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Title: Real Men Knit
Author: Kwana Jackson
Publication Date: May 19, 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary / Romance
Add to: Goodreads

When their foster-turned-adoptive mother suddenly dies, four brothers struggle to keep open the doors of her beloved Harlem knitting shop, while dealing with life and love in Harlem.

Jesse Strong is known for two things: his devotion to his adoptive mom, Mama Joy, and his reputation for breaking hearts in Harlem. When Mama Joy unexpectedly passes away, he and his brothers have different plans on what to do with Strong Knits, their neighborhood knitting store: Jesse wants to keep the store open; his brothers want to shut it down.

Jesse makes an impassioned plea to Kerry Fuller, his childhood friend who has had a crush on him her entire life, to help him figure out how to run the business. Kerry agrees to help him reinvent the store and show him the knitty-gritty of the business, but the more time they spend together, the more the chemistry builds. Kerry, knowing Jesse’s history, doesn’t believe this relationship will exist longer than one can knit one, purl one. But Jesse is determined to prove to her that he can be the man for her—after all, real men knit.

This already sounds sweet.
And I know in the synopsis said that the other brothers want to shut down the knitting shop but I feel like they're gonna end up wanting to keep it open like Jesse too.

I don't know if this is going to be a companion series but from the looks of the synopsis about the brothers, it might be. Anyway this is like a breathe of fresh air from romance (concept-wise). And I want some family moments so I hope I get to read some.

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SWEET TEMPTATION
by Cora Reilly

Although the two main characters appeared and first introduced in Cora's The Camorra Chronicles series, this can be read as a standalone and... it's also a standalone. But still, the world is that of The Camorra Chronicles and Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles aka Cora's mafia romance books.

I've been waiting for their book ever since I found out they were getting a book since I love Giulia and I've been curious about her relationship with Cassio ever since they made their appearance in the Camorra series. It also got some of my all-time favorite tropes: marriage of convenience, the grumpy character with the sunshine character, and single parent (dad). It's also an older man/younger woman trope, just a heads-up. If that's not your cup of tea (it's not mine too), that's alright.

I really enjoyed this and I'll be reviewing this soon.
Next-week-kind-of "soon".

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Little side note: I'll be slow in commenting/replying for this week and the next (especially THE NEXT) because it's Midterms season here so the ones you see getting published are already queued to be posted. I only come online when I'm posting my links to participate in Weekly Features.

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Title: Mexican Gothic
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Publication Date: June 30, 2020
Genres: Adult, Historical, Fantasy, Gothic, Horror
Add to: Goodreads

From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes a reimagining of the classic gothic suspense novel, a story about an isolated mansion in 1950s Mexico -- and the brave socialite drawn to its treacherous secrets.

He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me.

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find -- her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough, smart, and has an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

I did not know this was ADULT. I've been looking for some ADULT FANTASY books and this one sounds really good. I mean, it's also labeled as HORROR so it's a win for me. And would you look at that cover? IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL.. and so HQ.

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RUTHLESS KING
(Kings of Rittenhouse, #3) by Maya Hughes

I'm reading Maya Hughes' books starting with the Kings of Rittenhouse series because of the following reasons:
• I always see my Twitter mutuals talk about her characters and I didn't know who they were until they mentioned her name and well, I wanted to explore other authors' books
• I miss reading some college romance.
• I also miss sports romance ESPECIALLY HOCKEY (I love hockey)
• It's college + hockey so.....

Anyway this one was pretty enjoyable even though the plot that supported the trope wasn't something new to me. But still, the second-chance romance trope is one of my favorites and it played well here. I like how both characters were actually aware of their issues (trust issues) and were trying to solve it even though communication was kinda hard to grasp between them. I'll be making a series review for this once book 5 is out so I won't say much more.



I'm supposed to be reading Every Other Weekend but the moment this got released, I had to have it. AND READ IT. I mean, I've been waiting for Dominic and Rosie's book since Fix Her Up. I've been curious about their relationship too and what's going to happen to their marriage.

So far, I'm interested.. but I won't put my expectations too high yet since this one started rocky for me. We'll see.



FEARLESS KING
(Kings of Rittenhouse, #4) by Maya Hughes

I know I said I was supposed to read Every Other Weekend but I also said I was reading Maya Hughes' book and since 4 books were already out for her Rittenhouse Series and I just had a reading-marathon with the first three books, I was supposed to pick this one up next. However, I was having a problem syncing my Amazon account with my Kindle and welp, some of my books weren't showing.

BUT IT'S RESOLVED NOW SO WE GOOD.

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I have an awful lot of stuff going on with my life right now besides catching up with reading and blogging. I'm currently designing some things (one is for work and the other is for some bookish Instagram thing) at the moment it's why I'm kind of inactive in replying/commenting on your posts.

Another reason is because of school. I HATE MY CURRENT SCHEDULE. We get dismissed from Tuesday to Friday at 6PM (classes start at 8AM for me). I suddenly have a Saturday class AGAIN because one of my profs got another class at another university with the same schedule as ours so she can't be in two places at once. I really thought I finally have Saturday off for this semester but guess not. A big reason why I need the whole Saturday free is because we have A LOT of major subjects and most of them require so much time (editing, designing, all the plates I keep talking about here you name it). I'm just glad this is a minor subject but... ALDFJLAKFL *continues to smash keyboard* I have so many appointments (not school-related) on Saturdays and I don't know how to I'll be able to manage all of them yet.

Hosted by: Taking on a World of Words

THE THREE W'S ARE

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CURRENTLY READING:

None at the moment since I finished a book not too long ago.

RECENTLY READ:

I just finished reading Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne and I LOVED IT A LOT!!! I miss Lauren Layne's world of romance and this was such a great read to come back to.

I will be writing my review for this later since everything is still fresh in my head. I just finished the book minutes ago so I won't be pouring much of my thoughts of this book in this post.

Now I'm excited for Clarke and Audrey's book. I knoooow it will be a favorite because reading their friendship and banter in this book was enough to convince me that their book is definitely worth the wait and will be a rewarding read in the future.


TO-BE READ:

I still don't know what to read next.

It's either Wilder Girls by Rory Power or Rush by Emma Scott.

I am in the mood for something creepy...I think Wilder Girls is creepy. It's shelved as horror anyway. But I'm also in the mood for another romantic read.

I don't know.
Might pick up anything on a whim at this point.

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Hosted by: Taking on a World of Words

THE THREE W'S ARE

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CURRENTLY READING:

I actually haven't fully started this yet - still on 12% - but I have a plan to marathon the entire Wedding Belles Series by Lauren Layne some time... today. 

I've done nothing but skim Welcome to the Underworld by Con Template last night and today. I'm just rereading (okay, skimming) my favorite books as of now because I just finished a book that I wasn't that much of a fan of. Anyway, Welcome to the Underworld Series is one of my favorite mafia (KOREAN MAFIA) fanfiction-turned-published books that left me in such an emotional state.

Hopefully I'd get to reading mode and enjoy the series. I'm always in the mood for something Lauren Layne. And due to my Welcome to the Underworld marathon last night, I'm also quite in the mood to read something sad and tragic... or just something heavy on the emotional scale.

RECENTLY READ:

L.J. Shen's Broken Knight was lost to me. 

I already wrote a review for this so I don't wanna talk much about it anymore here. But let me just say how this book got me tired of the enemies-to-lovers and hate-to-love tropes. A shame, really. I love and enjoy those tropes but having to write it really depends on how it's executed for this trope to work.

Oh well. I'm not a huge fan of the series but I still do want to read Angry God which will come out next year. I do like Vaughn and I like his parents (my favorite couple from the Sinners of Saint Series). I just wish his love interest gets a name already because people are hinting that it's "this girl" (if you've read Broken Knight, you'd know) and I definitely approve. It's just kinda tiring if the author keeps playing with the fans like this. You can hype a book in different ways though without stressing your fans/readers and without causing tension between the fandom (because fans are popping out theories here and there that there might be another girl and at this point I just wanna mute everyone talking about this). 

TO-BE READ:

I_HAVE_NOTHING.MP3

I don't know what to read yet, I mean yeah.. obviously it's gonna be the Wedding Belles Series but I wanted to put another book here and... nothing comes to mind yet. I'm currently busy watching Enchanted (2007) and singing along to the songs (I LOVE THE SONG "SO CLOSE" SO MUCH I CRY EVERY TIME I LISTEN TO THIS NOW THAT I'M AN ADULT HAVING FULL KNOWN HOW SAD THAT BALLROOM SCENE WAS). I might look for some fairy tale-ish books. This movie really got me singing "I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF A TRUE LOVE'S KISS~" (the scene where Prince Edward started singing that line but got hit by the cyclists instead always has me in hysterics). 

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Hosted by: Taking on a World of Words

THE THREE W'S ARE

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CURRENTLY READING:

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Ditching my July TBR now since it's the last day of the month.
I don't have any plans for an August TBR or even for the rest of the remaining months of 2019. 

I'd just read whatever I feel like reading.
Maybe soon I'll be motivated to make a TBR again but for now, NOPE.

Hosted by: Taking on a World of Words

THE THREE W'S ARE

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CURRENTLY READING:


I am currently reading These Witches Don't Burn but I've had this book in my hands for two days now and... I just couldn't get into it. And no, it's not because of the story because I'm still 4% in. It's just I'm quite in a little slump after my last read. I was riding high on its story. I was too immersed to move on. That's probably it. And I hate feeling like this because I have a goal this June. I have an entire TBR and I wanted to be faithful to this TBR because I have so many books in my shelves and e-readers that are waiting to be picked up.

I'm hoping that Soul of the Sword will end this slump because this is a sequel I've been waiting for SO MUCH. Shadow of the Fox was so good and I was literally too impatient waiting for the next book after that ending.

RECENTLY READ: 


So here's the book that got me into The Slump.

I've been intrigued by this book even though I haven't read its prequel series. On a whim, I decided "why not?" and that's it. Storm and Fury was worth it and JLA's writing didn't disappoint me. I love her style and the way she writes her characters are always so fun and interesting to read. I finished this book in one sitting and it gave me a wonderful headache after because I was reading this in my Kindle and my eyesight was just.... hmmmm...

Anyway, I reviewed this book here. I recommend this wholeheartedly.


TO-BE READ:

Nothing here.

Last week's post, I was supposed to read The Antidote next but I decided to go for These Witches Don't Burn instead. But here I am with the slump. I don't wanna put a book here without even knowing if this slump is gonna fade away or if it decides to stay for a while. IT SUCKS.

Hosted by: Taking on a World of Words

THE THREE W'S ARE

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CURRENTLY READING:


We Hunt the Flame's about a girl—the Hunter—who dresses up as a man so she can hunt to feed the her people and a boy—or prince—who's under the orders of his ruthless father, the sultan, to kill the people who dare defy him. Both cross paths when retrieving a lost artifact with the prince ordered to kill the Hunter.

I'm not halfway through the book yet because I get distracted a lot lately and I'm going places here and there so it's hard. And I like to give fantasy books my undivided attention whenever I read the genre because there's just so much details that one should pay attention to.However, I am enjoying this so far. I just hope I'll enjoy it until the end.

Another book I'm currently reading is Kissing Tolstoy. It's about a this blind-date that happened months ago and it turns out that this girl's date is her Russian Lit professor.

I haven't started this one yet though but I've been doing this "reading two books simultaneously" thing lately and it's always one YA and one NA.

RECENTLY READ:


If anyone knows me, I'm a fan of R.S. Grey's books. She's been a go-to author for me these days when it comes to romance books that have a hate-to-love trope. I also love her heroes because they may seem to be the cold and distant type but they never turn into the kind of jerks that makes you want to jump in the book and fight them because that's kind of the thing with most romance books. Oh and they're big softies on the inside too.

The Fortunate Ones was published in 2015. It's about this girl who comes from a family with money yet still decided to work at a country club as a cabana girl. There she deals with the rich people and there she met the club's most famous member slash hot bachelor. Sparks fly as they got to know each other yet the problem is: he wants a commitment, and she's not sure if she feels the same.

While I enjoyed this, I didn't enjoy it that much compared to her recent works. But I did love the angst a bit. A BIT.

TO-BE READ:


I didn't read any of the reviews about The Antidote but I was attracted to the cover at first sight. And then the summary sounded interesting talking about the heroine using her magic to save her best friend who's a prince and is deathly ill. Problem is that magic is forbidden.

I love reading things about magic and this girl might be a witch, I don't know but I do love the idea.

THE THREE W'S ARE

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CURRENTLY READING:
I'm currently reading two books at once. One is They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera and the other is Stain by A.G. Howard.

I'm familiar with both authors but this is the first time I'm reading a book by them. I've heard nothing but good feedback for Adam Silvera's books/writing. In A.G. Howard's case, I'm not that updated but I'm interested in what Stain will offer.

I also miss reading Young Adult books because I've been reading nothing but New Adult and Adult romance books lately so it's kind of nice to take a break from that and dive back into YA.


RECENTLY READ:

I've been reading a ton of Lauren Layne's books since the last few months of 2018 and I'm continuing it this 2019. Hard Sell is the second installment of the 21 Wall Street series and it can be read as a stand-alone. It's my kind of trope: the enemies to lovers trope.

For Matt and Sabrina–the main characters– they went from "friends to friends with benefits to enemies to enemies with benefits to frenemies to lowkey frenemies to friends to lovers" (I just quoted what I typed in my Goodreads review).

Overall, I enjoyed the book (also the series) and the sexual tension between the two characters was too hot and heavy.


TO READ NEXT:

If I'm correct, The Similars is the debut novel of author Rebecca Hanover.

Based on my Goodreads timeline, I haven't seen anyone talked about this and only a few of my friends added this in their TBR. I won't lie, the cover was the reason why I clicked on the book and read its synopsis because that is one pretty cover.

So this book is about these six clones aka the Similars and this girl named Emma. Her best friend Oliver just died but she comes face-to-face with Levi–Oliver's clone and one of the Similars. And she finds herself falling for the clone boy who has the face of her best friend and getting sucked into the world of the Similars and the mysteries behind their creation.