Blind Date with a Book - Modernist take on an Elizabethean classic

 If you, like me, were drawn, bound and mesmerized by the pages of Pride and Prejudice, slightly breathless at the sign of Colin Firth, re-read the letter scene a million times, and crushed on the retorts sizzling between Luzzy and Darcy, then you had better grab this with both hands and start immediately!!

Oh, and jrep the original Pride and Prejudice handy, you will be hankering for a read later, trust me!

The tale follows the exploits of Molly Bramble, who runs a floating bookshop on the Oxford Canal, with her Irish wolfhound, trying her hand at matching books to readers with her 'Blind Date with a Book' endeavor. Enter the hoity toity Jack Sidall, who turns his nose up at the enterprise and turns out to be her new neighbor!! 

Rife with misunderstanding, mystery and the banter we so love, this romcom will delight any purists heart!

The ideation that readers find their books and the concept of subconscious influencing is soo true and creates the necessary book lovers draw for indulging in this charming retelling! 

And of course, the peerless Emily Kerr, who doesn't miss a beat in throwbacks to the original snd infusing a modern twist to the traditional mores that define Jane's masterpiece... 

Huge shoutout to the sponsors of this arc - HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter and, if course Netgalley, for making this Austen fan's retelling dreams come true!!

The Book Witch - all for the love of books

 All stories are love stories if you love stories..... 

This book is soo stinking cute!!!! Pencils down everyone!!!!

Are you a book lover? Do you eat, sleep and breathe stories? Are your memories catalogued by the tales that consumed you then? Do you believe in books over movie adaptations? Do you find yourself talking to random strangers and recommending reads? 

If you said yes to anyone or all of the above, you HAVE to pick up this book!!

Meg Shaffer pays homage to the best loved books in this fabulous tale where the book witch work against book burners to preserve the tales, their magic allowing them to be "read" into tales and disrupt or correct the plot lines. All is fair, until Rainy March ( pun absolutely intended), finds her home robbed of her precious belonging and her grandfather missing, she has no succor but to ask her ex-flame, all fictional Nick Duke for assistance with the case.

The tale was a hilarious exploit with throwbacks to some famous, fantastical reads and delves into the depths of book lovers and the influence a good book exerts in allowing a moment of passion and subjective evaluation of desperate situations and the hope it kindles in its well worn pages... 

Thank you to Ballentine and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this arc - it was a delicious and sparkling read!!!

#thebookwitch #allfortheloveofbooks #netgalley #ballentine

Burn the Kingdom Down - Magical marital mayhem

 What if you were a gardener who could coax the plants out of the soil, the rare plant that the neighboring kingdom grabs as levies for its treaty? What if your darling elder sister is dead under mysterious circumstances and you are offered as tribute to her former betrothed? What would you do for revenge?

Indira has lived under the shadow of her politician sister Rowenna and is sent to marry Alaric after Rowenna stumbles from a cliff. Slowly she begins to unearth the schemes, machinations and the cost of the earth magic that King Soren uses to mine. Indira's slowly shifting perspective and the bond she builds with Alaric were highlights of the book for me. The ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking though, I would have liked to see Indira's vision come to life, maybe as an epilogue...

The blossoming of the new princess bride, her reluctant acceptance of friendships and her wary bond forged with Alaric were strong hooks to the storyline and left me giddy! 

My thank yous to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the arc, and my jaunty bow to Addie for penning this tale!

Witch of the Wolves - witchy wolfy and wholly delectable!

 Bridgerton x Twilight x Practical Magic

This was the most apropos tag I could come up with for this spellbinder of a story. It justifies being turned into a series for sure!! Fast paced with pragmatic yet stubborn leads - you can't help but root for.

The wonderfully sarcastic and analytical Cordelia and the rough but diamond at heart Bishop are the perfect foil for a tryst on the wild side. Throw in women subjugation, rights and found family, you've got yourself a full fledged furious adventure set with hairpin twists and sharp turns that keep you guessing..

I loved this madcap caper with its sizzling entrees, various accompaniments and a finale that leaves you craving for more!

Toothy thank yous to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for fulfilling my wish!

The Rise of the Celestials - poetic justice forlove, devotion and Shakti drawn from Indian mythology

If you are a fan of high fantasy and enjoy new cultural perspectives and relearning a new version of mythology, then this sequel is for you!

With the Rise of the Celestials, Kritika takes us back to her jewel hued, golden toned Amaravati or city of the immortals and the twists in the struggle for power between the Lord of the skies Indra and his Queen Shachi. The book opens in surprising fashion with an intimate moment between the bold Meneka and her lover, the warrior sage Kaushika. In the last book, Meneka, an apsara redefined her prana or power by weaving together the Mortal or Tapasvin magic and the Celestial or Immortal magic to weave a stronger power source of Infinite prana, the essence of the Universe. 

The melding of the realms, the duality of nature and the primordial source of power are beautifully drawn out as we journey with Meneka to try and find out who wishes to harm Amaravati. This journey sees the introduction of Matali, Indra's mahout or elephant driver in the myths but a Gandharava or a musical weaver, the opposite of the Apasaras, the celestial  dancers. I loved how the streams of consciousness and the concept of Shakti was discussed between Vashishta and Meneka - this section was one of my highlights from this sequel!

The enmeshing and trinity of the power lore and the interaction between realms and the simplicity with which she approached the concept of a universal femininity and the ending was simply astounding, as someone who grew up in the culture and heard the stories, the baselining of devotion, love and definition of self were mesmerizing in logic and evoked a wonderful sense of meditative contemplation...

All in all, absolutely loved the storyline and spinning of Meneka and Vishwamitra's love ballad with cosmic interplay!

My sublime gratitude to Avon and harper Voyager and Netgalley for blessing me with the ARC, and my humble namastes to Kritika for a well sung ode to the cosmic confluence of Shakti...

A Bird among Wolves - Beautiful worldbuilding and stunning series opener!!!

 Imagine, if you will, that you are dropped into a world as a sheltered fledgling, unaware of the political machinations, inter species revulsions and even gawk at common celebrations, but with deadly assassin level skills! What a brilliant premise and refreshing start to a series!!! Welcome to the world of Wren - the little bird whom everyone wishes to ensnare. The book starts with an epic opening which is built up with various characters whose actions are explained in later chapters for context.

Wren, finds her father killed in their remote hut, and sets off as she promised him. In escaping, she gets arrested and the prison is attacked by a Nagendron (dragonish creature) - and from here she stumbles across disavowed princelings, Elven healers, Wolf pack twins, makes a family with the warriors, reconnects with an old friend and a lot of adventures as she tries to piece together the truth and falsehoods dealt by her father's shuttered upbringing.

I LOVED this tale - no slow burn romance, just fast paced adventure and a truly world building novel where each character's motivations are not clearly stated. The book definitely builds the suspense and is reminiscent of wheel of time in its treatment of certain characters (Marshall Aderlain especially...) The unfolding of social stigmas, emotions and past hurts is gut wrenchingly amazing! A breath of fresh air from all the romance infused heroines matching towards destiny by choice. The lack of knowledge makes Wren seem like Fitz from the assassin trilogy by Robin Hobb, as she tries to trust and finds herself in sticky situations by virtue of omission.

I cannot wait for the sequel - to unpack the mysteries of the guardian and what Marshall Aderlain and the deposed heir Marius have planned... and of course, the trouble a Wren can get into when she discovers her claws... Absolute magic!!!

My lupine gratitude to Three Amigas Press and Netgalley for the ARC and curtsies to Tracy Leonard Nakatani for penning this brash, upturned and massively immersive experience of a story!!! I devoured this read in two days and am howling for more!!

Say yes to the nemesis - Reality TV rom com crush!

 Dreamscape media have done a phenomenal job with bringing to life this full feature film (or 4 part series) plot based on reality TV bachelor settings to life in the best way possible.

The following tropes are covered in this romcom - geeky younger sister x troubled hockey star , overshadowing big brother, esteem issues, broken homes, and a not to be taken seriously plot with a gorgeous slow burn...

Raven Wildewood is spectacularly good at giving voice to the shy Wren and bringing her dormant sassiness to life and David Lane captures the conflict and insecurities plaguing Ryan to a T! Fabulous reading by both narrators which really helped move the story along.

This is a book I would recommend for a break from a Netflix binge session! Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for the ALC!