Dear humans,
Happy holidays! We hope you have had a wonderful day. The female received a lovely present from a friend of Cajun food. Some of her favorite relatives were Cajun, and they always brought their food and culture up from Louisiana when they visited. Every year, they’d bring back beads and masks from Mardis Gras, which was always delightful.
So the female and the male had Cajun boneless chicken stuffed with potatoes, and it was absolutely delightful. Not quite traditional fare, but it was warming and delicious. Just the right amount of spicy.
The female is working on several cross-stitch projects. This is a biiiiggg one, and there are many, many tiny little stitches. (This is proof the female has the patience to stab something thousands of times.)
It will become a pretty landscape with a house when she is finished.
Onto the book faire!
Forgotten Essence by Aster North (Science fantasy RH)
Purchase Link: Amazon (Kindle Unlimited)
Price: $4.99
Age Rating: 18+
Note(s) from the Publisher: Polyamorous relationship. The cover screams this is dark science fantasy. The cover’s art warns you. You are warned.
Death is an insurmountable fact.
The question is what happens after.
Where does the soul go?
Well, it goes to me. Or someone like me, at least. My name is Zella Healani. I’m a Grim Reaper. Not the kind most think of when they picture the old skeleton guy either. Nope. I’m young, have no swinging stick thing, and am usually swimming with some kind of mind-altering substance.
Don’t let that deter you, though. Not that you actually could. Like it or not, I’ll pull your soul free from your husk and ferry it back to the big soul soup we all start from. You get a new life, and I get a hit of euphoria so pure, it’s addicting. Oh, and some additional powers here and there.
But what if someone could stop the Grims from coming for you? And how exactly am I supposed to save a whole world full of souls when no one believes me? That, my new friend, is exactly what I’m going to tell you because somehow, I’ll find my way back to the desolate world I stumbled upon. My only problem? I’ll have to do it while controlling my monster, dealing with three new babysitters, and committing crimes that might just get me thrown into the soul soup, too.
Our Thoughts: This cover is amazeballs. Gloriously dark. That title font is awesome. We wish the author’s name was bigger. Stop hiding your names, authors. Your name deserves to be seen! (But we get why the designer did not want to hide that skull at all. Because it’s awesome.
A bunch of good covers in this batch. Hooray! This makes the female’s heart happy.
My Lips are Sealed by Carmen Richter (Contemporary Romance)
Purchase Link: Amazon (Kindle Unlimited)
Price: $2.99
Age Rating: 18+
Note(s) from the Publisher: Series wide trigger warnings for domestic violence, sexual assault, abortion, and mental health.
At sixteen years old, I lost my first love, and it shook me to my core.
My parents thought taking me out of town for the summer would help me to move on, but I returned home the same way I left: a broken girl who was the last person to see her boyfriend alive.
The night before school started back up, I went to an open mic night and poured my heart and soul into a song I wrote for the boy who never made it home.
That night, I met Elijah, and we had an instant connection that I couldn’t ignore. For the first time in months, I felt alive again.
But the next day, Elijah walked into my drama class…as Mr. Larson, our new teacher.
How was I supposed to go back to the way things were when my whole life had been turned upside-down? And how was I supposed to stop myself from falling for the man who had brought me back to life?
Our Thoughts: This cover reminds us more of a memoir than anything, and if we hadn’t had notes on the book, we probably wouldn’t have realized it was romance. We lurve the font for the marker, though. The female really loves marker fonts. More than she should.
We are fairly sure this is taboo teacher/student, so not our ballpark, but there are a lot who enjoy that kind of story, so, this one is for you!
Token Huntress by Kia Carrington-Russell (Urban/Paranormal/Some Futuristic)
Purchase Link: Amazon (Kindle Unlimited)
Price: $3.99
Age Rating: 18+
Note(s) from the Publisher: There are vampires. As such, expect things associated with vampires. You know, like blood and violence and stuff. (This is not a publisher note. There was a note, but we translated it because reasons involving being sleepy on Christmas.)
Being born a hunter, Esmore has been raised with one purpose: to hunt and kill the vampire race that destroyed the world as it was known. At eighteen, Esmore’s a Token Huntress in her Guild, surpassing her mentor’s expectations of her, despite having no magical ability, like all hunters before her.
During a raid in the once iconic San Fransisco, Esmore’s team is ambushed, and a mysterious vampire that she is drawn to captures and takes her to the Vampire Council as a prisoner. Her captor—Chase, a lethal, immortal, sexy, and charming vampire who will stop at nothing to claim her as his familiar.
While in captivity, Esmore learns information that makes her question everything she’s been taught.
Now in the year 2341, Esmore fights for her survival. But who exactly is she fighting against? The very people who nurtured her or the evil she’s supposed to hate?
Our Thoughts: This is a nice cover. We wish the author name was more legible for the female’s poor, sad little eyes. But the art on this cover? Super nice.
The female may have made warding gestures against lens flare, but that’s basically a minor sigh from her.
We hope the year 2341 beats 2020, but honestly… low bars, low bars. And she has a sexy vampire wanting funtimes. We’re pretty sure 2341 is looking better than 2020 already.
Hidden Witness by Posey Parks (Genre)
Purchase Link: Amazon (Kindle Unlimited)
Price: $3.99
Age Rating: 18+
Note(s) from the Publisher: No warnings from the publisher, but we’re fairly sure there will be the complete removal of clothing in an explicit fashion. The cover tells us so.
He isn’t who he says he is. If she risks her heart again, will she lose more than love?
Dillon Magarelli is living a lie. After witnessing his mobster uncle’s murder fourteen years ago, he went into hiding with an assumed identity and freedom from the mafia. But a simple conversation with a gorgeous woman in line at the grocery store could expose the secret he’s worked hard to keep.
Sierra Simmons doesn’t trust anyone. Since divorcing her cheating football-star husband, she’s looking for a fresh start without a man. But the smoldering alpha male she meets at the supermarket might just have what it takes to convince her to give up her control.
As Dillon finds himself falling fast for the intoxicating beauty, danger from his ugly past threatens to poison their passions. And though she senses there is more to her new flame than he is revealing, she refuses to let go no matter the consequences.
Can Dillon and Sierra escape a killer’s clutches and allow their hearts to run free?
Our Thoughts: Meow. Holy manchest, Batman! The teeny tiny cross on the dark, muscular manchest is a nice touch. He’s probably super, super naughty. According to the description, he’s definitely naughty. Ugly past, beautiful abs… might be worth the risks there, Sierra. Sample those wares well.
What? It’s a manchest book… Were we supposed to notice the description with that chest? (Aaaaabbbsss.)
Mad as a Hatter by Kendra Moreno (Dark Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retelling)
Purchase Link: Amazon (May be available at other vendors.)
Price: $2.99
Age Rating: 18+
Note(s) from the Publisher: Some gore and violence.
Descend into Madness…
Clara spent her whole life fighting in courtrooms for the downtrodden, the strange ones, the abused. It’s only natural that when a man with rabbit ears on his head comes to see her, she doesn’t blink an eye…
…until he opens a portal and drags her to Wonderland.
But this isn’t the world she’s read about at home. This world has been twisted, poisoned by none other than the Red Queen.
There’s a prophecy, the only chance Wonderland has of survival. Clara is foretold to defeat the Knave and claim the Hatter’s heart. But there’s a problem. The Hatter is insane and Wonderland is full of unspeakable horrors. Death waits behind every tree. If the Beezles don’t get you, the Bandersnatch will.
Can Clara embrace the madness and her destiny, or will the reign of the Red Queen continue?
This isn’t the Wonderland you know…
Our Thoughts: The art on this cover is aces. Not the female’s sort of book, as she doesn’t usually read fairy tale retellings, but the colors, art quality, and mood of this one is amazeballs. So, if horror/dark is your thing, this might be the book for you. As always, sample before you purchase, and if you read this one, let us know what you thought about it.
Happy Holidays, humans!
In case you missed it… Murder Mittens and License to Kill released this week.
Loved murder mittens! It took me a while to read as I had to stop due to laughing so hard! Keep up the good work on the cross stitch, and keep the wonderful books coming.