🪷Book Reviews, Blog Tours, Author Q and As, Monthly Genre Goal and host of Goodreads Monday, Time Travel Thursday and Places My Books Have Taken Me! 🪷#budgettalesbookblog
It’s Time Travel Thursday! Hosted by me, this is where you get to take a look back at what you were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and get to relive those bookish memories!
📖PLOT SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS📖Welcome to Spooky Season!! The follow-up to Erin Sterling’s New York Times bestselling hit The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry.
Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow.
Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.
When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.
💭THOUGHTS💭
Ever since finishing The Ex Hex I’ve been looking forward to reading this. For me it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It was good, but not as good as The Ex Hex. There was something missing. I also felt that not as much went on in this book as in The Ex Hex.
The writing was light and “chatty”. I normally like this kind of style, but it was quite a lot in this book and there was also quite a lot of swearing. I’m personally not a fan of swearing in books.
The chapters were fairly short so you made good progress in a short space of time. Nothing dragged and my interest was kept. I was curious to see what would happen next.
There was a good flow to the book which made it easy to just sit and read it for a good length of time. I particularly enjoyed reading bits from both main characters’ points of view. That made the story feel more rounded and it was nice to see things through each of the characters’ eyes.
I liked that the chapters all had a picture of a cat and a candle at the beginning. That was a nice touch.
The characters were good. I liked the strength of Gwyn and her humour. Sometimes the humour felt a bit forced, but in a way I think that that made the character who she was. It made her inner strength shine though. I also enjoyed getting to know Wells.
Lastly the settings. I enjoyed being reacquainted with Graves Glen and the properties within the village. It is a magical place and one that I wish was real!
Overall a good book. Whilst it wasn’t as good as The Ex Hex, I still look forward to reading the third one in the series.
How quickly did October go?! I still have so much that I wanted to read! Still, I did manage to get quite a few books read as they were Halloweenish short stories. I had quite a successful month with a fair amount of 5 star reads. I am looking forward to November!
“book”, “read”, “book review”, “book blog”,”recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “entertaining”, “September reading”, “reading goals”, “romance”, “what book should I read next”, “which books are popular on social media”, “what books would you recommend”, “wrap up”
“book”, “read”, “book review”, “book blog”,”recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “entertaining”, “october reading”, “reading goals”, “what should I read next”, “what did you read”, what would you recommend that I read”, “what would get me out of a reading slump”, “romance”, “sci fi”, “mystery”, “fantasy”, “halloween”
Welcome to my Book Of The Week post! Each week I will highlight one of the books that I am currently reading and use that book to participate in blog memes such as First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, Thursday Quotables and Friday 56. Feel free to read along with me!
This week I have chosen The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling (click for link to Goodreads) published 28 September 2021.
Book Description From Goodreads:
“New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.
Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.
That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.
Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.”
“book blog”, “don’t miss out”, “entertaining”, “what books do you recommend”, “what book should I read next”, “halloween”, “halloween books”, “romance”, “witches” “fantasy”
I will hopefully be making more progress on my Blog Tour book Good Taste by Caroline Scott and starting Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan. I am also hoping to get most of The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman finished so that I can make a start on my Halloween Kindle Freebie (free at the time of purchase) Witch Happens by AM King! In between all of that I would also like to make some progress on The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling. This may be a bit optimistic!
Good Taste by Caroline Scott
Book Description From Goodreads:
“You can tell a lot about a person from what they like to eat..When Stella Douglas, author of a much-loved but not very successful biography of a forgotten cookery writer, is summoned to see her editor in London, she is dreading being told her writing career is over before it’s even started. But much to her surprise, she finds she is being commissioned to write another book – this time a history of food in England and how the English like to eat. It’s to be quintessentially English and will remind English housewives of the old ways, and English men the glory of their country. The only problem is – all English food is really from elsewhere. So Stella sets about inviting recipes from all corners of England, in the hope of discovering a hidden culinary gem. But what she discovers is oatcakes and gravy and lots of lots of potatoes. Longing for something more thrilling, she heads off to speak to the nation’s housewives. But when her car breaks down and the dashing and charismatic Freddie springs to her rescue, she is led in a very different direction…Full of wit and life, Provenance is a story of discovery, of a modern England emerging from the past and one woman’s desire to make her own way as a modern woman.”
Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan
Book Description From Goodreads:
A family gathering
This Christmas the Miller siblings have one goal—to avoid their well-meaning family’s endless stream of prying questions. Ross, Alice and Clemmie have secrets that they don’t intend to share, and they are relying on each other to deflect attention.
An uninvited guest.
Lucy Clarke is facing a Christmas alone and the prospect of losing her job. Unless she can win a major piece of business from Ross Miller, the season promises to be anything but festive. She’ll just deliver her proposal to his family home and then leave. After all, she wouldn’t want to intrude on the Miller family’s perfect Christmas.
A Christmas to remember
When Lucy appears on the Miller family’s snow-covered Highland doorstep, she’s mistaken for Ross’s girlfriend. By the time the confusion is cleared up, they’re snowed in—she can’t leave, even if she wants to! But does she want to? As secrets spill out like presents from an overstuffed stocking and the chemistry between her and Ross ignites, this is going to be either Lucy’s worst Christmas ever or the best mistake of her life.”
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
Book Description From Goodreads:
“Irene must be at the top of her game or she’ll be off the case – permanently…Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she’s posted to an alternative London. Their mission – to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it’s already been stolen. London’s underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book.Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested – the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene’s new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own.Soon, she’s up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option – the nature of reality itself is at stake.”
Witch Happens by AM King
Book Description From Goodreads:
“Some people come from a long family line of lawyers, doctors, teachers and even cops. Febe just found out she comes from a long line of…witches! Febe Summer is not having a good day. Or a good year, for that matter. She lost her fiancé, her job, and her apartment all in one day—on her 25th birthday! Talk about the worst. Birthday. Ever! She’s jobless, penniless and soon to be…homeless. Will she be able to rebound and pick herself up again? Oh, and she just found out, thanks to a dark family secret, that she’s not who she thought she was. She’s a witch! And she’s not allowed to practice magic—yet. When she moves back to her small hometown of Blackshore Bay, there’s more family drama than she can handle. Her aunties are out of control, her sister is being secretive and someone has murdered the malicious town gossip. Will she be able to find out whom, before it’s too late?”
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Book Description From Goodreads:
“Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.”
It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.
“All it takes is one morning for Sydney Photographer Lily Bianchi’s life to go off the rails and over a cliff.
A well-dressed English woman turns up at her door, swearing she’s a witch. If that’s not crazy enough, she explains Lily’s brother, James, has been kidnapped and the Paranormal Investigation Bureau needs Lily’s help finding him.
And the craziest part? The Englishwoman tells Lily she’s a witch too. Before she can say, “Where’s my coffee?” she’s on a plane bound for Westerham, England. Unfortunately, England’s not as welcoming as she hoped–she’s barely arrived before she gets set up, arrested and almost shot.
Things can only get better from here, right? Yeah, right…”
“Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.
That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.
Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.”
“Irene must be at the top of her game or she’ll be off the case – permanently…
Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she’s posted to an alternative London. Their mission – to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it’s already been stolen. London’s underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book.
Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested – the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene’s new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own.
Soon, she’s up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option – the nature of reality itself is at stake.”
“It’s the season of peace and goodwill, but a Victorian Christmas is no holiday for the world’s most popular detective in this new book from Bonnie MacBird, author of the bestselling Sherlock Holmes novel Art in the Blood.
It’s Christmastime in London, and Sherlock Holmes takes on two cases. The angelic three-year-old child of a wealthy couple is the target of a vicious kidnapper, and a country aristocrat worries that his handsome, favourite son has mysteriously vanished from his London pied à terre. Holmes and Watson, aided by the colourful Heffie O’Malley, slip slide in the ice to ensure a merry Christmas is had by nearly everybody…”
Comparison:
Still on the Halloween type reads with a bit of Christmas this year thrown in because it is a Blog Tour book!
What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!
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