Knitting, Sci-fi and other stuff...

5★ 3🌶 I finished Reign of Stars and Fire by LJ Andrews last night.  Wow!  I think this has been the best book in the series so far.  It was intense.  The pacing was amazing.  The MMC Ari had been put into a fae sleep at the conclusion of the previous book and the FMC Saga had flown away to the Western Kingdom in search of Calista.  All of LJs books are duel POV which I think is probably my personal favorite setup.  Ari had to go on a journey essentially while he was in his fae sleep.  He traveled through the past and figured out how a bunch of the overarching plot points fell together.  It connected all the stories from the previous seven books.  Each of the chapters ended in peril and then switched back to the other POV.  It felt more like a thriller almost, but I loved it.  I had a hard time putting the book down, because I needed to know what happened next.  So much happened in this book.  I'm not sure how or if t...

  5★ 3🌶 I finished Den of Blades and Briars by LJ Andrews.  This is book seven in the nine book series The Broken Kingdoms.  This book is fabulous.  This whole series is fabulous.  There are four kingdoms North, East, South and West.  There are Fae, humans and all other sort of creatures.  The magic system is very complex but is explained and compounded upon with each subsequent book.  The complex and detailed world that Andrews has built is really like no other fantasy world I've read about.  The Viking influence is very strong and apparent.  The fairy tale re-tellings take a back seat to the complex plots in each of these.  This book in particular follows Ari to the Southern Kingdom where he has been charged to oversee the preparation of vows between Gunnar and Eryka.  Gunnar is the son of Valen's sister and Malin's brother.  Eryka is from the Southern Kingdom.  All of these people and their stories are very intert...

4.5★ 2🌶      I finished Guarded Treasure by Mae Lovette.  It was good but it didn't blow me away.  I enjoyed it overall.  I think the plot was decent.  It slowed the book down a little when the two MCs went back to Cairo to look for more information on the tomb.  I expected all the action to take place at the tomb and surrounding area, but why should it have, that assumption was on me.  The whole story came together nicely I think.  The only part I didn't quite care for was the jealously factor from Ben when he finds out Edith has an "engagement of convenience".  She shouldn't have needed to explain to him that being a woman in the 30s necessitated some sort of relationship with a man so that she could move about in social circles freely, but whatever.  They communicated with each other about it so it didn't become a huge sticking point for too long. One of my most hated tropes is miscommunication.  I did like that a good...

      I actually have a crafting update this week.  I started a pair of fingerless mitts last Sunday.  I have made some progress on them and took a picture. Pattern is  Timeline Mitts  and its free.  I'm using more Malabrigo Sock leftovers.  These are the five colors I used in both my Get a Shift On! shawls, so they'll match both.  Although I haven't decided yet if I'm keeping the second one for myself.  There isn't really enough contrast with the Abril, Anniversario and the Eggplant main color.  The other two colors; Solis and Indiecita contrast well.  I'm still really liking how these are coming out.  Because its all sock weight these are going to take me a while but that's okay.       I've been posting book reviews as I finish the books.  I finished A Soul to Keep and I'm nearly finished with Guarded Treasure.  My review of A Soul to Keep is here .  I'm not sure what I'll start ne...

  5 ★ 3🌶 I finished A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne last night.  This was my first foray into Monster Romance, so I don't really have anything else to compare it to.  It was pretty spicey.  I waffled between giving it another pepper.  The scenes are quite descriptive, long and there is a good amount of it.  Overall the book was good.  The story was interesting, there was a ton of world building.  The FMC is an outcast in her village, so when it's time to choose the next sacrifice for the Duskwalker who comes to collect once every decade she's the obvious choice.  Her choices are go with this Duskwalker willingly or spend the rest of her life in the underground cell in the village.  She chooses the Duskwalker.  Duskwalkers are a type of demon, but who can be out in daylight.  They are attracted to the smell of fear; it makes them go into a frenzy and they eat humans.  Luckily for Reia, she fears very little.  The Duskwal...

      I finished Stitches and Witches by Nancy Warren last evening.  This was book two in the Vampire Knitting Club series.  It was another quick and cozy installment, perfect for spooky season.  Lucy and the crew work to solve a murder mystery.  It was good.  It has a serial feel to it just like the first one and it was fast paced.  I noticed that the author repeated key information and events from the first book.  I personally found this a bit annoying since I had just finished the first book, however I could see this would be handy if there had been a good amount of time between reads.  I do plan to read more of these serials eventually.  But I'm going back to heavier reads and I'll come back to these when I need a palate cleanser.          I started A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne last evening.  This one is about a young lady who is given to a Duskwalker, a type of demon essentially as a sacr...