[REVIEW] The Name of Red

title: The Name of Red
author: Beena Khan
genre: adult, contemporary, romance
published: May 15th 2020 by Amazon Publishing
my copy: eGalley, 314 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Smashwords
rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

Two strangers on the same path. 

Survivors. Companions.

They will be each other’s salvation.

On a rainy, winter night, a mysterious woman in a red dress seeking shelter comes inside the restaurant Kabir was busy working in —primarily the bar— and night after night, drink after drink, she comes back to the same spot. That is where he sees her for the first time.

Hundreds of patrons around her try to speak with her daily, but she dismisses them. It appears she wants to remain in a blissful peace alone with her booze and books. After seeing the mysterious woman reading a book, and because of his shy nature, Kabir gains entrance into her life by anonymously leaving books with notes for her.

The Name of Red is the story of two strangers, two different personalities who meet on a winter, rainy night who challenge each other. They have a connection which blossoms into a friendship due to their fondness of books. But they both have secrets that can bind them together or threaten their newfound relationship forever.

grief, addiction, and finding the strength to move on

I tried this because I read that it's a romance between two readers (and don't you just want that? ALWAYS!!!). Also, a shy male lead? Yes, please! This really just seem like my type of romance at a glance (minus the booze I guess since I never really drink. but that doesn't really matter. lol).

[TOUR] Rowan Wood Legends

full tour schedule can be found at: YA Bound Book Tours

title: Rowan Wood Legends (the Lost Clan #2)
author: Olivia Wildenstein
genre: young adult, fantasy
publish: August 14, 2017
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

SOME LEGENDS ARE BETTER LEFT UNTOLD. 

I wasn’t the sort of girl who believed in fairytales, let alone tales about faeries. But that changed the day Faeries came to my small town and Hunters rose from their graves.  

On that fateful day, I received a book, a peculiar collection of myths and legends. Turns out it was so much more than stories. And just as I was on the verge of unlocking its secrets, it was stolen from me by someone I called a friend.

Now, I don’t know whom I can turn to, whom I can trust. All I know is that there are two sides, and I am straddling the great divide because I am both Faerie and Hunter. And although I swore I would never choose, I am slowly falling for one of those sides… 

Fans of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series will adore Wildenstein's Lost Clan series.  

i'm ready for the next book!

I hope you still remember my fangirling review of Rose Petal Graves. You don't? You didn't read it? Let me give you a brief rundown: (1) fictional Native tribe + faeries, (2) OMG that straightforward heroine that I sympathize to, (3) that romance (OMG that romance! not my usual thing but i still fangirl!), (4) the bantering between Catori and Ace is priceless also makes me love Olivia Wildenstein even more!, (5) also, did I mention Kajika?

[TOUR] All Signs Point to Murder

title: All Signs Point to Murder (Zodiac Mystery #2)
author: Connie di Marco
genre: adult fiction, cozy mystery
publish: August 8, 2017 by Midnight Ink
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

Julia Bonatti is alarmed by the astrological signs looming over Geneva Leary’s wedding day, but nobody asked Julia’s opinion and being a bridesmaid means supporting the bride no matter what. Even with the foreboding Moon-Mars-Pluto lineup in the heavens, no one’s prepared for the catastrophes that strike: a no-show sister, a passed-out wedding planner, and a lethal shooting in the dead of night. 

With anger and grief threatening to tear the Leary family part, Julia is determined to understand how such a terrible tragedy could occur. As she digs deeper into the family’s secrets, her astrological insights will lead her to the truth about a criminal enterprise that stretches far beyond the California coast. 

would keep you guessing, wondering, questioning

If you've been following me since my the Blacksheep Project days, you'll know that I LOVE cozy mysteries just for the heck of it. Okay, generally because they are always such a fun read and at the same time thrilling. All Signs Point to Murder deals with astrology and I've never read anything like this! I've read cozy mysteries that involves a baker and cafe owner, lingerie store owner, and even historical mysteries which were totally enjoyable reads. An astrologer is obviously an amazing addition to this short list.

[TOUR] Belle of Two Arbors

title: Belle of Two Arbors
author: Paul Diamond; Maria Buhr Grimes (poetry)
genre: adult fiction, historical fiction
publish: April 4, 2017 by Cedar Forge Press
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

Born at the turn of the twentieth century in Glen Arbor, near the dunes of Northern Michigan, young Belle is the first child of a gruff stove-works boss and a crippled mother who weaned Belle on the verse of Emily Dickinson. When a natural disaster results in her mother's death and nearly takes the life of her younger brother Pip, Belle creates a fierce, almost ecstatic farewell song. Thus begins her journey to compose a perfect Goodbye to Mama.  

At 21, Belle ventures south to Ann Arbor for university, with teenaged Pip in tow. There, she befriends Robert Frost, Ted Roethke and Wystan Auden and finds that her poetry stands alongside theirs, and even with that of her hero, Dickinson. Her lyrics capture the sounds, sights, and rhythms of the changing seasons in the northern forests, amidst the rolling dunes by the shores of the Great Lake.  

Despite the peace she finds, Belle also struggles in both homes. Up north, she battles her father who thinks a woman can't run the family business; and clashes against developers who would scar the natural landscape. In Ann Arbor, she challenges the status quo of academic pedants and chauvinists.  

Belle's narrative brings these two places to life in their historic context: a growing Midwestern town driven by a public university, striving for greatness; and a rural peninsula seeking prosperity while preserving its natural heritage. Through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Post-War Boom, Belle's story is hard to put down. Her voice and songs will be even harder to forget. 

a beautifully written and informative historical fiction

I joined the blog tour of Belle of Two Arbors simply because: (1) I'm IN LOVE with all things historical fiction (you, guys, probably know his by now); (2) it covers a whole lot of events and this means more information for me (yay for that); (3) the combination of novel and poetry highly intrigued me because I was never a poetry reader but ya know, sometimes you just have to go for it (and the curiosity is killing me).

[REVIEW] Violet Grenade

tour schedule can be found at: Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours & Promotions

title: Violet Grenade
author: Victoria Scott
genre: young adult, contemporary, thriller
publish: May 16, 2017 by Entangled Teen
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

DOMINO: A girl with blue hair and a demon in her mind. 

CAIN: A stone giant on the brink of exploding. 

MADAM KARINA: A woman who demands obedience. 

WILSON: The one who will destroy them all. 

When Madam Karina discovers Domino in an alleyway, she offers her a position inside her home for entertainers in secluded West Texas. Left with few alternatives and an agenda of her own, Domino accepts. It isn’t long before she is fighting her way up the ranks to gain the madam’s approval. But after suffering weeks of bullying and unearthing the madam’s secrets, Domino decides to leave. It’ll be harder than she thinks, though, because the madam doesn’t like to lose inventory. But then, Madam Karina doesn’t know about the person living inside Domino’s mind. Madam Karina doesn’t know about Wilson.

a dark novel about broken people and facing their demons.

I've read great things about this book. I read that it's dark. I like dark. Don't you? Also, that blurb? It's very intriguing -- Wilson's very existence especially. So you know, despite what it looks like or how the title sounds like, let me tell you this: Violet Grenade is a young adult, contemporary psychological thriller.

[TOUR] Duels & Deception

tour schedule can be found at: Xpresso Book Tours

title: Duels & Deception
author: Cindy Anstey
genre: young adult, historical fiction, romance
publish: April 11, 2017
purchase: Amazon | B&N
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

Miss Lydia Whitfield, heiress to the family fortune, has her future entirely planned out. She will run the family estate until she marries the man of her late father’s choosing, and then she will spend the rest of her days as a devoted wife. Confident in those arrangements, Lydia has tasked her young law clerk, Mr. Robert Newton, to begin drawing up the marriage contracts. Everything is going according to plan. 

Until Lydia—and Robert along with her—is kidnapped. Someone is after her fortune and won’t hesitate to destroy her reputation to get it. With Robert’s help, Lydia strives to keep her family’s good name intact and expose whoever is behind the devious plot. But as their investigation delves deeper and their affections for each other grow, Lydia starts to wonder whether her carefully planned future is in fact what she truly wants… 

cute romance in regency era

I joined the blog tour of Duels & Deception simply because: (1) I LOVE historical fiction and the Regency era is something don't think I've about (aside from the The Dark Days Club which will probably DNF at some point); (2) I've never read historical romance and Cindy Anstey sounds like a great place to start because I've read great things about Love, Lies and Spies, (3) OMG, lOOK AT THAT COVER!! It's too pretty!! 😍😍😍

[TOUR] Rose Petal Graves

Rose Petal Graves Tour + Giveaway
tour schedule can be found at: YA Bound Book Tours

title: Rose Petal Graves (the Lost Clan #1)
author: Olivia Wildenstein
genre: young adult, fantasy
publish: March 29, 2017
purchase: Amazon | B&N
rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

ANCIENT SECRETS CANNOT REMAIN BURIED FOREVER.  

Founded two centuries ago by a powerful tribe of Gottwa Indians, Rowan was a quiet town, so quiet that I fled after graduation. Staying away was the plan, but Mom died suddenly.  

Dad said she suffered a stroke after she dug up one of the ancient graves in our backyard, which happens to be the town cemetery. Creepy, I know. Creepier still, there was no corpse inside the old coffin, only fresh rose petals.  

As we made preparations for Mom’s burial, new people began arriving in Rowan, unnervingly handsome and odd people. I begged them to leave, but they stayed, because their enemies—my ancestors—were beginning to awaken. 

fictional Native tribe + faeries.

I requested for this book because I read the author's Masterful duology and loved it! However, Rose Petal Graves is completely different. Rose Petal Graves: (1) involves the tribe of Gottwa, Indians -- Natives, something completely new to me (important note: the Gottwas are fictional, as the author noted, and are 'loosely inspired by the Ojibwe people.'); (2) has faeries and faehunters (okay?); (3) has a medical student heroine and wants to be a doctor but her ancestors are #gasp faehunters; (4) is an amusing yet not a very thrilling read.

[SPOTLIGHT] Station Fosaan

Station Fosaan Tour + Giveaway!!
tour schedule can be found at: Month9Books

title: Station Fosaan (Torch World #1)
author: Dee Garretson
genre: young adult, science fiction
publish: February 14, 2017 by Month9Books
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | IndieBound | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play Books
goodreads

Scientists and their families stationed on the remote planet of Fosaan were promised a tropical vacation-like experience. But Fosaan, devastated from an apocalyptic event nearly three-hundred years ago, is full of lethal predators and dangerous terrain.  

Earthers are forbidden to go beyond the safety zone of their settlement and must not engage the remaining reclusive Fosaanians, native to the planet. Sixteen-year-old Quinn Neen is about to do both of those things.  

During an unsanctioned exploration of the planet, Quinn discovers a beautiful Fosaanian girl named Mira stealing food from his family’s living unit. But before he can convince her to show him around, scientists are taken captive, leaving Quinn and the other young Earthers at the mercy of space raiders.  

Quinn must go from renegade to leader and convince Mira to become an ally in a fight against an enemy whose very existence threatens their lives and the future of Earthers stuck on Fosaan and at home.  

STATION FOSAAN is THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND meets STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN.