Jennifer. 31. She/Her. Welcome to my book side blog! I'll be sharing book reviews and general bookish thoughts here. Keep in mind: I do post about 18+/NSFW topics! About Me, Useful Tags, GoodReads
Finally finished Tevinter Nights right at the end of the year. Idk why it took me so long but it did. Overall Iâd give it 4 stars. âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ Individual chapter ratings under the read more, if anyone cares.
Iâm excited about trying to read more in 2026!
Individual Chapter Ratings
Three Trees to Midnight: âď¸âď¸âď¸ 3.5
Down Among the Dead Men: âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ 4.5
The Horror of Hormak: âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ 4
Callback: âď¸âď¸âď¸ 3.5
Luck in the Gardens: âď¸âď¸âď¸ 3.5
Hunger: âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ 4.5
Murder by Death Mages: âď¸âď¸âď¸ 3.75
The Streets of Minrathous: âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ 4
The Wigmakerâs Job: âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ 5 (Lucanis đĽ°)
Genitivi Dies in the End: âď¸ 1
Herold Had the Plan: âď¸âď¸âď¸ 3.5
An Old Crowâs Oldest Tricks: 4.5 âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
Eight Little Talons: 4.5 âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
Half Up Front: 4 âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
The Dreadwolf Take You: 4.5 âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
"Dinner time, Huck," I called out, tapping my fingers next to the bowl. A forty-year-old man came around the corner on all fours. His naked skin hung flaccid, and his knees stuck to the crappy linoleum floor. The tags on the dog collar around his neck tinkled. Hate-filled, shit-brown eyes stared up at me. I grinned.
THAT⌠Is how this book starts.
I accidentally opened it in my E-reader, not meaning to start it when I did. But upon seeing this I thought, "okay?? What the hell, that's wild! I need to know what's going on." And boy am I glad I kept reading. This book gave me frequent Preacher (AMC show) vibes from the start, if you know what I'm talking about, and Preacher just happens to be one of my favorite shows.
This has such a unique plot to anything I've read recently. I found it to be fast-paced, and I absolutely loved all of the characters (and I mean all of them), I can't wait to find out more about them. I. Love. Fury. I know she's a bit standoffish about having friends, but I want to be friends with her (and Roxanne.) Ezra, our vampire MMC, is currently my favorite mate of her's, color me surprised that the playboy with a sense of humor has once again captured my attention. Though I'm certainly interested in finding out more about the other two, since they were more closed off in this book. (Understandably so.)
I didn't see it ending the way it did, I didn't expect THAT person to show up again or do what they did, WHO THE HECK IS THE ANGEL, what's going to happen in Avalon and how is THAT going to play out?? âŚI have so many questions and a lot of feelings. Needless to say I'll be buying the next book as soon as I get the chance; I need to know how this ends.
Iâm currently reading Dark Horse by Kel Carpenter and someone posted this picture of David Corenswet, and it gave me BIG Ezra vibes. (I know itâs probably not completely accurate, buuuutâŚ)
Ironing by S.E. Wendel is currently free on Amazon Kindle! Iâve had this on my TBR for a while now, and I happily scooped it up! (Iâm not sure how long it will be free. Reminder that you donât have to have a Kindle to read Kindle books! Just head to your App Store and download the Kindle App!)
Synopsis Below:
A lady heir in a world of lordsâŚ
Aislinn Darrow was never meant to be her fatherâs heir, but that was before her selfish brother condemned himself. Now, she must give up her old life to take his place. She should be presiding in her fatherâs council chamber and serving the people of the Darrowlandsâyet time and again, she finds herself straying to the castle smithy, to visit the handsome new blacksmith manning the forge.
A lady can never claim a monsterâŚ
Hakon has known all his life his place is in the background. At least at his forge, he can be of use and demonstrate his skills. The life of a halfling is one of halves and pieces, never quite to belong. When he hears of a place that welcomes halflings, he determines to build a new life for himself in the Darrowlands. It is a bittersweet fate to find everything he could ever want there, in a woman he can never have. He knows his green, sooty hands donât deserve to touch her, but Hakon cannot resist tempting Lady Aislinn back to him, nor indulging in the fantasy of claiming her as his own.
But in a world of lords and politics, a lady such as Aislinn could never truly take a halfling like him to mate and wedâespecially when her position as a woman lord and usurper leave her and her people vulnerable. When grasping lords threaten the Darrowlands, prepared to take Aislinnâs hand and land through marriage or force, she must chooseâthe halfling who loves her or the people who need her.
Fans of Grace Draven, Ruby Dixon, and SJM will love this fluffy, steamy monster romance story! Check sewendelauthor.com for content and trigger warnings. Mature content intended for readers 18+. â Book 2 stands on its own but will best be enjoyed after Halfling.
"He'd come to recognize the bizarre phenomenon of Zoya's beauty, the way men loved to create stories around it. They said she was cruel because she'd been harmed in the past. They claimed she was cold because she just hadn't met the right fellow to warm her. Anything to soften her edges and sweeten her dispositionâand what was the fun in that? Zoyaâs company was like strong drink. Bracingâand best to abstain if you couldnât handle the kick." - Nikolai Lantsov đ King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Throwback to a read from March of this year. This was a fun book, and a nice break from just finishing A Court of Silver Flames, which is obviously a pretty heavy one (both emotionally and physically lol.)
But 2 months later, Iâm still in love with and think about Mateo Cruzđđşâ¨
If youâre like me and you romanced Lucanis in Dragon Age: The Veilguard and apparently now have a think for sweet men who basically come with a secondary personality (*cough cough* Spite), then you just might like the dynamic between Mateo and his wolf, Alpha.
My one gripe was some of the language in this book. I canât believe I had to read the words âawesome sauceâ and âamazeballsâ in 2025 from a book that was published in 2019. Those were little speed bumps that kind of took me out of the moment at times. Also the maturity of the witches sometimes didnât feel like it lined up with their actual ages.
The Unorthodox Chronicles by James J. Butcher! Iâll post individual reviews when I read each one.
Cold Iron Task is currently available for pre-order, and comes out March 4th, 2025!
Iâll post the blurb for book 1 below!
In the tradition of his renowned father, James J. Butcher's debut novel is a brilliant urban fantasy about a young man who must throw out the magical rule book to solve the murder of his former mentor.
On the streets of Boston, the world is divided into the ordinary Usuals, and the paranormal Unorthodox. And in the Department of Unorthodox Affairs, the Auditors are the magical elite, government-sanctioned witches with spells at their command and all the power and prestige that comes with it.
Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby is... not one of those witches. After flunking out of the Auditor training program and being dismissed as "not Department material," Grimsby tried to resign himself to life as a mediocre witch. But he can't help hoping he'll somehow, someway, get another chance to prove his skill.
That opportunity comes with a price when his former mentor, aka the most dangerous witch alive, is murdered down the street from where he works, and Grimsby is the Auditors' number one suspect. Proving his innocence will require more than a little legwork, and after forming a strange alliance with the retired legend known as the Huntsman and a mysterious being from Elsewhere, Grimsby is abruptly thrown into a life of adventure, whether he wants it or not.
Now all he has to do is find the real killer, avoid the Auditors on his trail, and most importantly, stay alive.
Star Rating:âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ (4 Stars)
Is there spice? Yes.
What kind of spice? At least 3 big open door scenes, with some arousal talk in between. Expect your usual sex stuff: oral, fingering, and penetration. Thereâs nothing to really âwarnâ about, imo. At the beginning they have to work through a bit of a language barrier, which involves a lot of touching and some body part naming.
TWs: Abduction which leads to imprisonment, being kept in a cage, being whipped and mistreated, near death experience, a mention of drugs in the beginning.
Judging a Book By Its Cover: (Waves at the shirtless man) âŚHey.
After reading, I really like that itâs demonstrating the changing skin color pigments of the Irrans!
Review:
This was my first alien romance book, and I think it was a good one to start with! This really felt like a fairy tale, BUT, make it sci-fi.
I liked the MMC, FMC, AND the side characters. (Except for ChanĂshâŚobviously. eye roll) Oljin (MMC) is such a sweetie; I loved his gentle nature and patience with her. His reserve and decision making when it came to spilling vs not spilling blood. He would make a wonderful Jara.
Speaking of Jaras, I enjoyed learning the Irranâs language alongside Rose (FMC), and I think the word Alara is so pretty?? I appreciated Roseâs determination to survive and her drive to learn everything she could; how she kept a kind heart despite everything she had been through. There was a surprising amount of inspiration in this, and so of course I found myself a little misty-eyed a couple of times.
If you read this book, donât skip the epilogue or the authorâs note! (Thank you to the author for letting us know about Saana and Honhura, itâs like you read my mind, I wanted to know what happened to them. Iâm also very excited to know that Rose and Oljin make an appearance later on. I was almost a little upset, haha. Iâm also very interested in what's going to happen with Pravil.)
I will definitely be continuing with this series at some point.
Thank you for reading! If you liked my review/thoughts, consider following me on [GoodReads] or [Bookstagram]
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