Happy Friday!! I have been meaning to do this post for a while, but got sucked into a maelstrom of chaos at work the last couple weeks so my brain was not keen on working any over time. Now that work has settled a little, here are some updates and some mini-reviews of books that I have read/listened to over the last few weeks.
First, a funny to start your weekend off right:
What’s been going on?
A few years ago I got sucked into the world of Bookstagram. I posted pretty heavily until I got pregnant with my youngest in 2017. As I’ve mentioned before, it was a rough pregnancy. I had hyperemesis gravidarium (what Duchess Kate had, except I didn’t look at poised and fabulous as she did: I looked like a half-drowned cat that accidentally set itself on fire and rolled in dog poo to put it out – okay, maybe I didn’t look that bad, but I felt even worse than that). Needless to say, as with blogging, my Bookstagram took a back seat. Hospitalizations, bed rest, sleeping on bathroom floors, depression, Bipolar relapses, uhhh anything else? haha probably. Enough about that though. The point being, now that I am steady on my medication and have finally recovered physically from my pregnancy I have started to contribute to my Bookstagram again over the last couple months! Follow me below if you’re interested! I’ll follow you back (and won’t be one of those dicks that unfollows you after a day).
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Reviews
I’ve read and/or listened to 4 books so far this month (October):
Their Fractured Light, Starbound #3, by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (YA fantasy)
4/5 stars: This is the last book in the Starbound trilogy. My favorite was book #2, but this and the first book are very good as well. It’s a great conclusion and left me feeling satisfied with no unanswered questions or loose ends. I won’t say much else because spoilers.
*Their Fractured Light is a book that is on my audible wish list, and one that I’ve added to my Conquering my TBR list.
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen (adult fantasy romance)
5/5 stars: The Bridge Kingdom was originally released as an audiobook exclusively to Audible, but it was recently released as a hard copy book as well. I listened to the audiobook though.
The Bridge Kingdom is an enemies to lovers adult fantasy romance. The main characters (Lara- the assassin, and Aren – the King) are fully developed, complex, intriguing, and have smoking hot chemistry.
3/5 stars (audio): Unfortunately, the male narrator left a lot to be desired. His voice for Aren was okay, but his other voices were awful. He gave other male characters the most condescending tone and the women’s voices were very nasally. I adored Lauren Fortgang though (who also narrates all of Leigh Bardugo’s books). That being said, I’m still going to listen to the next book because Lauren’s voice and the story itself overshadows his flaws.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (adult fantasy)
First of all, Leigh Bardugo replied to my Tweet, and I fangirled so hard.
5/5 Star: Ninth House was everything and more than what I was expecting. It was dark, gritty, and scary in a non-traditional horror way-but in a way that reminds us that sometimes the scariest monsters are living among us, cloaked as friends, family, and acquaintances. Highly recommend, but HEED THE TRIGGER WARNINGS if you need to because it is dark.
Audio (5/5 stars): Lauren Fortgang – She’s a stunner when it comes to narrating and Ninth House was no exception. Her cadence is perfect for the mood of the book and each character has their own distinct voice.
Trigger Warnings (this list found on GoodReads from Roe): rape of a child, rape under influence of a magical drug, drowning, heavy violence, gore, drug addiction, overdosing, death, suicide, blackmail, self harm, and forced eating of human waste.
On Dublin Street, by Samantha Young (adult contemporary romance)
3/5 stars: Samantha Young writes great contemporary romances set in Scotland (usually with American female MCs). Unfortunately, I didn’t love this one as much as her Play On series. Mainly this was because of the male MC (Braden). He was so alpha caveman “you no wear dress because you mine, you no wear hair down because you mine, you no talk to other men because you mine” BLEGH. I know this is just a personal preference though, so if super-alpha is your kink, you’ll love it!
Audio (5/5 stars): This is the first book I have listened to from Paula Costello and I thought she did a great job. Her voices for the men were so good I actually checked to see if there was a male narrator at one point!
Dang, that was longer than I was hoping. I have some posts next week planned so keep your eye out! Have a great weekend!
Chanda Reads 
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