I just finished Milena and Margarete: A Love Story in Ravensbrück by Gwen Strauss and here are my thoughts. Can you imagine finding love in Ravensbruck? A concentration camp for women? During the worst world war we have ever seen? That’s what happened to Milena and Margarete. Milena was arrested by the Nazis for her part in the resistance activities in Prague and Margarete was traded to the Germans from the Russian because of her political views. They fell in love when they were held together. Loving each other could have meant the end of their lives but that didn’t stop them and this book gives you a fascinating glimpse of 2 incredible women during a time of serious unrest and danger. I really got sucked into this book. It was truly wonderful to read about two awe inspiring women and their ability to endure horrific circumstances while loving each other so passionately was moving in the most beautiful way. It was well researched. I love books that weave a real story in a really entertaining way. The writing was amazing and I am so glad I was introduced to these women! 4 stars Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy Grab your copy here https://amzn.to/46dO5pp #booktok #booktube #bookalorian #bookish #booklover #bookishpodcast #bookstagram #reading #litdulterous #milenaandmargarete #nonfiction #bookreview #bookrec

I just finished Total Dreamboat by Katelyn Doyle and here are my musings Hope has hit rock bottom. When her best friend invites her on an all expenses paid cruise… There she meets Felix… a grumpy chef. Things start to bloom on the boat but when Felix sees the posts Hope’s friend added to social media… He is furious. What they don’t expect is to be stranded off the boat with no passports and stuck together… I do not like the miscommunication trope, it’s my least favorite ever…. I like that this one made sense as to why things blew up but still…. It annoys me but even with that.. I did enjoy this audio. The saving grace… The characters! I loved the development alone and together. It was really well done and the best part for me is when they are stranded and how they have to work together to get home. I thought the narration was well done and I actually thought the plot was clever… Plus the title… COME ON! That was enough to make me grab this one. 4 stars Thank you @netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy You can find all my reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A Grab your copy here. https://amzn.to/3I2yroV #totaldreamboat #katelyndoyle #romanceread #romancereader #audiobook #audiobookreader #bookinfluencer #bookreviewer #booklover #bookalorian #litdulterous #lionessofliteracy #bookpodcast #bookishpodcast #bookishbusiness

I just finished Deadly Vision by T.D Severin and here are my musings. What do you do when you invent a medical breakthrough so advanced that people are willing to kill to prevent it ever coming to light? Dr Taylor Abrahms is a gifted researcher and he has created a virtual reality AI microsurgery that will change the face of surgery. When medicine becomes political, the technology is being used to scapegoat as the health system is on the verge of bankruptcy. Dr Abrahms is now under attack and the research team he works with are being killed off one by one. Can we just take a moment to appreciate how excellent the writing is in this book? ………. Wow! I was not expecting this level of scientific excellence.. I don’t know if this tech is even a real thing but this author… Made me think it might just be! It felt so real it was actually a little intimidating! The plot is really intricate and you would think with all the things going on that there would be a plot hole or two.. If there was, I didn’t find it. I am still reeling from how nerve wracking the twists were. Imagine creating something so fantastical and now you are in bloody danger… No thanks haha. It was gripping… The pace was excellent and the whole thing was tight and tidy. It was absolutely mindblowing. It was a solid thriller and I am not one who enjoys medical thrillers… Or political thrillers for that matter but if they are all written like this one… I may be eating my words. 4.5 stars and it only lost half a star for making me feel like a dumbass haha Thank you to @tdseverin for my gifted copy.. What you got coming up next? Grab your copy here https://amzn.to/46gOozI #tdseverin #deadlyvision #medicalthriller #thriller #thrillerreader #bookreview #bookreviewsofinstagram #bookreviewblog #literacyinfluencer #bookinfluencer #bookalicious #bookalorian #litdulterous

I just finished Voidwalker by S.A Maclean and here are my thoughts. Fionamara is a smuggler… She uses her powers to smuggle contraband between planes and it keeps her town afloat but when she gets caught up in a political Coup d’état, she joins forces with Antal who rules over the territory to get her city back. A revolution has begun. I am going to say one thing first.. The world building was absolutely top notch! We have the usual enemies to lovers with the MMC being an immortal who eats humans… Yeah you read that right and a FMC with powers of her own and a vicious need to protect her home. I actually thought the romance was really well done considering I am not a lover of the trope. One thing you will find in spades… Really witty and classy banter. It was epic. My biggest beef was how long it was. I felt some sections could have been trimmed down to make the book more streamline. The author repeated phrases a lot but all in all I thought the plot was really clever, even if it didn’t feel as exciting as it really could have been and I enjoyed the heck out of it. I know you might be thinking.. It’s a monster romance…Yeah I get it but it really does work here. It was pretty dark but honestly I think it is worth a go. 4 stars Thank you @orbitbooks_us @hachetteus for my gifted copy Grab your copy here!! https://amzn.to/46ft5ie #voidwalker #samaclean #romantasy #fantasy #romantasyreader #bookreview #hatchettbooks #orbitbooks #bookinfluencer #readersofig #bookalorian 1w

I just finished An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder by Lynn Cahoon and here are my thoughts. Meg needs a reboot.. Dropping out of college to work for a now failed start up… That’s bad. Worst? When your fiance basically leaves you at the altar and takes your bridesmaid on your honeymoon… Even worse… Moving back home with your tail between your legs. Working at her mothers bookstore and art time doing research for a mystery writer is the highlight… That is until the writer's agent winds up dead and her uncle is looking at people she cares about as the perps.. An idea comes to her, writing a guidebook - a how to for criminal investigations. What can go wrong? OK it sounds cheesy…. NEWSFLASH! It was awesome!! The narration was excellent and really set a great mysterious tone to the whole book. It was cute! It was really well paced and there were even a little friends to lurvers to make your reader heart sing. I thought the characters were really well defined. Exceptionally so for a book 1 in a series. They all felt realistic and had real substance. I was really drawn to Meg. She didn’t let anything get in her way of what she was doing even when she wasn’t sure of herself, It was magical. I thought the whodunnit was really clever. I had no idea who it was and I was guessing wrong every few chapters haha. Brilliant plot, great entertainment, thoroughly impressed!! 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @tantoraudio for my gifted ALC! Grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/4lMkCss<< #anamateursleuthsguidetomurder #lynncahoon #alc #audiobook #audiobookreview #bookalorian

I just finished House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama and here are my musings. Josephine is feeling chaffed under the care of her brother after the death of her father so when her childhood friend, Hiraya invites her to her home, she jump on the chance to escape her brother's watchful eye… The idea of going to visit and playing games like they used to when they were young is too tempting. If she wins, she will get whatever her little heart desires… There have been rumors. That Hiraya is a witch but Josephine does not care.. She must play to win but the house only allows victory with blood… It was so eerie and incredibly intense!! The writing was phenomenal with its slow burn start and the olympic sprint in the last half of the book, I was hooked from the start. Imagine being invited by a friend to a house that thrives on murdering people.. I would be hella angry haha but Josephine really took it in her stride, maybe a touch too loyal. I actually felt a little bad for Hiraya. I don’t think I was supposed to sympathize but I really did. I didn’t know much about Filipino folklore but I am hella intrigued now. There were so many threads weaved together to create this underlying thrum of unease… I loved the dynamic between the characters and the power struggles that emanate off the pages, it created a really unique story and I am a massive fan of gothic horror so this is high praise. You need to push through the slow burn if you aren’t a fan of it because the book really picks up and that’s where all the magic is. I will warn you.. The insects… BLEH!!!!!! I was thoroughly entertained! 4.5 stars!! I think had the pace of the first half been a bit faster, it would have been the best read of the year. Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted arc! Grab your copy TODAY! >>https://amzn.to/45RULcD<< #bookalorian #bookreview #booksbooksbooks #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

I just finished The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos - A Porter Beck Mystery and here are my musings. Sheriff Porter Beck is on the case! With the help of his new girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse. They investigate the death of a pilot that was found dead that then led to the savage murder of the person coordinator for the bureau of land management.. Trouble is there are too many suspects and too many secrets and one wrong step could mean his last. Do you know how hard it is to review a book in a series you already adore? VERY HARD! You may wonder why… You feel like you are just repeating the same gushy things you always say. OK I will do my best! I love Beck. He is such a brilliant character. He is flawed and has this hard exterior but he is really a marshmallow. I love the direction his character is going in. I hated that the book brought up covid. I feel like this 100% unnecessary and why add something that could trigger someone when it had zero need to be there. There you go I did have something no gushy to say. I really enjoyed the plot and the pace was well done. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next installment. 4 stars Thank you @minotaur_books for my gifted copy

I just finished Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina and here are my thoughts. Azul is a necromancer and she only wants one thing.. Her sister.. back from death so she needs her sister's bones. But the Lord of death isn’t going to give up that easily. Their paths keep crossing and the deadly game has fate hanging in the balance…. The magic in this book is in the world building. It was absolutely earth shatteringly good. The magic was absolutely enchanting and I loved how descriptive the book was. I got an ARC and an ALC so I switched between the two and honestly, the audiobook was so good I did most of the book this way thanks to the great narration. I don’t think the constant shifting of timelines worked for me. It was a tad messy and hard to follow and there were too many POV to get a tight story. I think less POV and not so much time shifting would have made the story flow better. Another reason why the audio was better was because it was much easier to follow along this way. The characters are a tad underdeveloped at this point and it was hard to care about anyone because we didn’t dig deep enough for my liking. I'm hoping because this is book 1 of a duology that the characters will grow in the next book. All in all the magic is in the world building. The writing was actually quite beautiful and I am going to grab the next installment when it is out. 3.75 stars. I needed more character building. More balance!! You can grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/3Hv3oC0<< Thank you @stmartinspress @wednesdaybooks @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for my gifted arc and alc

I just finished Too Old for this by Samantha Downing and here are my thoughts. Lottie Jones has a small life but it suits her. That is until Plum shows up on her doorstep.. Wanting to do a docuseries on the murders Lottie was accused of decades earlier… She doesn’t want this dreaded up but invites Plum in… Plum did see the face hit coming and now Lottie has come out of retirement to protect the life she has so carefully curated. OMG!! I go in blind all the time but I wasn’t expecting this book to open with a bang and just keep banging!! The magic is in Lottie herself. She is so much fun… I mean for a serial killer but her internal monologue was quick and clever and she was ruthless AF!!!! She managed to pull off those murders, have her reputation tarnish and she got away with it all and a payday! The pacing was superb! I need fast paced thrillers and this one kept a brilliantly clever pace that kept me glued to my kindle. The chapters were short (I prefer this) and packed a massive punch!! I couldn’t put it down. It was the most perfect cat and mouse game and Lottie really was 10 steps ahead at all times. She uses her age to seem dotty and old but she is sharp as a whip! I actually found it funny as well as disturbing and that is by no means an easy feat! I totally loved Lottie and I don’t know what kind of person that made me when I was rooting for a serial killer to get a HEA but here we are.. HAHA I was on the edge of my seat the whole time so this was the easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given a book! All the bloody stars!! GENIUS WRITING!! I needed more from this author. Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy Grab your copy here >>https://amzn.to/4n6Trtr<< #toooldforthis #samanthadowning #thriller #5starbook #bookinfluencer #bookishblog #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagrammer #bookworm #bookish #booknerd #bookaddict #reading #readersofinstagram #bookcommunity #booksbooksbooks #bookblogger #bibliophile #booksofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookphotography #bookshelf #booktok #reader #booklove #bookaholic #bookrecommendation #bookclub #review