Review: Drifting Dawn by Samantha Young

Drifting Dawn by Samantha Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It never fails, Samantha Young always sucks me into her stories and makes me forget reality until I get to the end of the book. I devoured Drifting Dawn in practically one sitting and was so sad when it was over.

I think Quinn might be my favorite MMC of Samantha's to date! I got so emotional reading the flash backs to when they were kids and meeting each other, becoming friends, becoming more. Then years later, seeing him with Heather and Angus, seeing him pursue Taran in a determined but respectful way. He is so in love with Taran but realizes how awful of a mistake he made and doesn't want to make the situation worse. But honestly some of the things he said to her were so swoon-worthy and had me giggling and kicking my feet.

Taran has been through a lot of emotional trauma in her life so I 100% understand her hesitation to trust anyone again. Especially the one person who hurt her the most. She's honestly just trying to survive one day at a time and has lost her passion. To see her open back up to the idea of love with her soul mate and finding her way back to passion and living was so beautiful.

I also absolutely adored Cammie and her bluntness. And seeing Heather follow in her footsteps in priceless! I also love love love the tension and absolute attraction that is going on between Murray and London!

This was honestly perfection. It shows that true love can exist, but we are human and will make giant mistakes along the way. I'm so glad I got to read this book and it will be on my mind remembering this wonderful second chance story (which I usually don't like) for months to come I'm sure!

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Review: Home Stay by Mickey Miller

Home Stay by Mickey Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mickey Miller always delivers amazing novels, and this one did not disappoint! I love the intensity and energy between Cassie and Logan. And meeting at a country concert and getting caught in a rainstorm? You really can't go wrong with that! 

I also adored that this book was set close to and sometimes in Davenport IA since that's where I live and could literally picture the scenery of a small town in the Midwest. 

The chemistry between Cassie and Logan was a mix of extreme intensity but also a fun, humorous rom com. Basically you get both with these two and it became a binge worthy novel! I can relate to Cassie going through her major life change all too well. And Logan has some giant decisions to muddle through which I know can be hard. But when the two of them are together? All of that just fades away.

So glad I got the chance to read this book and always love it when a new Mickey Miller gets released! I definitely recommend picking this up! 

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Review: Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read this for Battle 27

Hanalei has been on her own for 10 years after her father stole a dragonfruit, a dragon egg, to save Hanalei from a poison she and the princess consumed, making them both sick and stay in a coma. The dragonfruit was supposed to be for the princess until it was stolen, and Hana has been exiled from the home she loved with all of her heart. But with stealing and using a dragonfruit comes consequences, and once Hana got better, her father died, leaving her alone at age 8. 

Ten years later, Hana is reconnected with her home island and her closest friend Sam, son to the princess. She is on an adventure to find another dragonfruit to help the princess, but is having a lot of conflicting emotions when it comes to harming the seadragons and their dragonfruit. 

I honestly adored this book. I read it in one sitting and gobbled up the story so quickly! I loved all of the dragon parts and how Hana had a connection with them. I love how they learned more about these seadragons as the story grew. I love the culture in this book and how easy it was to picture everything so clearly. It was a great novel and I'm glad I got the chance to read it! 

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Review: Stay Dead by April Henry

Stay Dead by April Henry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

This book takes you on an ultimate survival story, showing you that anything is possible if you have the determination to survive. This novel has 3 POVs: Milan, Janie, and Lenny. 

Milan is a 16 year old girl who lost her father in a car accident, and has now just lost her mother in a plane accident. Both accidents Milan was with them and both times she survived the crashes. Only now when the plane crashes, she's alone on top of a mountain and has to survive the cold weather along with wild animals. With thoughts of her parents life lessons, Milan takes one step at a time to find help and also find out why her whole family has been targeted.

Janie has lived on her family farm her whole life. But farm life is showing signs of struggle and when she's offered the chance to give up a little bit of her land for a lot of money, she decided to take the deal. But the longer the workers are there digging, the worse her farm gets. Animals and family members are getting sick, the water is getting extremely dirty, and construction workers are literally in her front yard. What she discovers had really happened, Janie's sole mission is to take down the company that has destroyed her life. 

Lenny grew up with a hit man as a dad, so it's no surprise Lenny also became a hit man. And now she is currently hunting down any one who was in that plane crash that survived: Milan. Lenny is there for a party check. She had no qualms about her target, until she finds out it's the same girl she helped after the car accident she cause that killed Milan's dad. But a target is a target, so Lenny, while extremely impressed by Milan's resources and talent to survive, is on a mission to complete her assignment. 

This book had a lot of suspense and thrilling moments. My biggest issue was the beginning was excruciatingly slow. I need dialog to get immersed into the story and when Milan was on her own after the plane crash, not a whole lot of dialog happened. Because of that it took me a lot longer to get through this book. Definitely a me issue and not the story, but my brain is already mushy in what occurred for the first 45% of the book. The ending was really good though! 

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Review: A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm quite surprised at how much I love this novel! I thought it would be a good read, but there is so much packed in here and I was bursting to read more and more. 

I am stunned this is a standalone and honestly, as much as I usually want more single novels, I wish there was more to come for Tru and Elang. I'm a bit sad is all done in one book and i can't pine for the rest of their story! 

I adore that this is a retake is Beauty and the Beast, but underwater with talking turtles and mermaids, and a talented painter with swimming dragons. So much encumbered in this book that kept my attention the entire time. 

I love how much Tru is a fighter and will do whatever it takes to keep her family safe. Even marry the Demon Prince who is then discovered to be the Dragon Prince. Tru has always wanted to go on an adventure, and an adventure she got when she met Elang!

Elang is so full of secrets, I'm shocked Tru didn't bash him on the head. But she also so smart and figured out so many hidden secrets without his help. They really are synced up with each other. 

I thought the author did a phenomenal job describing the multiple worlds these characters lived in. I felt like I was right there with them, seeing it all through my own eyes. 

I'm so glad I decided to read this and may just have to explore more books by this author! 

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Review: Mountain of Fire by Rebecca E.F. Barone

Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E.F. Barone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

This is a narrative non fiction describing the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. The author interviewed numerous witnesses and survivors of this event to be able to write this short but powerful story about a true event. When Mount St. Helens stated having earthquakes in April 1980, scientists, reporters, and tourists all rushed to the site to see what would happen. Many thought it would be safe and nothing would erupt. Others were treading lightly with information saying it was possible the mountain could erupt, but couldn't give any detailed information. This eruption was the first of is kind with a rare timeline of events that couldn't be predicted. If the technology today was available in 1980, more information could have been discovered. 

This very short book has a lot of information provided in a way that can be easily read like a story but also gives great information on how this time frame passed for the people who were involved in this natural disaster. I didn't really know a lot about this event so it was nice to learn some history while also feeling the emotions of the survivors. 

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Review: Dreamslinger by Graci Kim

Dreamslinger by Graci Kim
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

Aria lives in a world where nightmares can leave magic inside of you unless you release the build up once she wakes up. This is magic that she has feared for the last 3 years when she discovered she had it at age 13. But when the royal family opened up a competition to allow anyone to come to their kingdom and see if they can find a dreamcompanion and live in their society, Ariana thought this would be a good way to spy on their world and report back to her father, who wants to contain people with magic to make the world a safer place. 

But once Aria arrived in this new world, she realized that her father's way may NOT be the only way to live her life. Here she is accepted for her magic and dreams. Here she can learn to control the magic and not be scared to hurt someone. And she found new friends and got her own dreamcompanion, Rio, her unique tailed dragon. 

Now Aria is trying to find all the answers to what happened 10 years ago with the Battle that killed her mom, the secrets of the royal family, and the untold lore of how the magic came to be, all while trying to stay in the competition and be the top 20 that passes, and find a way to still help her father, even when her feelings are becoming conflicting... And the answers that she discovers changes everything she thought she knew her entire life. 

With the help of her new friends Tui and Lion, Aria is slowly learning to trust her heart and make the right decisions for her future and the future of their world. 

I honestly thought i would like this more than I did. Fantasy is right up my alley. I think i struggled the most because there were so many words and terms that were unfamiliar to me. So many dream___ that distracted me. Just a lot of unknowns that brought me out of the story and made me ho "what?". I think Aria definitely grew as a person throughout this book. She had a lot of growing up to do in a very short amount of time. I was proud her her reasoning at the end of the book. But I'm not going to read the next novel because my brain might explode trying to keep up with everything to remember again. 

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