Blog Tour: Butterfly in Frost, written by Sylvia Day | ARC Review

Butterfly in Frost by Sylvia Day

Publication date: August 27th, 2019 
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Pages: 199
Genre: Womens fiction, Adult, Romance, Novella
Buy:Book Depository | Wordery

Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon Sylvia Day comes a hotly anticipated and passionate new love story.
Once, I would never have imagined myself here. But I’m settled now. In a place I love, in a home I renovated, spending time with new friends I adore, and working a job that fulfills me. I am reconciling the past and laying the groundwork for the future.
Then Garrett Frost moves in next door.
He’s obstinate and too bold, a raging force of nature that disrupts the careful order of my life. I recognize the ghosts that haunt him, the torment driving him. Garrett would be risky in any form, but wounded, he’s far more dangerous. I fear I’m too fragile for the storm raging inside him, too delicate to withstand the pain that buffets him. But he’s too determined…and too tempting.
And sometimes hope soars above even the iciest desolation.

– My Thoughts –

“I’m tired of hurting,” he says softly. “You remind me that my body can feel things other than pain.”

I remember reading Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series and it was sexy as hell. That is why I was interested in this novella.

Butterfly in Frost is related to the Crossfire novels and Eva, the heroine of Crossfire series, does make an appearance in this novella. The story is about Dr. Teagan Ransom, a cosmetic surgeon who’s recently divorced. She’s heartbroken as a result and isn’t ready to move on just yet. When a new guy moves in their neighborhood, Tegan’s carefully laid foundations are shaken to the core.

There was a great story in here but I felt it was not covered in great detail. I loved the plot twist and it would have fared better if this was a full length book.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are a Sylvia Day fan and are looking for a light and easy romance novel.

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

– About the Author –

Sylvia Day is the #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, #1 Sunday Times, #1 Globe and Mail, #1 Der Spiegel, and #1 international bestselling author of over twenty award-winning novels sold in more than forty countries. She is a #1 bestselling author in twenty-eight countries, with tens of millions of copies of her books in print.

For more about Sylvia, visit her website and her Goodreads page, or follow her on Twitter.

Thank you for reading! Have you read the Crossfire books or will you be reading this novella? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

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Unboxing LitJoy Crate’s July Defenders of Dragons box

Hi everyone! How are you? If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that I’m now a rep for both LitJoy Crate and Owlcrate. Being a representative for both of these bookish companies mean so much to me. Being a rep means I, along with other reps(check out litjoy crate’s insta) are provided with a discount code which you can use on any items in the shop – Subscriptions, Add-ons, Books- except for Specialty crates. My code is RAMBLER10 which is valid till October 20th and I’d love for you guys to use or share it! Thank you in advance 😀

As is the norm with my book reviews, my book box review will be honest and I don’t need to say spoiler-free because I already receive them later than everyone..Moving on..Here’s my unboxing of the July Book only box where the theme was Defenders of Dragons!!

The Book only monthly subscription costs $18.99(+ shipping) and the full crate costs $29.99(+ shipping). You can get a 10% discount with my code RAMBLER10 and you can swap between subscription types, cancel or skip anytime. There are monthly, 3-month, 6-month and 1-year subscriptions available for you to choose from!

About Book of the month:

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Goodreads

Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.

If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been having about a beast deep underground…

With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?

I guess the Book only subsciption is a bargain but not for International customers(shipping costs dooming us since forever). On Book Depository, the hardcover is priced at $20.69 with free delivery while Litjoy Crate offers a signed book + exclusive reversible dust jacket, artwork by @whimsicalillustrations + author letter + 2x Shadowhunter trading cards featuring Isabelle and Simon for $18.99+ shipping.

I haven’t seen the book on Instagram but have heard of it on Book Twitter and it has dragons and lgbtq rep so I’m 99% sure that I’m going to like it. The art on both the dust jacket and character cards are gorgeous and Isabelle is one of my favourite Shadowhunters so I’m in LOVE!! Overall, I love the box and ignoring the international price tag, I can see myself buying it or gifting it to someone!! Again, if you do buy something from litjoy crate or know someone who wants to buy, then don’t forget to use RAMBLER10 for a discount.

Thank you for reading! Have you ever bought anything from any book boxes? If you’ve bought from LitJoy Crate before or want to, then let me know in the comments below!

Blog Tour: All The Bad Apples, written by Moïra Fowley-Doyle | ARC Review & Giveaway

All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

Publication date: August 1st, 2019 
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 352
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery
Buy:Book Depository | Wordery| Amazon(US) Amazon UK | Waterstones | iTunes(Global)

Synopsis:

The day after the funeral all our mourning clothes hung out on the line like sleeping bats. ‘This will be really embarrassing,’ I kept saying to my family, ‘when she shows up at the door in a week or two.’

When Deena’s wild and mysterious sister Mandy disappears – presumed dead – her family are heartbroken. But Mandy has always been troubled. It’s just another bad thing to happen to Deena’s family. Only Deena refuses to believe it’s true.

And then the letters start arriving. Letters from Mandy, claiming that their family’s blighted history is not just bad luck or bad decisions – but a curse, handed down through the generations. Mandy has gone in search of the curse’s roots, and now Deena must find her. What they find will heal their family’s rotten past – or rip it apart forever.

– My Thoughts –

“There were silhouettes of girls holding hands on a couple of the covers, and on one – a shiny, hardback American edition – two girls kissing. I shook my head at the audacity of my sister, at my own embarrassment, at the sheer perfection of both her timing and her gift. From Tipping the Velvet to Cameron Post, an entire library of girls like me.”

All the Bad Apples was a creepy, difficult but enjoyable and an important read. This is my first Moïra Fowley-Doyle novel but I’d highly recommend it.

The writing is so beautifully poetic, the atmosphere magical and it’s about all women: queer, and everyone who can get pregnant including trans men, gender queer and non-binary folks. It starts out with the main character Deena coming out on her 17th birthday and is followed by a journey to figure out why the females of her family are cursed when they turn seventeen. It tells the story of why/how only the females are made out to be the “Bad Apples” of the family and are cast out of the proverbial tree. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this book If you want to read an impactful story with messages and writing that are both haunting and yet memorable, then please read this!!

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

– About the Author –

Moïra Fowley-Doyle is half-French, half-Irish and made of equal parts feminism, whimsy and Doc Martens. She lives in Dublin where she writes magic realism, reads tarot cards and raises witch babies.
Moïra’s first novel, The Accident Season, was shortlisted for the 2015 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize & the North East Teen Book Awards, nominated for the Carnegie Medal & won the inaugural School Library Association of Ireland Great Reads Award. It received two starred reviews & sold in ten territories. Her second novel, Spellbook of the Lost and Found, was published in summer 2017, received a starred review from School Library Journal and was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards.

Website | Goodreads |  Twitter

– Giveaway – 

Win a copy of ALL THE BAD APPLES by Moïra Fowley-Doyle (UK/Ireland Only). Ends on 5th September Just click on the button below to enter:

win a copy of All The Bad apples (Uk/IR only)

Tour Schedule : Click on this link to view the entire tour schedule!

Blog Tour: Crown of Coral and Pearl, written by Mara Rutherford | ARC Review & Giveaway

Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford

Publication date: August 27th, 2019 
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Pages: 368
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Buy:Book Depository | Wordery | Amazon

Synopsis:

For generations, the princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. But though every girl longs to be chosen as the next princess, the cost of becoming royalty is higher than any of them could ever imagine…
Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.
Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen… and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.
In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.

– My Thoughts –

“Sorrow is good for the soul, Father had said after the incident, when I had recovered from the pain and sickness but had still not grown used to the feel of the torn flesh on my otherwise flawless skin. “Those who have never known pain or adversity are as shallow as the waves lapping on the shore.” 

“And what is wrong with being shallow?” I’d asked him. 

“What lies beneath the surface of shallow waters? Nothing. It’s only when you go deeper that the ocean comes alive. The deeper you go, the more mysteries and surprises await.”

Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford is a fantasy about how love can destroy and how it can rebuild.

Nor and Zadie are two sisters from a place called Varenia that has been oppressed by the people of Ilara for centuries. It is a tradition that every time an Ilarian Prince is of age, a Varenian daughter of great beauty must be married to him. Nor and Zadie like every other girl in Varenia have to abide by strict rules of beauty. Every girl in Varenia must be nothing short of perfect. Fortunately( or, unfortunately) Nor doesn’t have to worry about keeping to her beauty regimen as she’s already been scarred since she was seven years old. When the time comes for the new Prince of Ilara to be married, the village elders choose Zadie as the bride-to-be. Zadie not only doesn’t want to get married to the Prince but she also doesn’t want to leave her beloved twin sister.
So, she devises a plan that has devastating consequences. Not only is Zadie gravely injured but the sisters’ mother thinks that Nor was the one who did it. Amidst the suspicious gaze of the villagers, Nor readies herself to take Zadie’s place as the future queen of Ilaria.

I loved the first half of the book more than its second half. Althought the summary tells us what happens in the first half, it’s still enjoyable due to the atmospheric world-building, beautiful description of the various relationships, history of Varenia and Ilara. My heart cried out when Nor was leaving Varenia and Zadie; their love was so pure and captivating that I fell in love with the book at that very moment.

The second half was interesting but lost the magic of the first half. Nor arrives in court and lo and behold, the emissary of Ilara Talin whom she met in Varenia is one of the Ilarian princes. She is to marry his older brother Ceren and he is such a Joffrey ( you know..from GOT!!). I don’t know if I should warn about an insta-love trope between Talin and Nor because it felt more like insta-attraction to me. I read through some of their chapters and they didn’t exactly say they love each other. I really hope to see more development on both of their parts in the sequel rather than fall headfirst into love.

Ceren was a Joffrey sure but you will sympathize with him in some parts of the book and then you know.. fall in utter hate with him. With that said..am I looking forward to the sequel? Definitely! There were a lot of things that were open ended and I need a book two for those and I’m definitely here for more Nor and Zadie!!

Overall, I would highly recommend this book if you love books about the bond between sisters, engaging YA fantasy in a unique setting, wonderful worldbuilding, and easy writing to immerse yourself in.

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

– About the Author –

Mara Rutherford began her writing career as a journalist but quickly discovered she far preferred fantasy to reality. Originally from California, Mara has since lived all over the world, from Russia to Peru, along with her Marine-turned-diplomat husband and two sons. A triplet born on Leap Day, Mara holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Studies from the University of London and would rather study the folklore of her next post than the language (which she has found is a lot more fun but not nearly as useful). She is a former Pitch Wars mentee and three-time mentor. Her debut YA fantasy, CORAL AND PEARL, will release from Harlequin Teen in Fall 2019.

Website | Goodreads |  Twitter

– Giveaway – 

Win (1) of (15) copies of CROWN OF CORAL AND PEARL by Mara Rutherford (US ONLY)! Ends on 2nd September 2019. Just click on the button below to enter:

Win A Copy of CROWN OF CORAL AND PEARL by Mara Rutherford (US ONLY)

– Tour Schedule –

Click on this link to view the entire tour schedule!

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What are some of your favourite bookish sisters? This new release, Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford, has one of the best sister relationships I've read in a long time. Nor and Zadie's love for each other was one of the best things about the book including the wonderful world-building and pacing. This read as a standalone to me but I definitely wouldn't mind a sequel🙌🙌 . . . Thanks to @inkyardpress for an ARC of this superb fantasy debut novel!! . . #crownofcoralandpearl #yafantasy #bookramblerreads #discoverbooks #bookphotographer #bookstagramers #vscobooks #warmaesthetic #bookstagramfeatures #epicreads #bookbloggers #booksbooksbooks #bookmail #bookster #bookishaesthetic #booksandshares #bookfeaturepage ##bookstagramindia #readerforlife #readersofig #flatlaybooks #bookpics #bookbloggersofinstagram

A post shared by Shalini(she/her)~ Book Blogger (@book_rambler) on Aug 15, 2019 at 4:12am PDT

Review: The Bookshop on the Shore(Scottish Bookshop #2), written by Jenny Colgan

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan

Publication date: June 25th, 2019 
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Pages: 416
Genre: Womens fiction, Contemporary
Buy: Book Depository | Wordery

Synopsis:

A grand baronial house on Loch Ness, a quirky small-town bookseller, and a single mom looking for a fresh start all come together in this witty and warm-hearted novel by New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan.

Desperate to escape from London, single mother Zoe wants to build a new life for herself and her son Hari. She can barely afford the crammed studio apartment on a busy street where honking horns and shouting football fans keep them awake all night. If she doesn’t find a way out soon, Zoe knows it’s just a matter of time before she has a complete meltdown. On a whim, she answers an ad for a nanny job in the Scottish Highlands, which is about as far away from the urban crush of London as possible. It sounds heavenly!

The job description asks for someone capable of caring for three “gifted children”, two of which behave like feral wolverines. The children’s widowed father is a wreck, and the kids run wild in a huge tumbledown castle on the heather-strewn banks of Loch Ness. Still, the peaceful, picturesque location is everything London is not—and Zoe rises to the challenges of the job.

With the help of Nina, the friendly local bookseller, Zoe begins to put down roots in the community. Are books, fresh air, and kindness enough to heal this broken family—and her own…?

Trigger Warnings

mention of self-harming

– My Thoughts –

“If you read…It means there are more heads to be in, more lives to be lived than simply your own.”

This is my first Jenny Colgan book and I was drawn to it because -of course- of the word “Bookshop”. Did The Bookshop on the Shore meet my expectations? Let’s find out..

The book is about Zoe, a single mother who lives in London and is trying to make ends meet. Her ex is uncaring and irresponsible and her 4 years old son Hari has trouble with speech. On top of that, she has to worry about her landlord raising prices on her already dismal but expensive flat. Soon, Zoe gets a lifeline from Hari’s aunt, her sister-in-law who has two jobs for her but they’re both in Scotland. Zoe has no choice other than pack up her stuff and leave for Scotland with Hari in tow.

Zoe finds herself overwhelmed while arriving at one of her jobs in Scotland; she’s supposed to be the eighth(or ninth?) nanny to three unruly kids with a surly father. In her second job, she meets a very pregnant and (almost)friendly local bookseller Nina who isn’t sure Zoe is up to the task. Did Zoe make a terrible mistake or is this her salvation?

The Bookshop on the Shore was not what I had expected. I wouldn’t say I liked it or hated it. It was a light read with a good pace that let me finish it within a day. The only notable things in the book were the author’s beautiful descriptions of the Scottish highlands and her evocative writing style. I liked Zoe and sympathized with her every time. Do not go into this book expecting a romance because there is little to none of it. Ramsay, our heroine’s love interest, is mostly absent throughout the book and I didn’t like the way their “romance” evolved, if it did. The bookseller Nina is the main character in the first book of this Scottish Bookshop series and she was so rude to Zoe every time that it irritated me to the point that I had to skip some of the pages she was in.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for a light read that’ll make you lust for the Scottish highlands, then go for it! There was a bit of mystery in this book too which added a nice edge to the monotony of it.

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

– About the Author –

Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including ‘The Little Shop of Happy Ever After’ and ‘Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery’, which are also published by Sphere.’ Meet Me at the Cupcake Café’ won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was ‘Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams’, which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013. 

For more about Jenny, visit her website and her Goodreads page, or follow her on Twitter.
Jenny Colgan has also been published under the name Jenny T. Colgan

Thank you for reading! Have you read The Bookshop on the Shore or any of jenny Colgan’s books ? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!