February 2020 – LairOfBooks

Spoiler Free Review: Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Title: Get A Life, Chloe Brown

Author: Talia Hibbert

Pub. Date: November 5th. 2019

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 373 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

Chloe Brown has had a near death experience one morning that leaves her pretty shaken while also reinvigorated. She is a chronically ill computer geek who sets out with a list of 7 things she must do in order to give life some meaning…

✔️Move out of mansion & into own place

Enjoy a drunken night out
Ride a motorcycle
Go camping
Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex
Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage
And… do something bad

We start off with Chloe moving into her own digs & adjusting to life as a tenant. Accomplishing some of the things on her list becomes interesting when she recruits Redford”Red” Morgan the handyman she is constantly at odds with. Red is automatically put off by Chloe’s wealthy background & because of that they are always sparring with words. We follow Chloe & Red as they tackle this list and in turn get to know one another better while breaking past many misconceptions.

Chloe-I truly fell in love with Chloe’s personality! she is a beautiful plus sized black woman who exudes confidence despite the fact that many of her days are spent with chronic pain. She’s single & sort of has her walls up because Chronic pain isn’t something easily explained. Chloe has already experienced heartbreak with her ex who believed her pain was mental & not a real thing. She’s not by any means jaded, she’s just weary of those she lets in her space. A true geek through & through, Chloe works doing web design from the comfort of her home with a Playstation nearby.

Red- Sexy, tattooed, Handyman/Painter Red Morgan won me over for a number of reasons. Not only is Red attentive & nurturing but he’s genuinely just a good guy who has also been through heartbreak. Having experienced a very toxic relationship with a very wealthy woman, Red is not expecting to fall for yet another. What I loved about Red? the fact that he didn’t try to dissect Chloe’s pain, it was written on her face. Instead Red went about finding ways to make their trips outdoors more comfortable for her.

Both Chloe & Red are wonderful characters but so were the side characters. I LOVED reading scenes with Chloe’s fabulous grandmother & her sisters. She’s surrounded by an amazing support system who also happen to be very curious about her new comings & goings now that she has a new lease on life haha!

I read this whole book in a British accent & had such a good time! the flirting between Chloe & Red had me smiling from ear to ear, often times outright laughing out loud at the awkward situations. I loved how dialogue heavy this was because it allows you to get a real feel for the characters. Chloe in particular really came to life on the page as someone I could relate to. She’s very body positive & confident in who she is which I love seeing in my books. Her character will be very hard to forget, besides the fact that she is outright funny as hell she’s also fiercely independent. Chloe doesn’t want to burden anyone & giving love another shot isn’t on the list but she manages to surpass her fears. This book really is about learning how to love again in a healthy way after leaving behind toxic relationships. It’s about taking back control of your life & living each day to the fullest. It’s about breaking past misconceptions surrounding chronic pain & understanding how painful it can be to have your pain dismissed. Adding this one to my list of Romantic Comedies I absolutely adored!

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Spoiler Free Review:All the Stars and the Teeth by Adalyn Grace

Title: All the Stars and the Teeth

Author: Adalyn Grace

Pub. Date: February 4th 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Imprint

Pages: 384 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

*ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Honestly! the YA Fantasy I’ve been picking up lately has truly been keeping my internal flame for the genre. I just knew All the Stars and the Teeth was a MUST read for me once I heard mention of Pirates & Mermaids cause they happen to be my fave types of fictional characters. I was NOT expecting to love it as much as I did despite it featuring one hell of a unlikeable female MC yet here we are *shoulder shrug* haha! we get this expansive world where kingdoms are separated by the magic practiced by its inhabitants and only 1 magic per Kingdom is allowed. Our MC Amora is soon to be put to the test in order to obtain the title of High Animancer. In this world, a royal title is not inherited but instead the “heir” must prove their worth in claiming the crown. We meet Amora as she prepares for the big demonstration of magic she is to show her people that will in turn solidify her ascension to the throne after her father. Things go ALL the way wrong which then sets off a series of events that place Amora aboard a ship with Bastian, a sassy easy on the eyes Pirate. However, things get further complicated when Ferrick the man she’s been betrothed to also hops on said ship.

Having had her demonstration of magic go terribly wrong, Amora fears she will be killed by her people. She makes a run for it in hopes of making a comeback to convince her people she is worthy of another chance. What Amora doesn’t anticipate is uncovering some unsavory truths about the state of her kingdom & its affairs. Truths about her magic that go back in time to the very beginning & challenge all she’s been made to believe. We see her embark on this sort of adventure that humbles her & redefines what it means to be a good leader. She sees first hand the state of the other lands within her kingdom which ends up having a sobering effect.

Although the adventure itself is A+ as is the magic system, I’ve always been a reader who loves a great cast of characters. Amora may have started off as hella unlikeable but by the end of this story I grew to have a deep admiration for her.She is fiercely protective of her kingdom & confident without a doubt that she is the right person for the job. Bastion & Ferrick may be complete opposites but I found something to love in each of them. While Bastion may have won me over with his quick witted responses, Ferrick with his gentlemanly ways also wiggled his way into my heart. Ferrick is a Suntosan which means he has healing capabilities & seeing his magic at play was pretty cool. Our Mermaid Vatea joins the crew in the latter half of the book but GODDESS she is! her song will call to the hearts of any within earshot & her ruthlessness is never something she shies away from. LOVED seeing Amora find a true friend in Vatea & could only hope we get more from bad a** character *fingers crossed* The character development, I felt was done well across the board.

Lastly, I have to mention how Adalyn Grace seriously nailed pretty gruesome imagery when it came to Amora’s Soul Magic. Our MC’s magic deals with soul binding which means she obtains body parts as a method of binding. These scenes aren’t for theft of heart but personally I felt it really did up the magic system. The duality of magic (light & dark) is always at play in the background which I found SUPER interesting. The inclusion of curses & elemental magic as well really brought this world to life & gave it a rich feel. There were times while I was reading I couldn’t help but think of Avatar the Last Airbender in the sense of world building & that’s a VERY good thing for this Avatar fan. The way we leave off in this adventure has me truly anticipating any news of the sequel, I will be patiently awaiting its arrival 🖤

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January 2020 Book Haul

Hello Bookworms! this week has sort of blown right by, no complaints here though cause the weekend is where it’s at! 🙌🏽 Girl Scout season is OVER so this Lil Mama can take a break & catch up here with you lovely readers 💜 February is well under way & I’ve been good about not buying too many books but my January was EPIC! I made use of my birthday gift cards & was a smidge spoiled by my boyfriend as well. January was also the first time in over a year that I reached out to a Publisher for an ARC (The Faithless Hawk) & was STOKED to have been granted my request. The Golden Girls bookmark caught my attention as I was ready to walk out of a book store in New Jersey making my night! All in all it was a great way to start 2020 💓

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THE SUN DOWN MOTEL | RECURSION | WHEN WE WERE VIKINGS

*Book of the Month did allow their members to choose 1 free book from their list of 2019 BOTY Finalists. I already owned copies of all their finalists with the exception of Recursion by Blake Crouch.

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SCAVENGE THE STARS (SCAVENGE THE STARS #1)

I love when a book subscription box offers up a couple of useful items because it makes me feel like it was money well spent. I was satisfied with the January Owlcrate box items, especially the Crooked Kingdom socks & the Children of Blood and Bone inspired candle which smells AMAZING! It’s always a treat when they send out new Harry Potter mugs, I’ve collected them all so far. I’m planning on buying a backpack this week which I may just use to show off the wonderful pins I get from Owlcrate 🤗

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January Monthly Wrap-Up

January was a month of much post holiday rest, organization, and goal setting. 2019 was a massive healing year for me which meant I focused more on Quality vs. Quantity reading last year to make room for new life experiences. January however had me back in the saddle with books on my radar for the rest of the year. It was also the month where I participated in my very first Readathon (SMUTATHON Wrap-Up) Challenge & had a blast! It was truly the BEST way to start off the new year, light & fun with a side of steam 😉

Besides a ton of steamy reading, I also found my love for Netflix backlist shows like Schitts Creek and continued with the latest season of Grace & Frankie. I also started Journaling, something I’ve been wanting to get back into for years but never quite took the steps & placed pen to paper. Writing has been truly cathartic in my journey to self alignment & self healing. As the new year takes off, I’m also keeping a small list of places/things I’d like to visit & do. I’ll include snippets of some of these trips in future wrap-ups as a way for me to look back on & share with you lovely readers 🙂

The Loner’s Lady by Jessa Kane – ✨2.5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) This age gap romance just was NOT my cup of tea haha! it felt very primitive & not my idea of a good time with a fake dating trope. I was generous here with my rating but in all reality it was a quick read that left me very underwhelmed.

Grading Curves by Naima Simone -✨4.5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) GOODNESS! SUPER SEXY! who would’ve known a tattoo parlor would host such potential for steam haha! Naima Simone is on my list of go-to authors for smut 😉

The King Maker by Kennedy Ryan – ✨4.5 STARS✨(SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) Kennedy Ryan blew me away with this very heavily researched read. A perfect balance between hardcore relevant topics & romance, this one I definitely plan on reviewing here on the blog. This is a age gap romance I can get behind & best of all it follows our characters over the years from the time they met in their 20’s to present day. Can’t wait to read the sequel in the All the King’s Men Duet, The Rebel King.

The Headmaster by Tiffany Reisz – ✨5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) Gothic Romance fever anyone?!? YEA that’s what Tiffany Reisz left me with after finishing Headmaster. I’mnot sure why but it gave me the same vibes I felt while reading Cassie Clare’s The Infernal Devices if only for the steam punk atmosphere. SO worth it especially if you dig Paranormal Romance.

SKYWARD by Brandon Sanderson – ✨5 STARS✨ (MY REVIEW) I wouldn’t be surprised to see SKYWARD make my end of the year TOP 20 of 2020! it gave me such an adrenaline rush & reminded me of my experience with Pierce Brown’s Morning Star. Not just cause of the camaraderie between the pilots but also because of the flight patterns & attacks that really jump off the page and pull you in. I already have secured a copy of the sequel STARSIGHT & a more happier little bean I could not be *jazz hands*

Beautiful Dreamer by Melissa Brayden-✨5 STARS✨(SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) This F/F Romance legit transported me to a small beach town & immersed me in every single characters lives like nobodies business! UGH! I did NOT want to leave & the characters who are the epitome of polar opposites had me shipping them so hard all throughout. I have a list of Melissa Brayden backlist books I will be reading throughout the next couple of months… the Next one on my radar is Strawberry Summer thanks to the wonderful Leigh Kramer who I appreciate wholeheartedly! ❤ a whole review will hit this blog in the very near future, currently I’m reading faster than I’m writing SMH! haha!

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord – ✨5 STARS✨ (MY REVIEW) on the Cuteness Meter, this one smashes the scale! This is another read that I may throw into my top 20 of 2020 but we shall see. I laughed & enjoyed the character interactions so much so that I traded in sleep haha! I have a full review linked above.

Ok soooo I may have binged almost all 5 current season of Schitts Creek onNetflix…I say almost cause in typical Lilly fashion I stopped myself from watching the last 3 episodes of season 5. I’m not a fan of endings & even though there is currently a season 6, I have to wait for it to hit Netflix sooo yea LOL! I had HUGE doubts about this show but JEEZ am I so happy I decided to give in & start this show. It appears to be super pretentious & ridiculous but I promise you there’s so much more depth to these characters. Ultimately it’s the reason I’ve fallen back in love with Netflix so if there are any shows that offer up this much comedic relief, please drop them down below in the comments Luvs!

OK! Bragging rights here cause my BF did NOT think this one was worth us going to see in theaters. WHELP! boy was he happy we went cause this was so GOOD! & possibly not the end of this franchise *fingers crossed* the boys are back & although they’ve aged just a bit, that does NOT stop them from getting back behind the wheel & catching them some bad guys…Ok well Marcus played by Martin Lawrence needs a bit of convincing & it is EVERYTHING seeing this duo back in action.

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SPOILER FREE REVIEW: SKYWARD BY BRANDON SANDERSON

Title: SKYWARD

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Pub. Date: November 6th 2018

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 510 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

Spensa is a young girl who has always been told to reach for the stars by her father, the one person she holds in highest regard. The world she lives in is constantly under attack & all that are left of the human race are fighting to stay alive. Most have been recruited to become Pilots in order to continue growing their fleets & balance the scales against their enemy. Not much is know about the mysterious ships that attack in the sky. The intel that has been gathered lets Spensa’s people know their enemy is more technologically advanced but their motives/agenda remain unclear. Spensa’s path to becoming a Pilot comes with a ton of opposition, her father was labeled a coward for deserting his team during an all out attack. This however does not stop Spensa from pursuing a career as a Pilot & searching for answers behind her fathers fallen legacy…

“𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚, 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕, 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒙 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓.”

This may be a action packed YA Sci-Fi but make no mistake! the characters are the icing on the cake 🤗 Spensa our MC is a Sun Tzu quit lover with a ton of confidence that may often times come off a arrogance. She means well though & honestly just wants to be accepted amongst her peers & judged fairly w/out the alleged sins of her father being brought up to play. This does mean she puts up with ill treatment from superiors & having to consistently prove her bravery. Spensa is in flight academy along with her flight mates Kimmalyn, Jorgen, BIM, Nedd, Arturo, FM, and others. Her flight instructor Cobb was her father’s wing-mate & goes up to bat for Spensa when the higher ups were opposed to allowing her to enter flight academy because of her dad. Cobb is a seasoned older gentleman with PTSD who has opted to retire from flying & instead teaches future Pilots.

I loved seeing the team in simulated training sessions where their personalities truly came out to play. Kudos to keeping it strictly platonic! I don’t remember the last time I read about a group of teens where there wasn’t some romance so this was refreshing. Of course this will probably not be the case in the sequel but I’m actually excited to see if a certain potential ship takes off. My FAVORITE character who may just make it into my faves of all time is the A.I. M-Bot 😎 who is super advanced & dutiful. M-Bot is part of the ship Spensa discovers & with the help of her best friend Rig brings back to life. M-Bot is perfectly paired with Spensa, both pretty cocky and chatty these two were destined for each other. I had a few good laughs reading interactions between M-Bot & Spensa that left me craving more from this duo.

The last book to give me such an adrenaline rush was Pierce Brown’s Morning Star & so SKYWARD is joining my hall of memorable action packed reads. I could hardly put this book down & could visualize all of the teams calls to action. The fighting sequences & the ships themselves were so detailed in a reader friendly way. I never felt like it was too heavy on the schematics, instead it played out as if I was watching Maverick in the popular movie Top Gun but the female version 🙌🏽 With their being very few books featuring Father/Daughter relationships, SKYWARD already has a special place in my heart. Seeing Spensa follow in her fathers footsteps as a Pilot was heartwarming. We see Spensa battle her love for her dad & the image of him she has engraved in her memory. Character development was A+ as was the story building. We’re left off with a mind blowing revelation & final battle that sent me running for the sequel 🤗