Scan barcode
loveleighreading's reviews
245 reviews
A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The story follows Kora, the daughter of King Midas, whom he accidentally turned to into a golden statue, after being "blessed" with a golden touch by the god Dionysus. While she's no longer statue, her entire body is still shimmering gold. Because of this, she has hidden herself away behind veils & gloves in the palace for the last 10 years.
The Princess, now 17, has had various suitors come to court her, but to date all have run away as soon as they get a glimpse of the real her. That is until Duke Wystlinos, he shows no fear at her appearance or even her touch. Things seem to finally be going well for her, until a thief breaks in & steals the items Midas turned to gold. The King collapses with their loss & they must be returned before it is too late.
Luckily, Kora’s has a connection to the treasure that allows her to feel it's location. So with the assistance of the Duke, his friends ship & a crew, they set off on an adventure filled with pirates, curses & betrayal.
I enjoyed the book, it was a nice quick audiobook listen on Hoopla from my local library. I liked Kora, & the male lead, but I think her cousin Hettie & the first mate Rhat were my favorites. I thought that the other ways the curse affected Kora were very unique, & definitely helped her turn a "curse" into her strength.
My one complaint, would be that things were a bit too convenient and it was very predictable.
Audiobook: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great narration
The Princess, now 17, has had various suitors come to court her, but to date all have run away as soon as they get a glimpse of the real her. That is until Duke Wystlinos, he shows no fear at her appearance or even her touch. Things seem to finally be going well for her, until a thief breaks in & steals the items Midas turned to gold. The King collapses with their loss & they must be returned before it is too late.
Luckily, Kora’s has a connection to the treasure that allows her to feel it's location. So with the assistance of the Duke, his friends ship & a crew, they set off on an adventure filled with pirates, curses & betrayal.
I enjoyed the book, it was a nice quick audiobook listen on Hoopla from my local library. I liked Kora, & the male lead, but I think her cousin Hettie & the first mate Rhat were my favorites. I thought that the other ways the curse affected Kora were very unique, & definitely helped her turn a "curse" into her strength.
My one complaint, would be that things were a bit too convenient and it was very predictable.
Audiobook: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great narration
Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh
I just finished this book and I am sitting here utterly in awe. It has been quite a while since I have read a new Regency Historical Romance that has affected me so much. There were so many wonderful things to love about this story and the characters, but I have to say my absolute favorite part was the level of respect the characters showed each. Eva Leigh was able to show that it is completely normal to admit ones attraction to another person while simultaneously respecting their boundaries.
Jessica McGale, is the oldest daughter of a soap maker, who is doing everything that she can to keep the business afloat after a devastating fire destroyed a majority of their manufacturing abilities. Jess is a bright and determined young woman, so she creates an opportunity for herself to find investors by creating and playing as "Lady Whitfield", a recently windowed lady of the ton.
Noel, the Duke of Rotherby, is a self proclaimed rake and part time investor. He is immediately attracted to her intelligence and strength, wishing to be in her company as often and in any way possible, as long as she will allowit. He is not a man who trusts easily, but he finds himself revealing things to her that not even his friends, the Union of Rakes, are aware of.
From this set up it is pretty easy to see where the story is going to go, however, I completely enjoyed the unexpected turns this ride provided along the way. In all of the Regency/Historical Romance books I have ever read over the years, I have never seen this dynamic between the characters. The flirted with each other from their very first encounter, their mutual attraction was completely obvious but they still sought consent from one another for each action they took. This show of respect and desire for one anothet truly made the steamy scenes even more enjoyable for me as, "consent is my kink".
It might be early for me to say, but I truly believe Eva Leigh is going to be a new favorite author for me. This story brought me so much joy and contentment, that I have already purchased the first installment is this series, My Fake Rake, and plan to start reading it soon.
**Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the free E-ARC in exchange of my honest review**
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I just finished this book and I am sitting here utterly in awe. It has been quite a while since I have read a new Regency Historical Romance that has affected me so much. There were so many wonderful things to love about this story and the characters, but I have to say my absolute favorite part was the level of respect the characters showed each. Eva Leigh was able to show that it is completely normal to admit ones attraction to another person while simultaneously respecting their boundaries.
Jessica McGale, is the oldest daughter of a soap maker, who is doing everything that she can to keep the business afloat after a devastating fire destroyed a majority of their manufacturing abilities. Jess is a bright and determined young woman, so she creates an opportunity for herself to find investors by creating and playing as "Lady Whitfield", a recently windowed lady of the ton.
Noel, the Duke of Rotherby, is a self proclaimed rake and part time investor. He is immediately attracted to her intelligence and strength, wishing to be in her company as often and in any way possible, as long as she will allowit. He is not a man who trusts easily, but he finds himself revealing things to her that not even his friends, the Union of Rakes, are aware of.
From this set up it is pretty easy to see where the story is going to go, however, I completely enjoyed the unexpected turns this ride provided along the way. In all of the Regency/Historical Romance books I have ever read over the years, I have never seen this dynamic between the characters. The flirted with each other from their very first encounter, their mutual attraction was completely obvious but they still sought consent from one another for each action they took. This show of respect and desire for one anothet truly made the steamy scenes even more enjoyable for me as, "consent is my kink".
It might be early for me to say, but I truly believe Eva Leigh is going to be a new favorite author for me. This story brought me so much joy and contentment, that I have already purchased the first installment is this series, My Fake Rake, and plan to start reading it soon.
**Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the free E-ARC in exchange of my honest review**
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Such an amazing book, I loved the cast of characters and the story.
I would die for Doom Slug 😭
I would die for Doom Slug 😭
Shielded by KayLynn Flanders
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Princess Jennesara is the second heir in a family line where only the 1st born is supposed to possess magical powers, identified by a white streak in their hair. Jenna, has been braiding her own hair since a very young age in attempts to hide the fact that she does actually possess magic powers so that she is not sent away. Unfortunately, she will still have to leave her home to help solidify a marriage alliance with another country. On the way, tragedy strikes and her adventures begin. I found this to be a very charming and fun fantasy read, that was very simple and enjoyable. The main cast of characters were all wonderful, you could really feel the love and affection between the family members for one another. However, the villainous characters were not nearly as strong or well rounded. I also felt confused when it came to the magic system, it just seemed there was a missing component but I cannot put my finger on exactly what it is. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the sequel in the future. **ARC provided to me by Netgalley and Random House Children's books in exchange for an honest review**
Shadow and Bone & Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Before going into this book I had heard a lot of mixed reactions, I also read Six of Crows first without knowing about this series. I am happily surprised that I actually enjoyed the book quite a bit, definitely not as much as SoC but it was still a great story. When I think of YA intended for a young audience this is the type of book that I picture, and I think the younger readers would really enjoy this too.
I am currently #TeamMal
I will probably add onto this review once I have completed the series.
Audiobook Quality:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great narrator, however I was not a fan of her voice for The Darkling.
I am currently #TeamMal
I will probably add onto this review once I have completed the series.
Audiobook Quality:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great narrator, however I was not a fan of her voice for The Darkling.
The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
*Free E-ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
I was originally drawn in by this cover and title, they gave me the impression that this was going to be the book for me. I am happy to report that I was 100% correct, and even before I finished the book I was already making my friends sick by talking about it so much (JK they are excited to read it too).
The story is about Sophia, a 16 year old girl who is preparing to attend the annual ball at the palace. While in most fairy tales, the young girls would be excited to get to dress up and attend the ball in hopes of finding love, in this story it is every girls nightmare. In their land, women are forced to be married by a certain age or else become a forfeit. What that actually means is unclear, as they are never seen or heard from again. All the Sophia wants is to run away to be with her bestfriend Erin, but her family, society and even Erin tell her it's impossible. On the night of the ball Sophia makes a desperate escape and ends up running into Constance, the great granddaughter of one of the Evil Stepsisters. As she gets to know more about this strange girl she learns that there is much more to the legend of Cinderella than palace approved story book has led everyone to believe. I truly enjoyed this story and loved these characters Kalynn Bayron has created.
My official rating for this book is 4.5 stars, but I have rounded up to 5. I would like to have seen a bit more depth to the characters, and I felt that the end was wrapped up a bit too neatly. I am looking forward to reading more work from this author in the future (keeping my fingers crossed for another fairy tale remix).
I was originally drawn in by this cover and title, they gave me the impression that this was going to be the book for me. I am happy to report that I was 100% correct, and even before I finished the book I was already making my friends sick by talking about it so much (JK they are excited to read it too).
The story is about Sophia, a 16 year old girl who is preparing to attend the annual ball at the palace. While in most fairy tales, the young girls would be excited to get to dress up and attend the ball in hopes of finding love, in this story it is every girls nightmare. In their land, women are forced to be married by a certain age or else become a forfeit. What that actually means is unclear, as they are never seen or heard from again. All the Sophia wants is to run away to be with her bestfriend Erin, but her family, society and even Erin tell her it's impossible. On the night of the ball Sophia makes a desperate escape and ends up running into Constance, the great granddaughter of one of the Evil Stepsisters. As she gets to know more about this strange girl she learns that there is much more to the legend of Cinderella than palace approved story book has led everyone to believe. I truly enjoyed this story and loved these characters Kalynn Bayron has created.
My official rating for this book is 4.5 stars, but I have rounded up to 5. I would like to have seen a bit more depth to the characters, and I felt that the end was wrapped up a bit too neatly. I am looking forward to reading more work from this author in the future (keeping my fingers crossed for another fairy tale remix).