Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge
I’ve FINALLY bought this book. It’s one of the books that has been on my to be read for the longest time so I’m excited to finally own it. I did have it downloaded through Kindle Unlimited for a while, if you’re wondering why it took me so long to buy it, but I kept putting it off to the point that it’s not available with the service anymore.
I’m a fan of a Romeo and Juliet retelling so I can’t wait to get around to this at some point. I think I’ll take an ARC break very soon as I’ve already started my festive reads (crazy, I know) so I can make a good dent in my owned books.
Synopsis: When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.
The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.
Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong—killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy . . . and perhaps turn against his own clan.
Mahyanai Runajo just wants to protect her city—but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara.
Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting. . . .
Rewind to Us by Molly Morris
I went back and forth on whether or not I should buy this book as I do genuinely have too many books at the moment and the sheer number of unread books is overwhelming me a little. Anyway, I obviously bought it as I’m mentioning it in this post. It was only 99p so I’m being way too dramatic about it.
I’ve been thinking about magical realism a lot lately, so much so that I’m planning to start a series talking about my favourite magical realism books – as well as quite a few other tropes/genres (coming VERY soon).
This sounds really cute and interesting. The idea of being able to rewind just one event in your life to try and change its outcome is very cool. I hope this lives up to my expectations.
Synopsis: Dixie Mulligan only has one plan for her annual California vacation this summer – to tell her best friend Sawyer that she’s in love with him.
It doesn’t matter that things between them technically fell apart over spring break, and they haven’t spoken since – until Dixie arrives and realizes Sawyer has moved on (a fact made very apparent when she sees him kissing, um, someone else).
Luckily, Dixie and her family have each been gifted with a Rewind. All Dixie has to do is go back and redo the moment she thinks doomed hers and Sawyer’s relationship before it even began.
But when family secrets start pouring out, Dixie’s not so sure even her Rewind will be enough to save what she and Sawyer had. Is the damage already done, or can she turn back the clock and give them one more chance?
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
You know if there’s a new(ish) Ali Hazelwood book I’m going to buy it. Ali Hazelwood is an autobuy author for me and every book of hers I’ve read so far has been a solid 5 stars. They have just the right amount of spice for me and her characters are always so funny and relatable.
Synopsis: Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.
Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.
So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water…
Babylove by I.S. Belle
I read the Honeybloods series by I.S Belle last year and they were pretty fun. I won’t lie, the cover alone of this made me want to read it. Sorry no photo yet, I need to sit and do a big shoot of all of my new books.
There’s something about a cheerleader teaming up with a goth that is just *chef’s kiss*. I love an opposites attract story.
Synopsis: “Even with the blood, rituals, and resurrections, the most surprising thing about the summer of 2003 was Ivy Wexler.”
When offered a chance to avoid summer school, goth girl Frankie Tanner reluctantly agrees to help Ivy Wexler, a cheerleader who has just resurrected her cat in preparation for bigger and better (dead) things.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Audiobook Review: Trusting Blake by Estelle Maskame