Can't Wait for A Queen of Thieves & Chaos

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

A Queen of Thieves & Chaos (Fate & Flame, # 3)

By: KA Tucker

Expected Publication: September 5, 2023

606 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--From internationally bestselling author K.A. Tucker comes the third novel in her Fate and Flame series, an adult fantasy novel that should be read in series order.

"You betrayed your brother to steal a broken crown."

The kingdom stands on the brink of chaos. Atticus' grip on the realm is faltering, and as threats arise ever closer to home, he is driven to increasingly desperate acts to hold onto power.

With Islor's fate now in the balance, Zander stands to defend the Rift from the oncoming Ybarisan army. With the king's forces scattered, he must risk unlikely new alliances.

And behind the walls of Ulysede, secrets wait for its new queen. Romeria knows that the paths of the hidden city will lead her to answers. But will they be enough to save the realm – or is their fate already sealed?

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases of Q3/Q4 2023

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This week's topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases of Q3/Q4 2023

1. A Soul of Ash & Blood (Blood & Ash, # 5) by Jennifer L Armentrout
2. Light Bringer (Red Rising, # 6) by Pierce Brown
3. A Queen of Thieves & Chaos (Fate & Flame, # 3) by KA Tucker
4. To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai
5. Pixels & Paint (Trinket Sisters, # 1) by Kristi Ann Hunter
6. Committing to the Cowgirl (Colorado Cowgirls, # 1) by Jody Hedlund
7. Calling on the Matchmaker (A Shanahan Match, # 1) by Jody Hedlund
8. Sleepless in Dubai by Sajni Patel
9. The Queen's Crown (Leauge of Rules, # 1) by Jennifer Anne Davis
10. Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

Which books are on you most anticipating from the second half of 2023? Let me know!

Love Unseen - Review

Love Unseen

By: Rachel Kelley Stones

Expected Publication: July 5, 2023

248 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Hannah Hadley is a permanent fixture in London Society and well on her way to becoming a spinster. Despite her beauty and kind disposition, Hannah has accepted the harsh reality of her situation: she will never marry. Continually affected by an illness from her youth, Hannah acknowledges her chances of entertaining potential suitors, at least respectable ones, is slim.

To members of the ton, Jonathan Carter is undeniably unsuitable. Though he is in possession of a massive fortune and is handsome as well, there remains an insurmountable black mark against him: his is new money. Even so, he’s caught off guard when his enchanting neighbor, Miss Hadley, flatly rejects his offer to dance. Despite their rocky introduction, however, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. But when circumstances force Hannah from her home, the couple’s warm association comes to an abrupt end. Now, Jonathan must find a way to rescue the woman he just might love or risk losing her forever.

Ok so I'll be honest. Love Unseen surprised me. It really shouldn't have, but it did. I didn't put much thought into what Hannah's illness might be, but I haven't read any other books from this period with the same situation. Since this was a unique context for a book set during this time, I really enjoyed the story because of this.

Hannah and Jonathon don't start off too well. Hannah unintentionally offends Jonathan. These two spend some time back and forth between being almost harsh with each other and then coming to understand the other. The back-and-forth was a little confusing at times, but overall it built some nice tension.

I always kick myself for doing this, but I finished Love Unseen 3 weeks before I'm finally sitting down to write my review. Doing this means I've forgotten some of the finer points of the story that I wanted to make.

The secondary characters--specifically Hannah's family members--were odious. Her mother is pure vitriol. Her sister is no better than a spoiled brat. And her brother, mostly spineless and passive. The reasoning behind Hannah's mother's feelings towards her never made sense to me. Even when Love Unseen actually touched on the specifics I was left feeling like it wasn't logical and didn't make sense. I suppose emotions usually don't follow logic. I felt like Hannah's sister was almost as bad as her mother and then a switch flipped there towards the end. I wasn't sure I could have been as forgiving as Hannah was. Jonathan's mother and sister were wonderful. Even Hannah's aunt was a breath of fresh air despite still being a little too passive for my taste.

There did come a point where the story began to feel a little too dramatized for me, but I didn't really dislike it even with that. As a matter of fact, overall the story was better than I expected.

Favorite quotes:

-If she didn't want me to draw attention to myself, why did she insist on pointing out every one of my mistakes?

-"There are always those in life who choose to dislike and discourage, but that's a reflection of their character, not yours. You must learn to ignore them."

-"Your father made it easy to love and be loved,"

-Nature has a way of creating little bits and pieces of artistry that man cannot replicate.

I couldn't leave that last quote without correcting it from "nature" to "God."

Love Unseen was refreshing in many ways. Hannah's condition wasn't one I'd read about in this unique historical setting. Her relationship with Jonathan was rocky and even borderline harsh in the beginning. Things took a very dramatic turn there towards the end. And I can't say that everything made logical sense to me, but in the end, I found that I like this book much more than I was expecting. Love Unseen gets 4 Stars. Have you read Love Unseen? What did you think? Let me know!

2023 Series Enders Reading Challenge - June Wrap Up

Time for our Monthly Wrap Up for the 2023 Series Enders Reading Challenge hosted by Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know and Holly @ Words Fueled by Love!

Sandy finished Never Wager with a Wallflower (The Merriwell Sisters, # 3) by Virginia Heath.

Which series enders did you finish? Link the up below. Don't forget to include the title, your name, & your blog name (Ex: Requiem - Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know) Also, the June giveaway runs from June 25th - July 25th. On July 25th we will use random.org and the linky entries to pull a grand prize winner.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sunday Post - 06/25/23

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Husband was off work Monday. Monday was also my brother's birthday. We went for a walk and then the kiddos ended up going to Grammy's house for a few hours with Husband while he cut her grass. I had a few unexpected hours to myself. Tuesday we walked and then went swimming. My oldest two kids had a fight over monopoly and then decided they wanted to be good friends with each other. They spent the rest of the night being so polite to each other I nearly cried. They even slept in the same room together. I wasn't naive enough to think such behavior was likely to last until the morning the next day, but it gave me hope for their future relationship. Wednesday was my birthday. Husband fixed me breakfast and the kids gave me their presents. The polite sibling behavior had indeed worn off. We went by grocery pickup and then to the storage building. I wanted to swim, but can you believe that the kids didn't? Granted, temps have only hit 90 once here so far this month so the water is unseasonably cold. It also did rain that afternoon. Thursday I took the kids to my parents house. We took their bicylces to ride around the block. Friday, we ran back up to the store to get a birthday present for a friend. Then we went swimming. Saturday, I went to a women's devotional. And then took Little Girl to a birthday party for her friend at a roller skating rink. That was Little Girl's first time skating and my first time in at least ten years. Saturday was a particularly exhausting, but good, day.

THE PAST WEEK:

Monday: Review of Play for Me by Libby Hubscher (4 Stars)
Tuesday: Top Ten Summer 2023 TBR List
Wednesday: Can't Wait for Light Bringer (Red Rising, # 6) by Pierce Brown

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of Love Unseen by Rachel Kelley Stones
Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday?
Wednesday: Can't Wait for Wednesday?

Don’t forget to link up for the 2023 Series Enders Reading Challenge! You have until December 15th, 2023 to sign up. Each month there will be a giveaway for those participating with an end of the year giveaway too! Click on the picture below or the link above to find out more!

NEW BOOKS:

Homeschool Bravely

By: Jamie Erikson

Publication: April 2, 2019

208 pages

Genre: Nonfiction, Parenting, Christian, Education

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Quiet the voices of "not good enough" and step courageously into guilt-free homeschooling Many homeschool parents have a long-term relationship with self-doubt. "Did I make the right decision?" "Could someone else do this better?" "Am I robbing my kids of something by not sending them to ‘regular school’?" What if there’s a better way? Not a 3-step technique or a shiny, new curriculum, but a change in perspective that transforms the way you plan, teach, and homeschool? Homeschool Bravely teaches you to see homeschooling as a calling, helps you overthrow the tyranny of impossible expectations, and guides you through the common bumps in the road, including how Reclaim your hope, renew your purpose, and transform your homeschool. Because the truth God will use every part of your homeschool, even your fears, faults, and failures, to weave good plans for your kids.

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, # 1)

By: Rebecca Yarros

Publication: May 2, 2023

528 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Dragon

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!