Wednesday, 19 May 2021

Can't Wait Wednesday #18

 


Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released.

I just got approved for a new ARC on NetGalley, and it's coming out in September! I'm super excited to read it, it sounds so cute! There is nothing I love more than a romance during the Christmas season! 

Title: A Magical New York Christmas
Author: Anita Hughes
Publish Date: September 28th, 2021
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 

A magical holiday love story set at the glamorous Plaza Hotel in New York City.

It’s Christmas week when 26-year-old Sabrina Post knocks on the door of the Vanderbilt suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, ready to accept the ghostwriting position for the memoir of Grayson Westcott—a famous art dealer.

A struggling journalist, Sabrina can't believe her luck: a paycheck and six nights in her own suite at the Plaza. She feels like Eloise, the heroine from her favorite children’s books. To make the job even more exciting, Grayson recounts how he worked as a butler at the Plaza sixty years ago for none other than the author of the Eloise books, Kay Thompson.

What promises to be a perfect week is complicated when Sabrina meets Ian Wentworth, a handsome British visitor, at the hotel bar. When Ian assumes Sabrina is another wealthy guest at the hotel, she doesn’t correct him —a decision she doesn’t regret after learning that Ian is a member of the British aristocracy. But, things are not what they seem. The truth is: Ian is not a wealthy lord; he’s actually the personal secretary of Lord Spencer Braxton.

As the week unfolds, will Sabrina and Ian learn the truth about one another?

Filled with the magic that can only be found at the Plaza Hotel during the holidays, and revealing facts about the author of the Eloise books, Anita Hughes's A Magical New York Christmas is both a holiday treat and a heartwarming story that reminds us that falling in love is the greatest miracle of all.

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Book Blitz: The Sick Wife by Loretta Lost

Title: The Sick Wife
Author: Loretta Lost
Publication date: May 17th 2021
Genres: Adult, Romantic Thriller

I fell in love with my patient’s husband. While she was dying of COVID-19. She was comatose and I comforted him, like a good nurse. We talked for hours, every day. He told me all his secrets. We planned to start a life together.

Only one problem… she didn’t die.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

“Camilla!” the doctor shouts at me. “Prepare the ventilator.”

What? But she’s dead. I stand there feeling like a zombie.

“As soon as we get her back, she needs to go on that thing,” the doctor explains. “Immediately.”

Well, that’s optimistic. But I’ve worked with Michael for years, and if he’s optimistic, then maybe I should have some hope. My body moves without my permission to do as he says and assist him. I bring over the breathing machine for a woman who isn’t breathing—her heart isn’t even beating.

And then a beep.

Oh, thank God.

“She’s back,” Doctor Mike says with a sigh as he removes the paddles from her chest. “Welcome back, Yvette.”

The woman is lying there dazed and confused, struggling to breathe. “Quoi…? What happened?”

“You died for a little bit,” one of the other nurses says, squeezing her hand. “But you’re okay. Good job, girl. Keep fighting it.”

Emotion and anxiety floods my chest like pins and needles. That’s usually me, being comforting, being a rock, but right now I somehow feel incapable.

Yvette looks around the room, dizzy with vacant eyes until she sees me. “Camilla,” she says, gasping for air, and lifting her hand. Her eyes fill with tears. “Can you call him?”

I nod and stop what I’m doing to move over to her phone.

“There’s no time,” Doctor Mike says. “Look, Yvette? I’m sorry, but we are going to put you into a medically induced coma right now so that you can go on this ventilator. It’s your only chance of survival.”

“No,” Yvette says tearfully, “please, no.”

“I’m sorry, we have no other options.”

“Can we flip her over on her stomach?” I ask the doctor.

“It’s too late,” he responds. “We’re going to lose her again if we don’t act now. Sedate her.”

“Call my husband!” Yvette begs me, her voice raw and gasping. She uses almost all her oxygen to say his name. “Call Gabriel.”

I press the phone against her thumb to follow this request while the other nurses set up the machine. For a second, my mind is blank. Gabriel? That’s the first time I’ve heard his name. Then I remember.

He’s the Huge Fucking Asshole.

I press that name on the phone to dial him while they put her to sleep.

“Gabe,” she is crying, sobbing, unable to breathe. “Gabe—I’m sorry. Tell him I’m sorry.”

“She’s too excited,” the doctor is saying. “Her heart is going to stop again. Put her under now.”

“Can we just wait one minute so she can hear his voice?” I ask, as the phone is ringing. I stare at the nurse delivering barbiturates into the IV. “Please. It’s important to her.”

“Sorry, Milla. There’s no time. We need to act now.”

I watch the fluid being injected into her veins, feeling helpless. I look over to her dark eyes, and I see the desperation. I see a human being filled with love and need, clinging to life. Fighting for a chance to fix her mistakes. To finish her unfinished business.

And just like that she’s gone. While the phone is still ringing in my hand.

Author Bio:

Loretta Lost is a USA Today bestselling author who writes stories about survivors. She is the author of the CLARITY series and Sophie Shields novels. She lives in Toronto, Canada with adorable cats, and she hopes to find a good boyfriend who isn't fictional before all her hair turns grey.

Follow @loretta.lost on Instagram, @LorettaLost on Twitter, or connect on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LorettaLost

You can also subscribe to Loretta's mailing list for updates and a free book: www.eepurl.com/O0WTL

Fun fact: The author's real name is Nadia-- she chose her pen name because her sister's name is Loretta, and her sister is lost.

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Monday, 17 May 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

Happy Monday everyone! After a really good reading streak, I find I'm stuck on my current reads. They're not bad, just not as fast-paced and exciting as my recent books have been. I feel like it's going to be a slower reading week because of it, but then I'll hopefully be on to more 5 star reads!

What I Read Last Week:


What I'm Currently Reading:


What's Up Next:








Sunday, 16 May 2021

Stacking the Shelves/The Sunday Post #10

 


The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

Halfway through May! Wow how time flies! I am STILL waiting to hear from medical schools. Ugh the waiting is the worst part... I just want to know, even if it's a rejection. Work is boring as usual... Ontario is STILL locked down for whatever reason so there's not much to do besides work, walk, and read lol! I think I'm going to start working out again and trying to eat healthier - I have started to notice some weight gain and I'm not happy about it! Time to make some changes before summer is completely upon us :) 

Last Week on the Blog: 


This Week on my Blog: 

Monday: It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
Tuesday: The Hollow Inside by Brooke Lauren Davis Review
Wednesday: Can't Wait Wednesday
Thursday: Incognito by Katie Delahanty Review
Friday: Book Blogger Hop
Saturday: This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron Review
Sunday: Stacking the Shelves/The Sunday Post


Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit Reading Reality!

I went on Amazon and browsed the free books - what a way to fill up an e-reader lol! Not sure if these are still free, but here's what I picked up over the last week:





And I finally got myself a copy of the Divergent series in hardback! Yay!












Saturday, 15 May 2021

The Highlander's Captive by Mary Wine

 

Title: The Highlander's Captive
Author: Mary Wine
Publish Date: May 7th, 2021
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review!

Stealing brides is a tradition...

In the Highlands, strength is the currency of choice, and if you can't protect what is yours, be prepared to pay a ransom.

Annis is a prize. Born of a royal blood line, the fact that she's illegitimate isn't really important. With her mother gone, her kin barter her and send her off to Scotland, where her husband's family is eager to see her produce heirs to their line with impeccable lineage.

Rolfe Munro is sick unto death of the topic of marriage. His marriage is one everyone seems to have an opinion of. So, when his father offers him the chance to escape the Munro stronghold for a bit, Rolfe happily takes the chore! But he knows it's only a brief respite.

Duty is the other currency of the Highlands. He's the son of the laird, and he'll have to settle down or risk leaving the clan in a fight when he dies.

Still, he's not ready to steal a bride. Even when his fool cousin takes one and needs rescuing. Rolfe isn't going to get involved beyond making sure his cousin survives. That's his plan. And it's a firm one. At least, until he lays eyes on Annis. Rolfe has seen his share of pretty women.

Annis is different. Her allure is something he can't put into words or ignore, it would seem.

By the time he escorts them to his cousin's stronghold, all Rolfe is thinking about is how to steal Annis away.

Penelope's Review

So this is the third book in a series, but as with most historical fiction series, you don't need to read the others to be able to understand what's going on. It brings characters mentioned in other books to the forefront as main characters. In this particular book, we follow Rolfe of the Munro clan, and Annis, an English woman with royal blood. 

I am really impressed with the writing style of this author - I felt like I was in the Scottish Highlands, and read the whole story with a Scottish accent lol! The author seems to have a knack for being able to make everything feel really lifelike - her world-building is fantastic, her characters are real and relatable, and she has a great premise! 

Rolfe... sigh. What a tall, dark, and sexy man in a kilt xD I loved that this character had so many layers. He was driven by a code of loyalty and duty, and was able to listen to both his head and his heart. He was smart and driven, and all around a really interesting and relatable character.

I also really liked Annis. Despite basically being treated as a piece of property, she persevered and took her life into her own hands. I loved how resilient she was and how determined she was to control what happened to her. I loved her and Rolfe together, I thought the romance worked really well. 

There were a few side characters mentioned that I would LOVE to hear more about - I'm hoping they were being set up as the main characters in the next book, that's what it seems like! 

Overall, good plot development, great characters, fantastic writing style! This author is now on my watch list!

Rating: 4/5 Devils!