Source: Kindle Unlimited

The Weekly Recap (143)

Posted January 6, 2020 by Rowena in Features | 0 Comments

Hello! My name is Rowena and I used to blog on this thing a lot. It’s a new year, so hopefully, some new blogging hobbies will reappear in my life. Ha! Anyway, I’m back! I’ve written up some posts to keep this blog running and though it’s a personal blog (that is very bookish), I’m happy to have everyone here. 🙂 I missed y’all! Also…

I’m hoping that 2020 treats us all better than 2019 did and that we’ll all read our next favorite book this year. Like, that book. I hope everyone had a great end of the year celebration and that you guys are all ready to kick 2020’s ass. Make it a good year, folks!

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading
The Weekly Recap (143)The Rebel King
by Kennedy Ryan
Series: All the Kings Men #2
Published by Self-Published, Kennedy Ryan on November 18, 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 348
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2020 Goodreads Challenge

Ambition. Revenge. Love.

Raised to resist. Bred to fight. Survival is in my blood and surrender is never an option.

Though surrender is what Maxim Cade demanded of my body and heart, I had other plans. We were fast-burning fascination and combustible chemistry, but the man I trusted with everything was a trickster. A thief who stole my love. If what we had was a lie, why did it feel so real? The man I swore to hate will have it all, and wants me at his side. But power is a game, and we're the pawns and players.

Facing insurmountable odds, will we win the world, or will we lose it all?

Rita Award-winning author Kennedy Ryan delivers the gripping conclusion to the All the King's Men Duet.

I have caught up on all of my review books, well I should say that I’m current on all of my review books so now I can jump back into the world that Kennedy Ryan created for Maxim Cade and Lennix Hunter…and I can’t wait. This is what I’m reading today.

What I Read

Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue (eBook) | 4 out of 5
Grand Theft N.Y.E. (Holiday Heist #1) by Katrina Jackson (eBook) | 4 out of 5
The One for You (The Ones Who Got Away #4) by Roni Loren (eARC) | 5 out of 5
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (eBook) | 3.75 out of 5
Headliners (London Celebrities #5) by Lucy Parker (eARC) | 4 out of 5

What I Reviewed

Lady Derring Takes a Lover (The Palace of Rogues #1) by Julie Anne Long | 4.25 out of 5
Getting Played (Getting Some #2) by Emma Chase | 4.25 out of 5

What I Got

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
Grand Theft N.Y.E. (Holiday Heist #1) by Katrina Jackson
Every New Year (Love at Last #1) by Katrina Jackson

What I Got for Review

Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6) by Lisa Kleypas

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

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The Weekly Recap (137)

Posted August 5, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 6 Comments

Hey everyone! Sorry I disappeared for a couple of weeks. I don’t have an excuse, I was just being lazy and trying (unsuccessfully) to catch up on my review pile. I did read some but not much. Brenna started her first job and she hates it but is trying to stick it out. Me, on the other hand, got a promotion! Well, I was approached about the promotion and I accepted it. I haven’t transitioned into the position yet but that should be changing in the next week or so. I’m pretty stoked about it because the position isn’t something that I’m completely ignorant about, I know how to do the job and I know it’ll be more intense than what I do now but I’m ready for a change and a pay raise, lol.

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading
The Weekly Recap (137)The Kingpin of Camelot
by Cassandra Gannon
Series: A Kinda Fairytale #3
Published by Indie Published, Star Turtle Publishing on July 31, 2017
Genres: Romance, Fantasy
Point of View:Third Person
Pages: 576
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2019 GoodReads Challenge, Summer Reading Challenge

The Queen: Guinevere must save Camelot. Ever since Arthur died, the evil Scarecrow has been trying to marry her and gain the crown. If she and her daughter are going to survive his mad schemes, Gwen needs to find Merlyn’s wand. Fast. Unfortunately, the only man strong enough to help her on her quest is Kingpin Midas, a flashy, uneducated mobster dealing with a curse. Gwen is a logical, rational woman, though, and she can draft one hell of a contract. She’s pretty sure she can come up with an offer not even the kingdom’s greatest villain can refuse.

The Kingpin: Anything Midas touches turns to gold. Literally. The curse has helped him to rule Camelot’s underworld with an iron fist. He has more money and more power than anyone else in the kingdom. He’s convinced there’s nothing he can’t buy. One look at Gwen and Midas knows that he’s about to make his most brilliant purchase, yet. He’s about to own the one woman in the world he would give anything to possess. All he has to do to claim her is somehow win a war against the smartest man in Camelot, hide his growing feelings from Gwen, deal with his overprotective bodyguard’s paranoia about the queen’s hidden motivations, and adjust to a five year old demanding bedtime stories from a gangster. Simple, right?

The Contract: Gwen’s deal is simple: If Midas marries her, she’ll make him King of Camelot. It’s a fair bargain. Midas will keep her enemies away and she’ll give him the respectability that money can’t buy. She never expects Midas to agree so quickly. Or for their practical business arrangement to feel so… complicated. Midas isn’t the tawdry, feral animal that Arthur railed against. He’s a kind and gentle man, who clearly needs Gwen’s help just as much as she needs his. In fact, the longer she’s around Midas the more Gwen realizes that their “fake marriage” might be more real than she ever imagined.

I’m making my way through my summer reading challenge and this is the book that is next up on that list. I’ve only read the first chapter so I’m not sure if I like it or not but we’ll see. Wish me luck!

What I Read

Daisy’s Back in Town by Rachel Gibson (eBook) | 3.75 out of 5
Count to Ten (Romantic Suspense #6) by Karen Rose (eBook) | 4 out of 5
Like the Wind by J. Bengtsson (Audiobook) | 2.75 out of 5
How to Date Your Dragon (Mystic Bayou #1) by Molly Harper (Audiobook) | 4 out of 5
Brazen and the Beast (The Bareknuckle Bastards #2) by Sarah MacLean (eARC) | 4.5 out of 5
Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop (Audiobook) | 4 out of 5
The Wallflower Wager (Girl Meets Duke #3) by Tessa Dare (eARC) | 4.25 out of 5
Never Have I Ever by Lauren Blakely (Audiobook) | 4.25 out of 5

What I Reviewed


Superfan (Brooklyn Bruisers #6) by Sarina Bowen | 4.25 out of 5
Wolf Rain (Psy-Changelings Trinity #3) by Nalini Singh | 4.25 out of 5
Call it What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer | 3.75 out of 5
Daisy’s Back in Town by Rachel Gibson | 3.75 out of 5
Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8) by Patricia Briggs | 3.75 out of 5
Like the Wind by J. Bengtsson | 2.75 out of 5
Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson #9) by Patricia Briggs | 4 out of 5

What I Posted

The Weekly Recap (136)

What I Got

Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop
Brazen and the Beast (Bareknuckle Bastards #2) by Sarah MacLean
Kill the Queen (Crown of Shards #1) by Jennifer Estep

What I Got for Review

Blitzed (Playbook #3) by Alexa Martin
A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

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Throwback Thursday: The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen

Posted June 20, 2019 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Each week, I’ll be writing a review for an oldie but goodie that I’ve read through again to see if these books are holding up for me. I’m a different person than I was when I read these books, older and wiser (at least I hope) so I’m curious to see if books that I used to love can stand the test of time.

Throwback Thursday: The Understatement of the Year by Sarina BowenThe Understatement of the Year
by Sarina Bowen
Series: The Ivy Years #3
Also in this series: The Year We Fell Down, The Year We Hid Away
Published by Self-Published, Sarina Bowen on September 29, 2014
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult
Point of View:Alternating First Person
Pages: 310
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Add It: Goodreads
four-half-stars

What happened in high school stayed in high school. Until now.

Five years ago, Michael Graham betrayed the only person who ever really knew him. Since then, he’s made an art of hiding his sexuality from everyone. Including himself.

So it’s a shock when his past strolls right into the Harkness College locker room, sporting a bag of hockey gear and the same slow smile that had always rendered Graham defenseless. For Graham, there is only one possible reaction: total, debilitating panic. With one loose word, the team’s new left wing could destroy Graham’s life as he knows it.

John Rikker is stuck being the new guy. Again. And it’s worse than usual, because the media has latched onto the story of the only “out” player in Division One hockey. As the satellite trucks line the sidewalk outside the rink, his new teammates are not amused.

And one player in particular looks sick every time he enters the room.

Rikker didn’t exactly expect a warm welcome from Graham. But the guy won’t even meet his eyes. From the looks of it, his former… best friend / boyfriend / whatever isn’t doing so well. He drinks too much and can’t focus during practice.

Either the two loneliest guys on the team will self destruct from all the new pressures in their lives, or they can navigate the pain to find a way back to one another. To say that it won’t be easy is the Understatement of the Year.

Warning: unlike the other books in this series, this heartbreaking love story is about two guys. Contains sexual situations, dance music, snarky t-shirts and a poker-playing grandmother.

As you may recall, I read the entire Ivy Years series when Sarina Bowen put them on Kindle Unlimited and I was shook when I read this book because I didn’t remember much of anything that happened. Reading this book again was like reading it for the first time and I really dug that. This book was also the very first m/m romance that I read and come to think of it, the only m/m romances that I have read were probably written by Sarina Bowen. She writes them well.

John Rikker just transferred to Harkness to play hockey with a new team after a bunch of drama at his old school. Turns out that not a lot of teams want to play with a gay hockey player. When he gets to Harkness, he’s expecting the worse but what he’s not expecting is the blast from the past, Michael Graham. Rikker and Graham were best buddies growing up, until an incident occurs and Rikker is sent to the hospital then moved away to live with his grandmother, out of town. It’s been years and years since they’ve seen each other and by the way that Graham is freaking out, Rikker realizes the boy is still so far deep in the closet that he’s not touching those issues when he’s got so much of his own to contend with.

Michael Graham is shook when he sees Rikker walk in. He hasn’t seen Rikker in years but he looks the same though there’s no way he in any way resembles the boy that Graham knew growing up. How could he when Graham isn’t the same guy himself. Seeing Rikker again brings up everything that happened the last time that he saw him and the guilt that Graham has carried since then has all come flooding back and Graham is drowning. Even after Rikker assures him that he didn’t come to Harkness to destroy Graham’s life, Graham worries. There’s no way that they could keep out of each other’s way since they go to the same school and they play on the same hockey team so of course, they grow closer.

Man did my heart hurt for these two. They both struggle with different things and they’re both linked by so much hate thrown their way and I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand why so many people care if a man loves another man or if a woman loves another woman. I grew up in a religious household but it wouldn’t be very Christlike for me to judge anyone or hate anyone or treat anyone differently just because they’re gay. Love is love and other people’s love ain’t none of my business. I don’t understand how Rikker’s parents could love him any less just because he was gay. That’s not Christlike at all. If anything, I judged the hell out of his parents and anyone else that had issues with Rikker’s sexuality. Grrr.

I really loved seeing Rikker and Graham come together in love. Their road is a long one and an emotional one and I loved how strong both of them were in the end, both separately and together. Sarina Bowen once again knocks this story out of the park and it’s one of those lasting stories that will continue to be good every single time that you read it. I definitely recommend this one.

Final Grade

4.5 out of 5

The Ivy Years Series


four-half-stars

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The Weekly Recap (132)

Posted June 17, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 8 Comments

You guys!! Caiden is coming to California today. He’ll be here later tonight but he’s driving out this afternoon with his parents for more family fun and I cannot wait. We’re having a family week to kick off our summer and to celebrate our last family graduation of the year. We’ve got Leah’s graduation, a trip to Magic Mountain, and another sibling dinner planned and I’m super stoked about all the fun times to start even though it’s only been a week of quiet time since our last week of family fun things.

This week, my nephew RJ had his surgery that I mentioned on the blog a couple of weeks ago. He’s doing well though it’s going to be a long road to recovery for him. His recovery time is at least 12 weeks, non-weight bearing. He’s in good spirits though and we’re glad for him.

I managed to read some books but once again, it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine.

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading
The Weekly Recap (132)Highland Deception
by Meggan Connors
Published by Indie Published, Soul Mate Publishing on March 17, 2014
Genres: Romance, Historical
Pages: 300
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2019 GoodReads Challenge

When Kenneth Mackay, long-banished rogue and thief, returns to the Mackay holding at the request of his brother, he has no idea what he might find. He certainly doesn’t expect to be confronted with his twin’s imminent death, or with the plan his brother has concocted.

Ten years before, Malcolm made a tragic mistake, and, to preserve the family name—and his own skin—he allowed Kenneth to take the fall. Now that he is dying without an heir, Malcolm plans to atone for his mistake: by giving Kenneth his life back. All Kenneth has to do is assume his brother’s identity. But complicating matters is the unexpected return of Lady Isobel Mackay, the daughter of an English marquess... and the wife Malcolm didn’t want.

Isobel barely knows the husband who abandoned her even before their marriage, and she'd long since given up on having a real marriage with him. Yet when she returns to the Mackay holding far earlier than expected, she finds her husband a changed man. Despite the hurt between them, Isobel's heart responds to this man who cares for his entire clan as if they were family. Who, for the first time since their marriage, cares for her as if she is, too.

Falling in love with her husband had never been part of Isobel’s plan. But when their future is suddenly in peril, Isobel must find a way to save him—from himself and from the deception threatening to tear them apart.

I’m trying to finish this book before I leave my office today because it’s book club night and I still haven’t finished our book. This reading slump of 2019 is really kicking my ass. I need to get my shit together. Wish me luck…though I will say that this book is a lot better than the other books I’ve tried reading this past week. Like, A LOT A LOT better.

What I Read

Superfan (Brooklyn Bruisers #6) by Sarina Bowen (eARC) | 4.25 out of 5
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim (eARC) | 2 out of 5
Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfree (eARC) | 2 out of 5

Eye Candy Friday

Heidi Pepper
Overnight Sensation (Brooklyn Bruisers #5) by Sarina Bowen

What I Reviewed

Bridal Boot Camp by Meg Cabot | 3.75 out of 5
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin | 4 out of 5
The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen | 4.75 out of 5
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren | 4.25 out of 5

What I Posted

The Weekly Recap (131)
TV Tuesday: For the People
The Wednesday Post (14)
Throwback Thursday: The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen
Eye Candy Friday: Eye Candy Friday: Heidi Pepper from Overnight Sensation by Sarina Bowen

What I Got

Work in Progress by Staci Hart
Faking Ms. Right by Claire Kingsley

What I Got for Review

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

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Throwback Thursday: The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen

Posted June 13, 2019 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Each week, I’ll be writing a review for an oldie but goodie that I’ve read through again to see if these books are holding up for me. I’m a different person than I was when I read these books, older and wiser (at least I hope) so I’m curious to see if books that I used to love can stand the test of time.

Throwback Thursday: The Year We Hid Away by Sarina BowenThe Year We Hid Away
by Sarina Bowen
Series: The Ivy Years #2
Also in this series: The Year We Fell Down, The Understatement of the Year
Published by Self-Published, Sarina Bowen on May 26, 2014
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult
Point of View:Alternating First Person
Pages: 274
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Add It: Goodreads
four-half-stars

She’s hiding something big. He’s hiding someone small. Bridger Macaulley used to be a player both on and off the ice. But now, while his teammates chase the next hockey victory, Bridger worries that the dean will discover he’s housing his eight-year-old sister in his dorm room. Juggling a full course load and a big secret, it’s only a matter of time until the other skate drops.

Scarlet Crowley is the only freshman at Harkness College who had to sneak past TV news trucks parked on her front lawn just to leave town. Her name is as new as the shiny student ID it’s printed on. The only way to survive college will be to conceal her identity, even if it means lying to the green-eyed boy she's falling for.

Bridget and Scarlet form a tentative relationship based on the understanding that some things must always be held back. But when grim developments threaten them both, going it alone just won't work anymore. And if they can't learn to trust one another now, the families who let them down will take everything they've struggled to keep.

When Sarina Bowen put her Ivy Years series on Kindle Unlimited, I read all of the books while I was at work and each book lived up to the love I had for it when I first read them. This book was no exception.

In this book, we get Bridger and Scarlet’s story. I fell in love with Bridger, Scarlet, and Lucy all over again. Bridger is one of Adam Hartley’s hockey teammates who is struggling with personal and family stuff. His mother leaves a lot to be desired in the parental department and if it was just him, he wouldn’t care but it isn’t just Bridger. His little sister Lucy is left, feeling the brunt of their mother’s life choices. Bridger is trying to handle everything on his own but it starts getting overwhelming and the only thing that brightens his weeks are his interactions with Scarlet.

Scarlet has her own issues that she’s trying to move on from. Her family life leaves a lot to be desired as well and the minute she could, she distanced herself from them because her parent’s life choices bleeding into her life isn’t something she wants any part of. It’s hard to pay for the sins of your parents and Scarlet made the choice to walk away from her past and build a better future for herself. She’s a loner by nature and necessity but the highlight of her weeks have been interactions with Bridger Macauley.

Sarina Bowen writes emotional New Adult romances really well. She’s really good at pulling your heartstrings one minute and then making you laugh like a loon the next. There were times in this book where I didn’t think I’d stop crying because my heart hurt for both Bridger and Scarlet and the hand life dealt them. Seriously, my coworkers were starting to get really worried about me but I couldn’t help it, Bridger just needed some help dammit.

Bowen tackles different situations that give this story a really intense feel but she does a great job of not bogging the entire story down with all of the seriousness of the issues facing both Bridger and Scarlet. This is probably my favorite book in the series and I just love it to pieces. It’s not perfect but it’s a damn good addition to this series and I highly recommend it.

Final Grade

4.75 out of 5

The Ivy Years Series


four-half-stars

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