Bout of Books 26 Read-A-Thon TBR

Bout of Books is one of my favourite readathons to participate; this is my fifth time and I'm happy to be able to participate this time around, too. Rarely I have time to dedicate whole week and this time is no different: I have work on four days, including whole weekend. However, I'll listen audiobook(s) when I commute and I should have plenty of time to read during the evenings - and of course, three full days to dedicate for the readathon!


If you haven't heard about this readathon, here's what it's about:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 26 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

As usual, the TBR is mostly a guideline. I have given myself plenty of options but I might read outside of it if the mood strikes me - and I might read one or two of these before next week if I get around them.

 

As for audiobooks, I recently started listening Harry Potter series. I'll most likely listen The Prisoner of Azkaban or The Goblet of Fire - depending on what I get around this week.

Review: Why the Devil Stalks Death by L.J. Hayward

Why the Devil Stalks Death (Death and the Devil, #2)
by L. J. Hayward
Self-published
LGBT, action, mystery, romance

Jack Reardon uncovers secrets for a living, and the Meta-State spy is pretty good at it. Or rather he thought so until he met Ethan Blade—assassin, warrior, enigma. The unlikely pair have decided to give living together a shot, but Jack’s not entirely certain what he’s gotten himself into—or exactly who he’s in it with.

Jack’s worries are compounded when he’s assigned to a police strike force hunting a serial killer. With each new puzzle piece, Jack considers the true nature of a serial killer—and how similar it is to an assassin. To one particular assassin who’s having trouble adjusting to retirement. Jack’s unsure how to help Ethan—or if he even can.

When the killer strikes close to home, Jack must race against the clock to stop another murder, despite the price someone has put on his head. Could the matters be connected? Is a certain assassin at the centre of both? Surrounded by killers, the only one Jack wants near disappears, leaving Jack drowning in secrets. He’ll have to do what he does best—unravel the secrets, including Ethan’s—to stop the killer and save the life he and Ethan have only just begun to build.

I'm supposed to write coherent and detailed reviews, but you know what, I LOVE this series. I adore Jack and Ethan (together and separately). All the action and the twists and turns are intense and captivating. Why the Devil Stalks Death has everything the other book and novellas have and naturally I devoured it.

Death and the Devil is one of my favourite series and I highly recommend everyone to pick it up. (For more detailed review of the series, check out my review of the first book in the series.)

5 of 5 stars

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Cover Reveal: A Crown of Iron & Silver by Hailey Turner

A Crown of Iron & Silver (Soulbound, #3)
by Hailey Turner
Self-Published
Release Date: September 10, 2019
Length: 107,043 words
LGBTQ Urban Fantasy

Link

Never promise a life that isn’t yours to give.

New York City is decked out for the holidays, and Special Agent Patrick Collins is looking forward to a reunion with his old team when he gets assigned a new case. A human child is missing, and the changeling left in her place causes a prominent witch family to demand justice from the fae.

Meanwhile, continued harassment from the New York City god pack forces Jonothon de Vere to formally establish his own with Patrick. Doing so will mean a civil war within the werecreature community—a war they risk losing from the start without alliances. Making bargains with the fae is never wise, but Patrick and Jono have nothing to lose when a fae lord comes asking for their help.

The Summer Lady has been kidnapped from the Seelie Court, and if they can find her, Patrick and Jono will cement an alliance with the fae. But the clues to her disappearance are found in Tír na nÓg, and the Otherworld has never been kind to mortals.

Venturing past the veil, Patrick and Jono risk losing territory, time, and their very lives while searching for answers. Because the Queen of Air and Darkness knows they are coming—and the ruler of the Unseelie Court has an offer for them they can’t possibly refuse.

A Crown of Iron & Silver is a 107k word m/m urban fantasy with a gay romantic subplot and a HFN ending. It is a direct sequel to All Souls Near & Nigh. Reading the first book in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one.

Exclusive excerpt for book reveal

“Come on. Let’s go to bed.”
     Patrick led him back into their bedroom, ignoring Jono’s huff of laughter when Patrick pushed him onto the bed. He shrugged out of his own jacket and stripped out of his sweater, tossing it aside. His dog tags were warm from body heat, even if he couldn’t feel where they rested on his scarred chest.
     Jono watched Patrick undress the rest of the way, methodically getting rid of his weapons and clothes. He crawled onto the bed, pushing at Jono’s shoulders until he was lying down, with Patrick straddling his hips. Long fingers curled around his dog tags, tugging at the chain to pull him into a kiss that went from lazy to deep in the span of seconds.
     Warm hands gripped Patrick’s hips, thumbs pressing against bone. Patrick bit down gently on Jono’s bottom lip before pulling away, dragging his mouth over the stubble along Jono’s jaw, to his throat.
     “They drew first blood, and I don’t like that it was yours,” Patrick murmured against the skin stretched taut over Jono’s pulse.
     He could feel it when Jono swallowed, and he tried his hardest to suck a bruise against Jono’s throat.
     “Better mine than yours.”
     “Fuck that.”

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Top Ten Tuesday: Cover Redesigns I Loved/Hated

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!
Loved
Renegades by Marissa Meyer I disliked a lot the original UK cover so I was super happy to see that they did a redesign when Archenemies came out.

 

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi I liked the first cover, but I loved the new one more.

 

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell I love the new cover! The detail and illustration is fab.

 

The Near Witch by V. E. Schwab I love the simplicity and colours on the new cover.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I think the new one fits the story better.

 

On the fence
Vicious by V.E. Schwab I can't decide which cover I like more. I loved the original UK cover, but the new one is not bad either.

 

Hated
White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig It's frustrating when a book goes through a cover change between hardback and paperback editions - particularly when the hardback is gorgeous.

Release by Patrick Ness Unnecessary colour change from hardback to paperback edition. 

 

Obscura Burning by Suzanne van Rooyen First one looks more pleasing in my eye, but it also fits the story better.

 

Boy Nobody / The Hit / I Am the Weapon by Allen Zadoff This is one very confusing changes. The US edition is called I Am the Weapon while the UK edition was called Boy Nobody, until they did a redesign when the second book came out - and they changed not only the cover, but the name! I preferred the first name and cover, although I don't understand why the name have to be different from the US one in the first place.

Release Day Blitz + Giveaway: King Slayer by Layla Reyne

King Slayer (Fog City, #2)
by Layla Reyne
Self-Published
Release Date: August 5, 2019
Length: Approx. 51,000 words
Subgenre: M/M Romantic Suspense
Warnings: Explicit sex including mild kink; explicit language; violence.

Never fall for a mark. Mission fail.

Christopher Perri—a.k.a. Dante Perry—infiltrated the Madigan organization with one goal: vengeance for his murdered partner. Falling for the assassin at the head of the table wasn’t part of the plan, but Hawes Madigan is not the cold, untouchable Prince of Killers Chris expected. Everything about the newly crowned king is hot, and every inch of him eminently touchable… and off-limits once Chris’s cover is blown.

Exposure couldn’t come at a worse time. Hawes’s throne is threatened, and Chris suspects the same person who killed his partner is behind the coup. Working with Hawes benefits them both, but Chris’s employer has other ideas. Dismantling criminal organizations is what Chris does best, and his boss expects the King Slayer to deliver.

But Hawes is taking the Madigans in a new direction, one Chris can get behind, and the two men form a shaky alliance strengthened by the irresistible attraction between them... until Chris learns who killed his partner. Once he knows the truth, the King Slayer is unleashed, and Chris will stop at nothing to destroy those who betrayed him, including the king who stole his heart.

Twists and turns—and cliffhangers—continue in book two of the Fog City Trilogy. Read at your own risk!

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Excerpt

Never fall for a mark.
     Undercover 101. Hell, avid reader 101. As many assignments as Chris had worked, as many books as he’d read, he fucking knew better. He should’ve recognized the signs and thrown up a wall sooner.
     Would it have mattered?
     Looking down at Hawes Madigan, naked and handcuffed to the headboard—his trim, hard body coiled for a fight, his blue eyes liquid fire, his cock still half-hard, and his sharp mind no doubt working overtime—Chris figured probably not. No amount of training, no amount of reading, no amount of proper carriage, hair ties, or weaponry would change the fact that the place he most wanted to be right then was in that bed—with the enemy.
     With the Prince of Killers.
     No, the king.
     Fuck.

About Layla Reyne
RITA Finalist Layla Reyne is the author of the Agents Irish and Whiskey, Trouble Brewing, and Changing Lanes series. A Carolina Tar Heel who now calls the San Francisco Bay Area home, Layla enjoys weaving her bi-coastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline-fueled suspense and heart-pounding romance. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and its Kiss of Death and Rainbow Romance Writers chapters. Layla is a 2019 RWA® RITA® Finalist in Contemporary Romance (Mid-Length) and 2016 RWA® Golden Heart® Finalist in Romantic Suspense.

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Review: Prince of Killers by Layla Reyne

Prince of Killers (Fog City, 1)
by Layla Reyne
Self-published
LGBT, contemporary, romance, action, suspense

No indiscriminate killing. No collateral damage. No unvetted targets.

These are the rules Hawes Madigan lives by. Rules that make being Fog City’s Prince of Killers bearable. Soon, he’ll be king—of an organization of assassins—and the crown has never felt heavier. Until the mysterious Dante Perry swaggers into his life.
Dante looks like a rock god and carries himself like one too, all loose-limbed and casually confident. He also carries a concealed weapon, a private investigator’s license, and a message for the prince. Someone inside Hawes’s organization is out to kill the future king.

In the chaos that follows the timely warning, Hawes comes to depend on Dante. On his skills as an investigator, on the steadiness he offers, and on their moments alone when Hawes lets Dante take control. As alliances are tested and traitors exposed, Hawes needs Dante at his back and in his bed. But if the PI ever learns Hawes’s darkest secret, Hawes is sure to get a knife to the heart—and a bullet to the brain—instead.

There’s no shortage of twists and turns in this new romantic suspense trilogy from Layla Reyne. Prince of Killers is book one of three. Fair warning: buckle up, cliffhangers ahead!

Prince of Killers is action packed, full of twists and secrets, and it's fun and sexy. The story follows Hawes Madigan, who leads an organization of assassins and who is threatened by unknown opposition inside his own organization, and Dante Perry, who waltzes into Hawes's life with a warning of a traitor. There's dangerous situations and Dante offers his expertise, but Hawes is not sure if he can trust the private investigator who appeared out of nowhere.

It's a fast paced journey with fascinating characters. I like Hawes, because he's loyal to his siblings, good at what he does, but not afraid to lean on Dante when he needed help. Holt and Helena, Hawes's twin and sister, are likable too: Holt is a hacker extraordinaire and dedicated to his infant daughter, and Helena is a spitfire (you don't want to face her in a fight!). Dante's interesting, because he's laid back, reads a lot, and is very sure of himself. And yes, there's sizzling chemistry between Hawes and Dante.

I recommend Prince of Killers for everyone who enjoys romantic suspense with plenty of action and twists - both the ones you see coming and the ones that surprises you. It's a book that's easy to devour since it's very addicting and fast paced. I love a story like that - especially when there's a lot of action mixed with fascinating characters and budding romance that has all the chemistry it needs.

It'll be interesting to see where Reyne takes this series, particularly after the cliffhanger ending; the next one, King Slayer, will be from Dante's point of view, so it'll be fascinating to see if my opinion of characters and their actions change.

4 of 5 stars

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(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Wrapping the Month: July

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

Blogging was left on a bit side burner in July - I had more shifts at work and a short holiday that I dedicated for my family. I still managed to get some posts and reviews up, although I'm so behind on reviews that it's not even funny anymore. I hope to rectify that in August, especially since it's confirmed now that I got a place in a postgraduate course in university. It starts next month and I bet it's going to be intense and time consuming, particularly combined with part-time work. Hopefully I manage to get ahead on blogging in August!

It seems I continued with the excessive monthly hauls, but I can't help myself - there's so many good books coming out and I'm constantly finding intriguing books. Let me tell you, working in a bookshop is great, but it increases book hauls like no other. I was also blessed by the eARC gods since I got five that I've been highly anticipating.

July's reviews:
Where There’s Smoke (4 stars)
Long Shadows (3 stars)
The Bad Luck Lighthouse (4 stars)
Undue Influence (4 stars)

I read nine books in July, which is amazing! It was a good reading month overall, I either loved or liked a lot everything I read so there wasn't any disappointments.

  

 

  

I hope to read lots during August, because I'll start Masters programme next month and that, along with work, will downsize my reading and blogging time a lot on the upcoming months.

Hugs,

Henna