. He must have had the same realization.
“Let me go,” I hissed. But my whispered venom only encouraged him, and he smiled. My traitorous heart began to beat faster. “Someone might see us!”
“Really?” His grin grew wider. This was the expression he’d had when we first met. “Then it’s fine if we don’t get caught? Consider it noted.”
“No!” I was internally screaming, even though my words were a weak protest. “You can’t play around with students anyway.” Not that it mattered there’d be no games between us—ever. “You’re basically a professor.”
“Ah.” He ran his finger down my cheek and I shivered. “But you’re not my student. I can’t help it.” His lips dipped slightly, and he tilted his head as his gaze continued to hold mine. “You’ve taken root in my mind.”
How idiotic. I would bet my shoes that he said that to everyone.
“Why are you so annoying?” I gritted out. Plus, what even was that line? It sounded like something from a cheesy romance novel. I’d be shocked if that ever worked for him in the past.
Finn’s stupid, horny brother. He could go flirt with someone else. I didn’t even remember why I wanted his help anymore, because no matter how much I wanted to lean into his touch or melt under his scorching gaze, I wanted to poke him in the eyes that much more.
What a quandary.

#BookReview Garvey’s Choice By Nikki Grimes

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Synopsis:

Garvey’s father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading—anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey’s life changes. The chorus finds a new soloist in Garvey, and through chorus, Garvey finds a way to accept himself, and a way to finally reach his distant father—by speaking the language of music instead of the language of sports.

Review:

This story was about a boy named Garvey who is really into things like science, reading, math, and singing. His dad really wants him to be more tough and play football. Garvey doesn’t know how to communicate with his dad the way, so he turns to food as comfort. Garvey is gaining more weight and his classmates and his sister have all noticed. So he tries to do a crash diet which doesn’t work.

In the end with help from his friends Joe and Manny he learned to accept himself for who he is. Take control of his weight and learn to talk to his dad better. I really enjoyed this, especially because it was written in my favorite writing style – verse.

Rating: 4⭐

#BookReview HeartStopper By Alice Oseman

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Synopsis:

Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more…?

Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn’t been too great, but at least he’s not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He’s heard a little about Charlie – the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months – but he’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.

They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner…

My thoughts:

I heard so many good things about this series that I was excited to pick up the first book. As I was reading I could quickly tell something was off. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, the conversations were rushed and thrown together. Honestly the only thing I did enjoy was the illustrations. I only read 25% of the way through and I had to stop. I felt like I was reading this just to read it. Like the story wouldn’t stick with me long after I read it, which is unfortunate. I know there is a Netflix adaptation of this series maybe I’ll watch that instead but I couldn’t force myself to finish this. That doesn’t mean it was horrible no, it just wasn’t for me and I didn’t get much joy reading as much as I did read.

Rating: 1⭐ (dnf 25%)

#BookReview Ghosts Don’t Eat Potatoe Chips By Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton Jones

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Synopsis:

Eddie’s Great-aunt Mathilda is sick and he has to help take care of her. But when Eddie and his friends visit Mathilda’s house, strange things start to happen. Howie sees someone staring at him from the attic window and, when his back is turned, his garlic potato chips are used to spell the word ATTIC on the ground. During later visits the kids hear noises from the attic, but Great-aunt Mathilda swears there’s nothing up there. Could the ghost of Eddie’s Great-uncle Jasper, who died years ago, be haunting his aunt’s home? The Bailey School kids will find out!

My thoughts:

I remember reading The Bailey School Kids series when I was in grade school and I enjoyed all of them. I would normally buy them at my school book fair, I wanted to collect them all. I enjoyed reading this it was fast paced then I remembered. But it brought me back to when I little reading these chapter books. These are really fun and cute reads.

Rating: 3⭐