Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant To Read In 2018 But Didn’t Get To

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!
There was a lot of books on top of my TBR last year that I didn't get around reading. Here's ten of them that I hope to read in 2019!

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Shane and Trey by Anyta Sunday

Shane and Trey (Enemies to Lovers, #1)
by Anyta Sunday
Self-published
Free for a limited time only: January 20th – 24th
Length (Print & Ebook): 66000 words / 230 pages (print)
Subgenre: Light hearted, sweet, new adult gay romance
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, sister's boyfriend, college, roommates, forced proximity, inconvenient attraction, first time, slow burn romance

Light hearted, sweet, new adult gay romance and coming out story of two college boys turning from enemies to lovers. 

~ ~ ~ 

Shane is a little bit screwed, he's just started college and stuck rooming with that bastard Trey. His sister's boyfriend. His sister's damn fine boyfriend. Uh-oh. This so wasn't going to happen. But try as he might, there's just a little too much to ignore between the two of them... 

~ ~ ~ 

Each of the four fun & sexy gay romance novels in the "Enemies to Lovers" series can be read as a stand-alone and in any order.

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Read what Anyta Sunday has to say about SHANE AND TREY

Enemies to Lovers - who doesn't love this trope?!?

I really enjoy romances that pair guys that can't stand the sight of each other... but then, slowly, realize there's more to the other...

My "Enemies to Lovers" series is full of these stories, and right now you can grab the first book, "Shane and Trey", for FREE!

This classic Anyta Sunday new adult gay romance has over 70 Amazon reviews and over 2000 ratings on Goodreads.

Excerpt

I took the letter and worked my pinkie under the flap. Who would my roomie be? I’d given a pretty detailed profile of myself in the application. The guy was surely going to have some of the same interests as me, right? I mean, they had a computer system for this stuff.
In a sudden burst of excitement and confidence I winked at June. “Jeez I hope he’s hot.”
She glanced around my room and gave a small laugh. “Well whoever he is, he’s lucky. You’d be a good roomie. So tidy.” She gazed at her letter again. “They should come with a profile picture. Or at least a last name to Google them. Shoot. I hope Sara will be nice.”
“Don’t worry, she will be. And you can always come hang with me if you don’t like her.”
“Or she doesn’t like me.”
I snorted, scanning over the letter. “Not gonna—”happen, June, I was going to finish. Until I read my soon-to-be-roomie’s name.
Trey.
I frowned, my insides sinking toward my toes. Surely there were like, loads of Trey’s, right? I mean what fucked up coincidence would it be to end up rooming with my sis’s boyfriend? Oh, please don’t let the world be that cruel.
“Well, who is it?”
I swallowed and managed a fake grin. “Funny. His name’s Trey.”

About Anyta Sunday

A bit about me: I'm a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. I love to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love.
Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.
I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy.
My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, and Thai.

Connect with Anyta Sunday

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Review: And The Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness

An The Ocean Was Our Sky
by Patrick Ness
Published by Walker Books
YA, fantasy, retelling

With harpoons strapped to their backs, the proud whales of Bathsheba's pod live for the hunt, fighting in the ongoing war against the world of men. When they attack a ship bobbing on the surface of the Abyss, they expect to find easy prey. Instead, they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself...

As their relentless Captain leads the chase, they embark on a final, vengeful hunt, one that will forever change the worlds of both whales and men.

Patrick Ness is known for being creative, for experimenting in a way others don't.  And The Ocean Was Our Sky has to be most experimental of his works; it's a Moby Dick retelling from the point of view of the whales. It's as odd as it sounds, but somehow Ness made the story of a pod of whales hunting down the legendary devil of Toby Wick deep and profound. It's a brutal and raw look on humanity, but also to the treatment of others, of strangers, no matter of species.

Best part of this short story are the illustrations. Rovina Cai is certainly talented, and the illustrations bring the story alive. Truthfully, I spend more time staring at the illustrations than reading. It's a gorgeous book and I'm definitely giving one star more only for the brilliant illustrations.

4 of 5 stars

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Stacking the Shelves (87)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
Purchased

For Review

 

Book Tour + Giveaway: Pisces Floors Taurus by Anyta Sunday

Pisces Floors Taurus (Signs of Love, #4.5)
by Anyta Sunday
Self-published
Release Date (ebook only): January 15th
Length: 4500 words
Short contemporary gay romance novella

Vacation time – time to try something new…

Spend some more time with Zane and Beckett in this short & steamy follow up to “Pisces Hooks Taurus’” as they deepen their bond.

All proceeds of the first month of sales will go to charity. This story was previously posted in three installments in the “KU in the Korner” Facebook group.

Get your copy

Excerpt

Zane crushed Beckett into a smoldering kiss.

Beckett pulled back, chuckling. “Not tonight.”

“But what a brilliant way to keep warm.”

“How romantic,” Beckett said, dryly.

Zane saluted him. “Totally right. My first time should be. I’ll continue offering romantic suggestions, Becky, and when the feels overwhelm you, you’re going to peg—”

“Not what you think it means.”

“Piston—”

“Good Lord.”

“Plunge? Whoa, where are you going?”

“To plunge off a bridge. Apparently once wasn’t enough.”

About Anyta Sunday:

A bit about me: I'm a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. I love to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love.

Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.

I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy.

My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, and Thai.

Connect with Anyta Sunday

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Giveaway

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Review: Pisces Floors Taurus by Anyta Sunday

Pisces Floors Taurus (Signs of Love, #4.5)
by Anyta Sunday
Self-published
LGBT, contemporary, romance, novella

Vacation time – time to try something new…

Spend some more time with Zane and Beckett in this short & steamy follow up to “Pisces Hooks Taurus’” as they deepen their bond.

All proceeds of the first month of sales will go to charity. This story was previously posted in three installments in the “KU in the Korner” Facebook group.

Pisces Floors Taurus promises a cute short epilogue style story and that's exactly what it is. I adored Zane and Beckett's story and this wraps it even more, from their trip to the New Zealand and return to the States. Absolutely adorable, and I only wish there was more of them. Zane's antics are hilarious and Beckett's patience and wit are without competition.

5 of 5 stars

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Book Blitz + Giveaway: Rough Terrain by Annabeth Albert

"Rough Terrain sucked me in from the first page. The story was engaging and the characters incredibly unique. It was a joy to watch Renzo and Canaan fall in love." -Riley Hart, bestselling author of LGBTQ+ Romance

Rough Terrain (Out of Uniform, #7)
by Annabeth Albert
Published by Carina Press (Harlequin)
Release Date (Print & Ebook): Monday January 14, 2019 & Tuesday January 29, 2019
Length: 384 Pages
Contemporary Romance, Male/Male Romance, Military Romance

The camping trip from hell may be the first stop on the road to happily-ever-after in Rough Terrain, the final book in Annabeth Albert’s critically acclaimed, fan-favorite Out of Uniform series.

Navy SEAL Renzo Bianchi has a soft spot for Canaan Finley, and not only because the man makes a mean smoothie. He’s the first guy to get Renzo’s motor revving in a long time. But when he agrees to Canaan’s insane charade—one all-access fake boyfriend, coming right up—he never expects more than a fling.

Creating a hot Italian SEAL boyfriend to save face seemed like a good idea…until his friends called Canaan’s bluff. Now he’s setting off into the woods with the very man who inspired his deception, and Canaan is not the outdoorsy type. The sparks are already flying when a flash flood separates them from their group, leaving Renzo and Canaan very much trapped…very much alone in the wilderness.

Working together to come up with a plan for survival is sexier than either of them expects. But back in the real world, being a couple is bringing its own set of hazards…

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Teaser

“I really don’t see what the big deal is if I show up alone,” Canaan said when Damian finally paused for air. On this Renzo agreed. Any friend who demanded Canaan bring a date wasn’t a real friend, but apparently this Damian saw things differently and Canaan had to listen through what sounded like a hell of a lecture.
“I just want to hang with you guys.” The want in Canaan’s voice did something to Renzo’s insides. He didn’t have the full story about why Canaan wasn’t in the band anymore, but anyone listening could tell how much the group meant to him. And the entitled asshole on the other end of the call was making that hard, and Renzo wanted to teach him a thing or two about friendship. Almost without permission from his brain, he stopped messing with the tire and got his own phone out.
This was stupid, the sort of stupid he’d vowed to avoid, and he was almost surely going to regret this, but he couldn’t stop himself from typing, I’ll do it. But we’re taking my truck. Okay?
Rather than send the text, he stepped closer and passed the phone to Canaan. His eyes went wide and the best smile spread across his face, sending warmth through Renzo’s insides and almost making up for his certainty that this was a bad idea.
“Actually, my phone just beeped with a message. Looks like I’ll be able to bring my guy after all. He’s still gotta find out about leave, I’m sure.” He looked at Renzo for confirmation, and Renzo nodded. The senior chief would probably be happy to hear from him, unless Renzo told him the full story, which he had no intention of doing. Fewer people who knew the extent to which he was about to make an idiot of himself the better.
“But yeah, we should be there.” Canaan’s voice was way happier now. He wrapped up the call with a promise to email someone named Kelly. Pocketing the phone, he returned to the car.
“Really? Man, I am going to owe you so huge.” Canaan gave him another smile that made Renzo’s nerves crackle like sparks on det cord. He could easily get addicted to those looks.

About Annabeth Albert

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer. Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite LGBTQ romance series include the #OutOfUniform, #Gaymers, #PortlandHeat, #RainbowCove and #PerfectHarmony series.

To find out what she’s working on next and other fun extras, check out her website: annabethalbert.com or connect with Annabeth on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify! Also, be sure to sign up for her newsletter for free ficlets, bonus reads, and contests. The fan group, Annabeth’s Angels, on Facebook is also a great place for bonus content and exclusive contests.

Connect with Annabeth Albert

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Review: You by Caroline Kepnes

You
by Caroline Kepnes
Published by Simon & Schuster
Contemporary, thriller

When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card. 

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she'll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight - the perfect place for a "chance" meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck's life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck's perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way - even if it means murder.

You is disturbing. That's the best way to describe the story. What makes it more disturbing than other stories in the same category, is the way it's executed: it's written in second person, so the narrator Joe speaks directly to Beck. Joe's looking for true love, and he's obsessed with Beck. The genius of the story is that it feels so disturbing at first, when Joe starts stalking Beck, but the more we find out about Beck it becomes clear that she's not a good person either. What Joe does is still wrong, but Beck's manipulative and well, gold digger. In fact, most characters in You are despicable so it's difficult to feel for them, which only adds to the disturbing feel of the story.

I enjoyed to story, despite disliking most, if not all, of the characters. It's quite a feat for a story to achieve that, because I usually need to be able like the characters to enjoy the story. Overall, a very good book for its genre, and if you're up to some disturbing thriller, then You is for you.

4 of 5 stars

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Review: Heroes by Stephen Fry

Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures
by Stephen Fry
Published by Michael Joseph
Non-fiction, mythology

There are Heroes - and then there are Greek Heroes. 

Few mere mortals have ever embarked on such bold and heart-stirring adventures, overcome myriad monstrous perils, or outwitted scheming vengeful gods, quite as stylishly and triumphantly as Greek heroes.

In this companion to his bestselling Mythos, Stephen Fry brilliantly retells these dramatic, funny, tragic and timeless tales. Join Jason abroad the Argo as he quests for the Golden Fleece. See Atalanta - who was raised by bears - outrun any man before being tricked with golden apples. Witness wily Oedipus solve the riddle of the Sphinx and discover how Bellerophon captures the winged horse Pegasus to help him slay the monster Chimera.

Filled with white-knuckle chases and battles, impossible puzzles and riddles, acts of base cowardice and real bravery, not to mention murders and selfless sacrifices, Heroes is the story of what we mortals are truly capable of - at our worst and our very best.

Stephen Fry is truly talented, and perfect person to retell the great Greek myths and legends. Heroes is as stunning as Mythos was, and I loved it. It's brilliant, funny and insightful. Fry certainly has done extensive research and he offers some detail for alternative versions for certain myths and tells why he chose to go with the version presented in the book.

Only time I was bit bored was during Jason's voyage to retrieve the Golden Fleece, but it wasn't necessarily the book's fault; I just don't find that particular legend very interesting. Everything else was fascinating, I especially enjoyed Fry's take on to Heracles and Theseus.

I recommend Heroes wholeheartedly; alongside of Mythos, it is one of the best retells of the Greek myths and legends.

5 of 5 stars

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Bookish Goals For 2019

I don't really do resolutions when the year changes, but I like doing these bookish goals posts and trying to achieve them (at least partly).

First of all, I want to read at least 70 books.

Last year my goal was 60 books and I surpassed it by reading 85, which is amount I haven't read it years, if ever. So this year I set the goal for 70, a little low maybe, but I'm in the middle of writing dissertation and it'll take a lot of my time.

I also want to read more classics.

Yes, I have failed with this pretty much every year that I have set it as my goal, and last year wasn't exemption. However, I still want to read more Ancient classics, so I'll leave it as my goal and hope that this year will be different.

I want to read more fantasy.
And mostly adult high fantasy. I love fantasy, have always loved it, but I haven't read much of it. Last year I read few, but this year I want to start some bigger fantasy series, including The Gentleman Bastards, The Greatcoats, and Robin Hobb's books.

Lastly, I want to re-read old favourites.

I'm bad at re-reading, however last year I re-read some of my all time favourites: The Song of Achilles, Vicious and Captive Prince. This year I want to finish the latter trilogy re-read, and then read again whatever I'm in a mood for.

That's all of my bookish goals for 2019. Do you have any bookish goals for the next year?

Wrapping the Month: December

What's greater way to start new month than taking a look at previous one?

December was a busy month; as soon as I was done with the semester at uni, I started working extra shifts at work all the way through the New Years. It was pretty exhausting to be honest. I'll have a short holiday in January, but December was all work. I managed to read quite a bit, thanks to lunch hours and commute to work, but other than that, my life revolved around assignments and work. The blog was neglected, but I decided to be kind to myself and not the expect having energy to write reviews and posts after a full day at work. Anyway, I got plenty of books, wrote some reviews and read bunch!

Most of these were a Christmas present for myself.

December's reviews:
Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald (5 stars)
Fox 8 (5 stars)
The Ruins of Gorlan (3 stars)
Where the World Ends (3 stars)
The Hunting Party (3 stars)

Seven books aren't bad for a busy month, especially since two were non-fiction.

 

  

I don't know how much I'll be able to blog in January; I'll have time off from work and new semester won't start until the end of the month, but I'll be travelling to see my family. It depends, but I'll try to keep up with reviews, and I have some blitzes and tags planned!

Hugs,

Henna