What I read: Week of 10/30

Do you set a Reading goal for the year? I know a lot of us use Goodreads to set, monitor, and track our reading and it can be really helpful.

And then there are times like now where GR is glaring at me, telling me that, for the first time ALL YEAR!, I am officially behind schedule to meet my goal.

Great. Good. Wonderful.

No. Not really. It's not any of those things. It's frustrating to see another reminder that your mental health is struggling.

On top of that, I am just busy! I am actively writing another book. Planning another SERIES. Promoting an anthology that I was accepted to be a part of. Doing the mom-and-wife thing where I maintain the house and all the activities. And oh, hey! It's officially HOLIDAY Season!

So yeah. 5 books isn't my norm, but I will take it. At least this week's batch was a good one!

This is probably my tenth time reading this book. I love it. There's so much history, so many details... Moran does an incredible job of making you believe that this is a factual, historical account of what Cleopatra Selene went through after her mother's death. Moran has done a lot of research and it shows. But this doesn't read like a boring history book. It reads like a realistic fantasy. A world you can only imagine and yet one you know existed.

This book is part of my annual "Ancient Egypt/Rome" series that I've created using different books by different authors. I read it following Egypt's Sister by Angela Hunt and next up is Stephanie Dray's Lily of the Nile.

Version: Audible, Audiobook

I love Lyra Blake books. They are way out of my comfort zone and yet the first book I ever read of her (The Frayed Edge, book 1 in the Edge Series) is one of my all-time comfort reads. Just before Halloween, Blake dropped this super spicy, super taboo, super-SUPER novella on us. I immediately snagged it from Kindle Unlimited and read it.

Read the trigger/content warnings. Lyra puts them there for a reason, y'all! But if you want a quick read that is --as she puts it-- "here for a good time, not a plot line!", then head to the Zon and borrow this one.

Version: Kindle Unlimited, eBook

Let me be real here. Sara Cate is a hit-or-miss author for me. Some of her books are incredible and I truly love them. Some are like slogging through wet cement. Anti-Hero was definitely the former.

I borrowed this on KU and went in with an open mind. And Cate blew me away. There was a lot of growth in the characters but they were still themselves. A lot happens and not a lot of it feels super believable, but the thing of it is, this time-- this time I was fine with it. I was able to suspend belief long enough to read the story.

There are definite triggers in this one, so again, read those. I think I marked this as a 4 ⭐ on Goodreads, but I could be persuaded to bump it to a 4.5.

Version: Audible, Audiobook

I had this in my Audible library for I don't even know how long. (Truly, I don't know. I guess I could go back through my purchase history, but that's just too much work for now).

It's a story that spans a decade and focuses on two women, one is a teenager for a majority of the book. Did I hate it? No. No, I wouldn't say that.

Did I skip entire chapters and feel like I hadn't missed anything? Yeah... that happened. Parts of it drug along and I just couldn't get into it. Even listening at 1.7x speed, it felt like a long read.

Also, the author wraps everything up in a way that didn't feel as authentic to me. I'm not mad I read it, but I probably won't read it again.

Version: Audible, audiobook

YA Robin Hood retelling.

Sorta. Kinda. Someone said it was Swan Lake-esque but I didn't get that vibe when I listened to it.

So this book was fun. It was marketed exactly right and I am actually excited to recommend it to anyone who likes retellings. If my daughter was into Fantasy-fiction, I'd be telling her to give this one a shot. Alas, that kid is more historical-fiction with a war preference. She's her father's daughter!

Anyways. This book. Sorry. Focus!

So this book is set in Germany and looks at Odette, a huntress who strives to feed the poor children in her town, and Jorgen, the margrave's forester intent to find the person poaching. Eek, right? Yep. Add in a pompous suitor and some fun sidekick besties, and it has the makings for a great read.

If you're asking why I didn't give it 5 ⭐... I couldn't tell you. There was just a piece missing, something that could have elevated it but wasn't there. It's elusive.

Version: Audible, Audiobook

No ARCs last week, but I was granted TWO for this upcoming week! I'm really excited about both. One is a rom-com from Lyra Blake. Y'all, Lyra only gives us those ONCE A YEAR! They are always incredibly well done and I'm excited to get my hands on one.

The other is another Victoria Denault book! This one is more full length and part of a series. It's racecars. It sounds so freaking awesome and I love that Denault takes a sport I don't follow, don't know anything about, and makes me CARE. And I care hard.