Duration: 1st June – 20th June 2021 Number of books: 6 Hosted by: My Vampire Book Obsession
Death and the Maiden is a popular motif throughout art history. Traditionally, one character is death personified – dark, broken, winter, and maybe even literally the bringer of death. The other character is the opposite – light, rebirth, spring. In Greek mythology, we have the story of Hades and Persephone: the god of the underworld paired with the maiden of spring. In historical romances, we have the rakes and pirates falling in love with the members of the ton. In contemporary romances, we’ve got mafia bosses and motorcycle clubs paired with virgins or single parents. For more about the Death and the Maiden trope check out this blog post
Rules Complete at least 2 tasks to get the heart All genres welcome Rereads welcome No minimum page count
Read a book with a personification of Death Read a book with a maiden type character – Be Mine Tonight by Kathryn Smith Read a book with an enemies-to-lovers OR forbidden-love romance Read a book tagged fantasy or paranormal – The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu Read a book with a skull OR bones on the cover Read a book with a pirate OR a rake OR a mafia-type character
Duration: 1st June – 20th June 2021 Number of books: 11 Hosted by: My Vampire Book Obsession
♥ Duration: Starts: June 1st Ends: June 30st
♥ How It Works: Max is 10 books each month. But there are 5 different levels. Select which level you want and that’s how many items you will need to check off.
♥ Levels: Transitional – 2 books Baby Vamp – 4 books Vampire minion – 6 books Master – 8 books Vampire King or Queen – 10 books or more
1. Dragon Boat Races Let that competitive spirit shine! Read a book that features a dragon OR Read a book with a boat or a body of water on the cover Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
2. June 5: National Moonshine Day How can you not love this day!? Cheers! Read a book where the characters have a drink OR Read a book with a moon shining on the cover Dating-ish by Penny Reid
3. June 8 ~ National Best Friends Day Hang out with your bestie!! Read a book with best friends as Main characters OR Read a book with a MC who you’d love to be besties with Happily Ever Ninja by Penny Reid
4. June 8 ~ World Naked Bike Ride, London Seriously…..Ouch!! Read a book with where someone gets naked OR Read a book with a sports type character Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid
5. Chicago Blues Festival Let the good times roll! Read a book with a blue cover OR Read a book set in Chicago The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu
7. June 21: Stonehenge Summer Solstice Festival Gather to watch the sunrise Read a book where the title begins with “S” OR Read a book where at least 3 words in title begin with the same letter Say Everything by Langley Gray
8. June 23: National Pink Day Pink is so not my color…lol Read a book with something pink on the cover OR Read a book with nothing pink about it; not even “pink” in the text!! Neanderthal Seeks (Extra) Yarns by Penny Reid
9. June 26: Tropical Cocktail Day This sounds like the perfect summer day. Read a book while you enjoy a beverage of your choice OR Read a book with the author’s initials in “Tropical Cocktail” Be Mine Tonight by Kathryn Smith
10. June 30: National Meteor Watch Day Look to the sky…. Read a book with a beautiful sky on the cover OR Read a book with a space/alien theme
Bonus. June 13: International Axe Throwing Day Lol ~ I got nothing!! Read any book you want!! The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay
Duration: 1st June – 20th June 2021 Number of books: 6 Hosted by: My Vampire Book Obsession
Duration: June 1 – 30
Rules Complete at least two tasks to get the vampire heart All genres welcome Rereads welcome No minimum page count
1. June 4th is National Donut Day: Listen to an audio book where a character eats a donut or works in law enforcement 2. June 20th is Father’s Day: Listen to an audio book where a father plays an important roll in the book – Happily Ever Ninja by Penny Reid 3. June 21st is National Seashell Day: Listen to an audio book that has a body of water on the cover or the word seashell in the text – Sea Swept by Nora Roberts 4. June 24th is International Fairy Day: Listen to an audio book with an MC who is Fae 5. June 26th is Tropical Cocktail Day: Listen to an audio book with a cocktail on the cover, in the title or set in a tropical location 6. June 29th is Hug Holiday Day: Listen to an audio book where the MC hugs another character – Dating-ish by Penny Reid
Duration: 1st June – 20th June 2021 Number of books: 6 Hosted by: My Vampire Book Obsession
Collect a Funko Vamp each month by completing at least 2 tasks from a set of 6. A new set of tasks with a new Funko Vamp will be posted each month.
The dolls you collect will be in your Vampire Heart thread. Don’t have a thread? You can still do the challenge if you want 🙂
Rules Complete at least two tasks to get the vampire heart All genres welcome Rereads welcome No minimum page count One book per task
Read a book with a title starting with a letter found in SPIKE. – Sea Swept by Nora Roberts Read a book tagged paranormal. – Be Mine Tonight by Kathryn Smith Read a book with a blonde character. – Dating-ish by Penny Reid Read a book with a friends to lovers romance OR a forbidden romance. Read a book with a character you would describe as a rebel OR outcast. – The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu Read a book with an apocalypse OR a war OR a battle in the story line.
Duration: 1st June – 20th June 2021 Number of books: 9 Hosted by: My Vampire Book Obsession
Welcome to Night Spawn BINGO. Each month a new BINGO game will be posted with new tasks to complete. Get three in a row (Horizontal, Vertical, or Diagonal) to receive your Vampire Heart.
Rules: Complete three tasks to get the vampire heart All genres welcome Rereads welcome No minimum page count One book per task
Read 3 books that have one of the following (Must be in a Horizontal, Vertical, or Diagonal pattern).
Top Row:
MC is a Feline Shifter~ MC is a Canine Shifter~ MC is “Other” Shifter (Fox, Bear, Dragon, etc)
Middle Row:
Wings on the cover~ Claws on the Cover ~ Fangs on the Cover
April was a fun month. I started to really hit my stride with literally everything that I was doing; BJJ, work, reading… I didn’t necessarily get as much down time as I wanted for reading… but it was still enough to leave me feeling happy and content.
Title: Harmony’s Way Author: Lora Leigh Series: Breeds #7 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Erotica, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense Dates read: 27th – 28th April 2021 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Berkley Sensation Year: 2006 5th sentence, 74th page: “Leave.”
Sink your fangs into Lora Leigh’s series about genetically alered humans with feline DNA. When the Breeds desire the passions of the flesh, they can’t help but get frisky…
Harmony Lancaster is of the Lion Breed, created to be a huntress with a thirst to kill. But the way she seeks justice outside of the law makes her a liability to her own kind. Yet she also possesses information that they need on the existence of the first Leo – who holds the precious secrets of desire.
To save her life, Harmony is paired with Sheriff Lance Jacobs, who tries to tame the killer within her, while protecting the gentle woman he longs to possess. But a dangerous cult leader, bent on destroying the Breeds, could change the way Lance looks at Harmony forever…
Each and every time I pick up a Breeds book, I’m completely hooked. Not only is the intense lust and sexuality of it just… spine tingling. But there is also that great character building, functioning of relationships. And, ultimately, the greater conspiracies and plot lines. The one where you are constantly hoping that this minority will find their happily ever after. But not really believing that it’s going to happen…
Megan’s cousin in Megan’s Mark was definitely a guy that I wanted to get to know a little better. Which left me very, ridiculously happy when he came to the forefront in this book. The fact that he can talk to the winds and has Native American ancestry… I just found that all that much more intriguing. I wasn’t really expecting who he ended up partnered with. But I loved her just as much.
Harmony’s journey most definitely made me tear up a little bit and clutch at my heart. It was seriously heartbreaking. But yet, brilliantly done. Maybe not as heartbreaking as Sherra’s story, and I’m sure not as bad as Dawn’s is going to be… but it was still brutal and horrifying. Yet, the way that Lance helps her and brings the beautiful Death into the light… oh, be still my beating heart.
This is that point in the series when things are getting way more complex and intense. That the characters are getting further and further in over their heads and you can’t help but pick up the next book. Which is exactly what I did… I want to know more about what’s going to happen to the Breeds as a whole. Although, unlike other similar series (Psy-Changelingfor example), there is a little less connectivity between the characters. And I’m honestly starting to lose track a little of who’s who and how they all connect… looks like this will be a future reread series…
Title: Devils and Details Author: Devon Monk Series: Ordinary Magic #2 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Magic, Mythology, Urban fantasy Dates read: 26th April 20 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Odd House Press Year: 2016 5th sentence, 74th page: Thank you so much, Thor.
Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea…
Police Chief Delaney Reed is good at keeping secrets for the beach town of Ordinary Oregon – just ask the vacationing gods or supernatural creatures who live there.
But with the first annual Cake and Skate fundraiser coming up, the only secret Delaney really wants to know is how to stop the unseasonable rain storms. When all the god powers are stolen, a vampire is murdered, and her childhood crush turns out to be keeping deadly secrets of his own, rainy days are the least of her worries.
Hunting a murderer, outsmarting a know-it-all-god, and uncovering an ancient vampire’s terrifying past isn’t how she planned to spend her summer. But then again, neither is falling back in love with the one man she should never trust.
I forgot how much I enjoyed the world building in this series. I love the idea of gods on vacation and having a sheriff to try and control the insanity that will surely follow. I mean, after all, gods are known for being unpredictable, and well, frankly, nuts… so it makes sense that they need a sheriff to keep them all under control. The fact that it’s Delaney and her sisters just makes it all that much more likeable.
This story careens from insane moment to insane moment. It left me smiling and giggling all throughout. And, for most of the tale, I wasn’t really sure of where this story was going to take me… I mean, god powers being stolen, vampires being murdered, past loves trying to reconnect… there is a whole lot in this that is fun and sassy. And completely unpredictable. Which I think all stories of gods should be if I’m being honest.
I did kind of predict what Ryder’s secret and reason for breaking up with Delaney were. Even then, the actual explanation was a little more than I had hoped for (yay). I loved their dynamic throughout this. Alongside the protectiveness of Delaney’s two sisters – I mean, what are sisters if not beautifully and ridiculously protective?
This story ends with a war on the horizon, and a missing vampire. I can’t wait to see where they went / what happened and where the story is going to take us from here… bring on the next novel in this series!
Title: Grave Dance Author: Kalayna Price Series: Alex Craft #2 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Fae, Ghosts, Grim reapers, Paranormal romance Dates read: 16th – 26th April 2021 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Roc Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: Small, large, winged, floral, too-many limbed, too-few – they were a dizzying display rarely seen on the streets.
Whoever said dead men tell no tales obviously never met Alex Craft…
After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil, thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L”-word confession from death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge.
The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses – only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end – her own.
It doesn’t matter how many times I read these novels… I love them each and every time. This read through was absolutely no different. It was fun and quirky and just an impossible to put down journal. I love Price’s writing and find myself irrevocably drawn in each and every time. It helps that I notice different parts of the storyline with each reading…
Alex seems to just keep getting herself further and further into trouble everytime I pick up one of her stories. I can’t wait to see what more trouble she gets into (I’ve only ever read up to Grave Memory before). She seems to be one of those characters that blunders into problem after problem, unable to quite stop herself. Which, of course, makes it a fun and entertaining adventure to be on with her. And seriously, very exciting. One of my favourite fast-paced books on my shelves.
I’d like to say that the love triangle in this story is getting far more complex. But, really, it’s not a triangle… it’s some kind of weird, squiggly line. But ultimately, Alex keeps finding herself stuck between two amazing guys. Honestly, I want her to end up with Death. But I’m actually not entirely sure that she will. Some series, it is easy to see who the final love interest will be. But in this one… I have no damn clue. And I love that fact. Aside from the fae politics, her ancestry and all sorts, it’s the love squiggly that makes me want to keep diving headfirst into this series.
Not only is this an amazing, kind of fast-paced story, it’s also one that is perfectly setting up many future battles and complications for the characters. It’s bringing all of the complexities of the fae courts into the complexities of attraction, debts, friendship, cops… there is so much groundwork being laid and it makes this story all that much more intriguing.
Title: First Comes Scandal Author: Julia Quinn Series: Rokesbys #4 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Historical romance, Regency romance Dates read: 25th – 26th April 2021 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Avon Year: 2020 5th sentence, 74th page: “Certainly unethical.”
She was given two choices… Georgiana Bridgerton isn’t against the idea of marriage. She just thought she’d have some say in the matter. But with her reputation hanging by a thread after she’s abducted for her dowry, Georgie is given two options: live out her days as a spinster or marry the rogue who has ruined her life.
Enter Option #3 As the fourth son of an eral, Nicholas Rokesby is prepared to hart his own course. He has established himself in Edinburgh, where he’s close to completing his medical studies, and he has no time – or interest – to find a wife. But when he discovers that Georgie Bridgerton – his literal girl-next-door – is facing ruin, he knows what he must do.
A Marriage of Convenience It might not have been the most romantic of proposals, but Nicholas never thought she’d say II no. II Georgie doesn’t want to be anyone’s sacrifice, and besides, they could never think of each other as anything more than childhood friends… or could they?
But as they embark upon their unorthodox courtship, they discover a new twist to the age-old rhyme. First come scandal, then comes marriage. But after that comes love…
As the final story in the Rokesbys series, I was kind of expecting a little more drama in this story… I was completely floored by the fact that there was pretty much no drama whatsoever in this story. As in. None. At all. Actually, it was one of the most pleasant, happy and drama free stories I’ve read in a long time. And even though it wasn’t fast-paced and there wasn’t much drama… I still couldn’t put this down and forget about it. It was just that amazing!
Nicholas and Georgie work so beautifully together. I love that of the four Rokesby stories, three ended up with Bridgertons. This is also the only one that mentions Violet Bridgerton, along with the three eldest boys from the Bridgerton series – Anthony, Benedict and Colin. It finally made this actually feel like the prequel series that it supposedly is and tied everything in perfectly. I love that there is this constant sense of interconnectedness throughout the series that makes you urgently reaching for the next book.
This was a seriously quick friends to lovers moment. I was expecting a little more resistance to the idea, but I kind of like how quickly Nicholas and Georgie fell for one another. It made me smile frequently and happily throughout. Definitely the kind of quick falling in love that I prefer – one that is built on years of friendship and camaraderie. It also meant that those frequent moments in which Georgie is being independent and pig-headed are totally expected by Nicholas, and kind of endearingly loved.
As with many of Quinn’s books, I loved the epilogue at the end. I love how Georgie’s interest was nurtured by Nicholas and helped them grow into the perfect pair. I kind of want to see them in more Quinn books in the future… they’re just so simply glorious together.
![First Comes Scandal [Large Print] :HarperCollins Australia](https://i.harperapps.com/hcanz/covers/9780062979438/x293.jpg)
Earth and Skye 