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This Chick Read: Fated Blades (Kinsmen #3) by Ilona Andrews

When Ilona Andrews releases a book I eagerly anticipate the drop into my kindle so I can read it right away. Fated Blades is the third novel in an older series called the Kinsmen. I’ve read the first two books a couple of times each but I’ll admit it’s been awhile. Not letting that stop me from reading this one right away I jumped right in. It is novella length so it didn’t take me more than 3-4 hours to read it in its entirety.

Fated Blades takes place on Rada where a few families all with Seca powers reside. This power enables them to become bladed, and as such their history is filled with violence, but currently people have forgotten who dangerous they can be. The Adlers and Baenas are two of the families with these powers and despite living relatively close, they consider each other enemies. When Ramona Adler shows up in Matias Baena’s place of business and tells him that her husband and his wife have run away together, and they both stole their research. The two of them join forces to investigate who is behind this plot and are determined to bring them down. What they haven’t taken into consideration is their immediate attraction and connection, something that the two of them may not be able to live without.

As I do with all Illona Andrews books, I read a book first, and then follow it up with listening to the audiobook pretty quickly after. I think with this one, I’ll need to go back and start at the beginning of the series. Not because this book wasn’t good, it certainly was, but because I feel like there are some details I’m missing that may make my journey with this story even better.

As with the Hidden Legacy series these novels fall into the romantic fantasy genre. My favorite genre and this author duo excels at bringing life to the page and their characters. Fated Blades was no different, and in fact I’d like to see a longer length novel for these characters or at least in this world. If you’re a fan of this author I’m sure you’ll feel no different. If you haven’t read the previous two books, you don’t really need to, but like I said above, a refresher might have been necessary and might enhance your pleasure in this well written novel.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Fated Blades

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associates- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: At Peace (The Burg #2) by Kristen Ashley

Widow, Violet Winters and her two daughters, Kate and Keira, move in next door to Joe Callahan. From the instant they meet sparks fly and Violet gives in to her passion with Joe hoping that love might again be in her life. What she doesn’t realize is that Joe’s past is filled with pain and he’s buried those kinds of emotions deep. Knowing he needs to let her go, he cuts her loose breaking her and her girls hearts. What he doesn’t realize is that Violet has a stalker, one that killed her ex and is looking to make her his. Joe has to fight his own demons to help protect Violet and in doing so he realizes that she and her girls fill up that empty place in his heart to bursting.

It’s been a few years since I’ve read this book but I instantly remember the heat and tension that fill the pages. The book is named At Peace because Violet and her daughters finally bring that peace to Joe’s life, but as you’re reading it it’s anything but filling me with peace. This novel is action-filled and brings the sizzle into every scene that has Violet and Joe in it. Can two people really have chemistry that’s this intense? That’s a question a lot of readers probably ask themselves, but regardless of if they’ve ever felt it in this way they enjoy the feelings that are written into these pages.

As with the first novel in this series, At Peace is a woman in jeopardy romantic thriller. Violet is running away from the Chicago mafia, the man in charge having taken an instant like to her looks after killing her husband. It takes a lot of cajones to kill a womans husband and they try to make her yours. Well, luckily, a security specialist to the stars lives next door and Detective Alec Colton lives across the street! Vi moved into the right neighborhood because nothing will happen to her family while living under their protection. Unless Violet herself chooses to let it in.

This novel was just as much fun as the first in the series, and just as I promised, the Burg reunites to help protect Vi and so we see some of the characters we learned to love (and hate) in the first novel reappear. It’s nice to get a glimpse into how those lives have moved forward in the year or so since the end of the previous novel, but it’s Vi, Joe, Kate, and Keira who are front and center in At Peace and you do not want to miss their story if you haven’t read it yet. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* At Peace (The ‘Burg Series Book 2)

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: For You (The Burg #1) by Kristen Ashley

Colt and February were a legendary couple. High school sweethearts and destined to always be together until one night it ended and only February knew why. Years later, after they both were married and then divorced, Feb is back in town to help run the family bar. When one of their customers is murdered behind the bar, it’s Colt that sent in to investigate and what he finds pushes them back together. He becomes her protector and their passion reignites.

This is the third time I’ve read For You. This story about the fated couple who somehow drift apart to be brought back together by a serial killer is seriously good. This woman in jeopardy romantic thriller is one of my favorites, and when the story and tension backs up the promise of great characters you know you will keep coming back. Every few years I find myself picking it back up again.

February is the woman that every man wants and every woman wants as their best friend. She’s gorgeous, loyal, and funny. She is a hard woman to resist and Alexander Colton doesn’t have a reason to resist any longer. The novel starts with them being distant with each other and as the danger amps up and people close to Feb are being killed the tension threatens to explode. It does, in very hot detail. This is one of those mysteries where you are on the edge of your seat but the romance has you relaxing back and dreaming of your own alpha hero. One of the best early Kristen Ashley novels, if you haven’t read it you need to give it a look.

This author writes great romance novels, but what I really love about her books are the friendships. She gives you background into the surrounding characters to the extent you either love or hate them and some of them turn up as the heroine/hero’s in a future novel. Also, you know that you aren’t seeing the last of them, that they will take part, even in a small way in a future story. So never fear, if you love Feb and Colt, you’ll see them again! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase!* For You (The ‘Burg Series Book 1)

Copyright 2021 the Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (12/13/21)

I feel like this weekend I checked several things off the to-do list. Cookie’s have been exchanged, presents wrapped, and I had to work for a few hours to prepare for our Nashville’s Nutcracker opening this Wednesday. The next twelve days are packed, so it’s good to get some of the Christmas preparations out of the way. I didn’t spend a lot of time reading, unfortunately, but here are the two that I touched.

JUST FINISHED

I know, I read this one a few weeks ago, but I went ahead and got the audiobook too because it was on sale for $2.99 and I couldn’t resist. It’s a novella, so I was able to listen to it quickly. I’ll admit that I caught quite a few more details the second time around. This is a good story!

JUST STARTED

The next installment of the secret Library series. Our heroine has just found out she’s the daughter of the bad guy they’ve been chasing or at least avoiding in the last few books. I’m looking forward to the action getting started! This series is all fantasy, but there are historical mystery elements that I really enjoy digging into. Can’t wait to see how it concludes!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Please share the wonderful books you’ve been reading. I love to add new ones to my TBR!

Happy Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Sunkissed by Kasie West

SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD.

Every summer Avery’s parents take she and her sister on a long vacation in order to bond and have “family time”. This year is no different and she finds herself at a family camp for two months without wifi. This year’s trip comes right after she finds out her best friend betrays her with her ex and the lack of wifi gives her a little time to decide how she really feels. On the day she arrives she meets Brooks, a moody, cute, staff employee who plays in the resort band but there’s a firm policy against staff-guest relationships. Her love of music and writing poetry draws them together and their friendship helps her come to terms with the difficulties she left behind at home.

My first impression of Sunkissed was that this was a fan fiction rewrite of Dirty Dancing. Two sisters, one outgoing and loud and the other quiet and kind of introspective. The quiet girl meets a good looking guy at a family camp who seems at first like he might be from the wrong side of the tracks. Girl has a talent for writing poetry and singing, boy has a contest coming up where he needs a song written for his band. Lead singer gets hurt and can’t compete, quiet girl overcomes nerves to sing. Boy and girl fall in love and have to overcome daddy’s objections. They only thing missing was a pregnancy and some raunchy hot time in the sack. As this is a Kasie West novel, everything is PG-13 and seen through rose tinted lenses, but the similarities were hard to not see. Despite the parallels I did like this story and Avery’s character.

We learn some interesting things about Avery as the book goes along but the most pressing is the fact that she has terrible stage fright and a bit of an anxiety problem. She’s known for going with the flow and that’s mostly because she’s trying to avoid anything that makes her anxious. It’s only when her dad seems to admire her younger sister for her cleverness in starting up a podcast that Avery see’s that maybe she’s been playing life a little too safe and she wants to make some changes and spread her wings a bit.

I always like the novels where the shy girl has a hidden talent that makes her shine and Sunkissed has exactly that kind of story. If you like these same traits then I suggest you give it a try. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase! Sunkissed

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

When Vivienne Jones had her heartbroken at 19, she acted as any young witch her age would, she drank vodka, ate ice cream, took a bubble bath, and with the help of her BFF cursed the man who had just broken her heart. Nine years later and Rhys Penhallow is back in town to re-charge her town’s ley lines and from the moment he gets close the curse kicks in and everything starts to turn wrong. Having to fess up to her actions, Vivi works with Rhys to try to break the curse. Surprisingly their chemistry and feelings haven’t really changed and they quickly fall back into old habits.

I was surprised at the hidden depth in this light and fluffy Halloween inspired love story. Don’t get me wrong, it did not stray far from the light and fluffy but the story was really well written and I was able to fall into huge like with the characters and was interested enough to see how their love story would end.

These quirky and fun characters were easy to like but I also loved the side characters. Rhys’s surly brother, and Vivi’s cousin and best friend helped add depth but also were part of why the book came to life. It might be interesting if these two characters somehow got connected? Possibly at a wedding in Wale? Hmm, my from lips to this authors ears!

If you’re looking for a fun, light, romance than give this one a chance. Despite the witchy plot I think it can be read and enjoyed on any holiday, or just a plain old weekend. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Ex Hex

Copyright 2021 the Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

Kidnapped out of her bed while sleeping, Georgie wakes up to find herself in her pj’s on an alien spaceship. In a hold with the other human female cattle on the way to god knows where. Their captors do not treat them like guests but like hostages and they don’t handle them with care. When their ship needs to get rid of excess weight they drop their cargo bay on a habitable planet. The least hurt by their crash landing, Georgie suits up and climbs out into the snowy landscape to try to find help. What she finds is a race of blue horned alien men whose species is dying from a lack of women and this particular alien claims Georgie. Luckily for her he will do everything he can to ensure his tribes survival. Starting with saving the women in the hold of their space ship.

I’ve been on a little bit of a sci-fi romance kick lately and I’ll admit that when I saw this advanced reader copy I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. What I didn’t know is that it’s a re-release of the first book in a series of like 22 books and I’d get sucked in by the humor and read through 7 in one weekend. Ice Planet Barbarians was by far my favorite because Georgie was such a funny narrator. She was everything I like in a heroine, sassy, bold, and adventurous. Her alien mate, Vektal, while an alpha male, he was super gentle and sweet and wanted to do everything for Georgie which made their interactions really sweet and as they didn’t speak the same language for a good portion of the book, extremely funny.

Here’s my R rated warning. This book (and the series!) is filled with sex. Vektal, while humanoid, does not have a human body and his equipment while similar, does have some differences. If you can’t appreciate those differences you may not enjoy all of those scenes and truthfully, they were some of the most humorous so it was hard to skim. So, I gave in and embraced the weird alien sex so I could appreciate Georgie and Vektal’s story.

If you’re interested in a different type of sci-fi novel and don’t mind a LOT of sex, then this is the series for you! I will say, sex aside, the story was unique, the characters were fun and lovely to get to know, and I loved all of the ladies that crash landed in that cargo hold. I knew by the middle of the book that I was going to keep reading this series. These books are quick reading and a bit addictive.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Ice Planet Barbarians

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: A Counterfeit Suitor (Rosalind Thorne Mystery #5)

Rosalind is brought in undercover to determine if a determined suitor of a young heiress is honorable or if he is a fortune hunter. While making this determination her estranged father shows up in London in the hands of a man who has threatened Rosalind in the past. She and Russell Thorne have crossed paths many times, and her sleuthing efforts have cost him money. What is her doing with her father? Does this have anything to do with her client’s unsuitable suitor?

A Counterfeit Suitor had a much quicker pace than the previous novel and I have to wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with the change in scenery. Back in London, Rosalind seems to be racing from one place to the next as she follows the twists and turns of her investigation. The underlying threat that Russell Thorne represents to her life and livelihood also adds tension to an already dramatic storyline. With the addition of her love interest Investigator Adam Harkness, I found myself engaged and enthralled with this plot and eagerly turning each page.

There was really a LOT going on in this novel, which helped to capture my attention and hold it. Rosalind’s living depends upon her respectable reputation and it ran the risk of being irredeemably damaged throughout this novel. This time in history is not a favorable one to unmarried women, the details of which are fascinating and really disturbing. It also makes for some great reading.

A Counterfeit Suitor could be read without having any of the background you would know from having read the previous books but I really wouldn’t recommend it. You need to know the history behind each character’s actions, which only add to the reasons Rosalind makes certain decisions, as well as why these people stand by her side. If you are already a fan, don’t wait to pick this book up, it is one of the best in the series to date. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* A Counterfeit Suitor (Rosalind Thorne Mystery Book 5)

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (11/29/21)

I love the long Thanksgiving weekend. With the exception of spending time in the kitchen it’s all about relaxing. We even put up our tree last weekend so that chore was checked off the list. What have I been doing? You got it! Reading! Here’s what I’ve been reading.

JUST FINISHED

My favorite writing duo dropped a book from an old series last week and I eagerly dove into it this weekend. It’s novella length so it didn’t take me long to read, but it was a fun new world to relearn and the characters were great!

JUST STARTED

The series that got me started with binging Kristen Ashley novels. It’s been awhile since I’ve read these so I decided to read one or two. They are so fun!

Now that you know what’s on my coffee table, what books did you read this weekend?

Happy Monday!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My Top 5 Book Releases – Dec’21

It’s always a shock when you hit that last month of the year isn’t? With everything else I’m working ahead. I have my tree up, the majority of my presents purchased, and plans made for the holidays. I just forgot to take a look at the book releases for next month, but hey! It’s only Nov. 28th so I’m not too far behind.

#5 MOST ANTICIPATED

It only takes two words for me to want to pick up this book. Penny Reid. She has escapism reading down to an art form. Her writing is sweet, funny, and romantic. Enough said.

Synopsis:

Rex “TW” McMurtry’s perpetual single-hood wouldn’t bother him so much if all his ex-girlfriends didn’t keep marrying the very next person they dated, especially when so many of those grooms are his closest friends. He may be a pro-football defensive end for the Chicago Squalls, but the press only wants to talk about how he’s always a groomsman and never a groom. Rex is sick of being the guy before the husband, and he’s most definitely sick of being the best man at all their weddings.

Bartender Abigail McNerny is the gal-pal, the wing-woman, the she-BFF. She’s dated. Once. And once was more than enough. Privy to all the sad stories of her customers, ‘contentment over commitment’ is her motto, and Abby is convinced no one on earth could ever entice her into a romantic relationship . . . except that one guy she’s loved since preschool.

The guy who just walked into her bar.

The guy who doesn’t recognize her.

The guy who is drunk and needs a ride home.

The guy who has a proposition she should definitely refuse.

Click this link to purchase this book. Homecoming King (Three Kings Book 1)

#4 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

I might have put this one on November’s most anticipated list because the drop date is 11/30, but I’m just going to add it to the December list as well. It looks so good!

Synopsis:

Their union is his revenge.

Isolde de Lara considers her wedding day to be her death day. To end a years-long war, she is to marry vampire king Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev, and kill him.

But her assassination attempt is thwarted, and Adrian threatens that if Isolde tries to kill him again, he will raise her as the undead. Faced with the possibility of becoming the thing she hates most, Isolde seeks other ways to defy him and survive the brutal vampire court.

Except it isn’t the court she fears most—it’s Adrian. Despite their undeniable chemistry, she wonders why the king—fierce, savage, merciless—chose her as consort.

The answer will shatter her world.

Click this link to purchase!* King of Battle and Blood (Adrian X Isolde Book 1)

#3 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

I am totally invested in this series. It’s fantasy, mystery, and action adventure all rolled into one. Plus the main character is a strong willed female who is in charge and takes no prisoners. These novels are totally fun.

Synopsis:

In this thrilling historical fantasy, time-traveling Librarian spy Irene will need to delve deep into a tangled web of loyalty and power to keep her friends safe.

Irene is trying to learn the truth about Alberich-and the possibility that he’s her father. But when the Library orders her to kill him, and then Alberich himself offers to sign a truce, she has to discover why he originally betrayed the Library.

With her allies endangered and her strongest loyalties under threat, she’ll have to trace his past across multiple worlds and into the depths of mythology and folklore, to find the truth at the heart of the Library, and why the Library was first created. 

Click this link to purchase!* The Untold Story (The Invisible Library Novel Book 8)

#2 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

So many of us fell in love with Amanda Gorman’s gorgeous poem at the inauguration and even if it might be the first book of poetry I read, I am curious enough to give it a try and see if she can inspire me with her words and imagery as she did on that day.

Synopsis: Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, these poems shine a light on a moment of reckoning and reveal that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.

Click this link to purchase!* Call Us What We Carry: Poems

MY MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

I work for a ballet company and despite how I hear that no one ever gets details right in a novel, I have to read this one! It sounds so good and it might be an edge of your seat thriller. I can’t wait.

Synopsis:

Dare Me meets Black Swan and Luckiest Girl Alive in a captivating, voice-driven debut novel about a trio of ballerinas who meet as students at the Paris Opera Ballet School.

Thirteen years ago, Delphine abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux. Now 36 years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes, finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly discovers that things have changed while she’s been away…and some secrets can’t stay buried forever.

Moving between the trio’s adolescent years and the present day, Rachel Kapelke-Dale’s The Ballerinas explores the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold inside––all culminating in a twist you won’t see coming, with magnetic characters you won’t soon forget.

Click this link to purchase!*The Ballerinas: A Novel

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase any of these books through the above links I’ll receive a small stipend.

These are the book releases I am most looking forward to reading next month. I’m sure they are not the same as your own. Please feel free to give your favorites a shout out in the comments.

Happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments