Reading Ranting

I love losing myself in a good book. I read at night to wind down, in my comfy armchair when I want to snuggle. And I listen to audiobook on my drive to work or while I’m cleaning.


I’m a weird reader. I love reading, but I find it hard to concentrate even if I love a book or I just don’t have the time. This is why I listen to more audiobooks or use Alexa to read my Kindle books aloud.

See below for some reading ranting, reviews, and some of my favourite books. Also, see the sidebar (might be below or above on a mobile) for my up-to-date reading habits via Goodreads and Instagram.

March 2023

Book Review – Supernova by Julie Hall – 5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I didn’t think this series could get any better, but this was top tier tension between Nova and Thorn. Wow, just freaking wow. I liked Nova in the previous books, but when she leapt for Thorn… I…

February 2023

Book Review – Monthly TBR Update February 2023

Reading did not go to plan this month, but that’s okay. I got through some great stories, mostly indie authors, including a couple of ARCs. Books I read this month… Mini non-spoiler reviews… Gods and Mostes had such a great start but then fell away for me. And a lot of the writing and character…

Book Review – Belladonna by Adalyn Grace – 5 stars

I absolutely loved every pWarning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more.age of this book.  What I liked… Signa is a fantastic character. I love how she’s a no nonsense young woman doing her best to fit into a world that fears her because they…

Book Review – Beyond Forsaken Worlds by J.P. McDonald – 4 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Firstly, I’m going to need some specifics on the massage function of Juniper’s exo-hand.😏 This gave me Firefly meets The Lower Decks vibes with an unlikely crew uncovering an intergalactic conspiracy. Honestly, it’s been a while since…

Book Review – Their Vicious Darling by Nikki St. Crowe – 5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I’m hooked (pun intended) on the series and this is the best book so far.  What I liked… As usual, I love how Winnie finds and accepts her place in Neverland.  I definitely feel like the characters…

Book Review – Death Maker by J.C. McKenzie

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Wow, wow, and wow some more. I sailed through this book and was really disappointed when it ended.  They’ve just been dirty dancing in the…

Book Review – Disgraced by Holly Huntress – 4 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Another great installment in the series. I’m definitely in this for the long haul. What I liked… It’s hard to say everything I liked without spoilers, but I’ll try… Mostly, I like how Milah gets a mix…

Book Review – A Shimmer Between by Evelyn Sage – 4 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Note: I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.  I genuinely enjoyed a lot in this book and felt it stood out as a unique story despite it being a retelling. What I…

Book Review – Gods and Monsters #1 by Janie Marie – 3 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. All the myths, legends, and biblical angels in one. I can’t explain how I loved the complex character relationships in this, both past and present. It was so much fun to follow and see how Jane reacted…

January 2023

Book Review – Monthly TBR Update January 2023

Check out full reviews on my Reading Ranting page. Busy month with books. Books I read this month… Mini non-spoiler reviews… Wow. Great start to the year for me.  Glow was an awkward one since I loved it but kept getting distracted by other books. But I was always excited to get back to it,…

Book Review – A Contract of Love by Akaku Red – 5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. OMG I loved it. Fake dating, corporate shenanigans, murderers and secrets and “get your hands off her” vibes. Think Dynasty in book form.  What I liked… Evangeline is a little on the innocent side but not naive…

Book Review – Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – 5 Stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Wow. Just… Wow. I couldn’t put it down, and when I finished, I jumped straight to the audiobook of book 2 because I couldn’t wait. If you haven’t read Caraval, I strongly recommend you do because this…

Book Review – Mazikeen: Hands Of Fate by M. Pettengill – 4.5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I’ll preface this review by saying that everything happens for a reason in this book. I’m emphasising this because there were some things early on that felt totally random. No spoilers, but trust the process. It was…

Book Review – Unleashing Fire by Julie Hall – 5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. OMG what a way to end the story. I was not prepared for any of it.  This is book 3 and the final part of this storyline, but not the end of the series. There’s another book…

Book Review – Forging Darkness by Julie Hall – 5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Where to start with how much I love this series? Forging Darkness is book 2 of the Fallen Legacies series.  No spoilers, but… the end. I did not see that coming.  What I liked… The pace was…

Book Review – Stealing Embers by Julie Hall – 5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I actually read this last year but wasn’t posting reviews then so I may have forgotten bits. This book is a YA fantasy about human/angel hybrids. It’s similar to The Mortal Instruments and Zodiac Academy, which are…

Book Review – The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe – 4 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Another easy read and spicy book in this series.  What I liked… So many things to love in this book. We get to see Winnie and another character’s relationship evolve. Twists… Quite a few of them in…

Book Review – Glow by Raven Kennedy – 4 Stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. The first half of this book was on the slow side for my liking. Not much happening, but then it picked up and was worth the wait.  The ending… No spoilers, but wow and 😭 What I…

December 2022

Book Review – Monthly TBR Update December 2022

It’s been a strange month with me being sick earlier in the month then it’s Christmas, so I’ve only got through 2 books this month. Books I read this month… Mini non-spoiler reviews… Of Shadow and Moonlight has a Vampire Diaries meets The Mortal Instruments feel to it. It was a fun story with very…

Book Review – Of Shadow and Moonlight – 4 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Vampires… yes please. Shifters… yes please. A Walk to Remember meets The Mortal Instruments meets Twilight.  What I liked… It was an easy read. Nice length and I just found myself sailing through it. The world-building was…

November 2022

Book Review – Monthly TBR Update November 2022

Books I read this month… Mini non-spoiler reviews… Hunting Adeline was great from a character perspective but the content was way darker than book 1, so be prepared.  Unbound is an amazing YA Trojan horse gone awry with romance and espionage. The story was unpredictable which made it so much more interesting. Sleep and Spirit…

Book Review – Unbound by Holly Huntress – 5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I was super excited to read this and that feeling carried on through the book.  Milah is given a mission by the king to infiltrate a neighbouring kingdom to learn about their weaknesses. But Milah has her…

Book Review – Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton – 4 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. If book 1 was hard to read in traumatic content, then this was a serious struggle. I had to skip a couple of scenes but I was too invested to stop. Addie goes through a lot in…

October 2022

Book Review – Monthly TBR Update October 2022

Books I read this month… Mini non-spoiler reviews… Gleam is book 3 in The Plated Prisoner Series and… pfff, things get wild in this one. I love how Auren doesn’t just flip from one thing to another. She takes her time, plans her next move, and does it for herself. Kingdom of the Feared is…

Book Review – Gleam by Reven Kennedy – 4.5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more.Wow. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. This had me holding my breath every five minutes. As usual, we get to see Auren make more realisations about her life. She sees Midas for what he is and knows…

Book Review – Kingdom of the Feared by Keri Maniscalco – 5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. What’s more fun than cursed lovers, magical memory loss, and just about every magical being involved one way or another?  The book begins where the last one left off with Emilia learning her sister’s secrets. However, that’s…

Book Review – Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton – 4.5 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. This is very dark, with a dash of mystery, psychological thriller, and some spooky goings on. I enjoyed this book far more that I expected to since it’s not my usual genre, but I read a lot…

September 2022

Book Review – Monthly TBR Update September 2022

Books I read this month… Mini non-spoiler reviews… The Never King is a dark twist on the Peter Pan story set in present day. It’s extra spicy with curious characters and an interesting backstory as to why Pan steals away the Darling girls on their 18th birthdays. Warrior Fae is the finale of Ruthless Boys…

Book Review – The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe – 4 stars

Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Firstly, TikTok made me buy it and I’m glad.  Secondly, this has adult content, including graphic sex scenes and violence. Thirdly, this is a fun but way-too-short story.  Winnie has spent her whole life being dragged around by…

Book Review – Lightlark by Alex Aster – 4 stars

Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Firstly, I’ll admit I was nervous to read this book since it had such mixed opinions, but I’m really glad I trusted my gut and went for it. Secondly, I’m appalled by people’s behaviour on Goodread’s reviews…

August 2022

Monthly TBR Update – August 2022

I don’t know what happened in August. I had all month off and read 2 books. Oh well. I enjoyed them, so who cares, right? They’re both TikTok recs which I only buy if I genuinely like the sound of the book based on blurbs and trusted reviews. And these 2 were definitely successes. Books…

Book Review – The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole – 5 stars

Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I don’t know where to start because there were so many amazing things about this book. Let’s just skip to what I liked. What I liked… I love how we get straight into Diana’s situation with the deal…

Book Review – Ruin and Roses by Deanna Ortega – 5 stars

Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Firstly, TikTok will never force me to buy a read a book just because it keeps popping up, but when people I follow recommend a book, I’m gonna check it out. I decided to read this based on…

July 2022

June 2022

Monthly TBR Update – June 2022

Oops. Sorry it’s late. I meant to post this last weekend but… tired. I read some looooong books this month, so didn’t get through that many. But I did finish…

May 2022

Monthly TBR Update – May 2022

I’ve always loved shifters, and my recent reads prove it. See my Reading Ranting page for the reviews of May’s books. Also, most of these are audiobooks, so I tend…

April 2022

Book Review – Glint by Reven Kennedy 4.5 stars

Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. At the end of Gild, Auren was in the clutches of Fourth Kingdom’s…

March 2022

January and February 2022

Book Reviews from 2021

You can’t beat a classic sometimes. This is one of my all-time favourite books. It’s timeless with its complex characters, deep desires, and hints of magic. Dorian just captures the true essence of our darkest selves.

I took a while to get into this, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down and got desperate for the rest of the series.

WINGS!!! I love winged characters. I have a few of them, so reading about angels or demons or other winged people is so much fun.

This was such a weird story in the relationships. I was so curious to find out how they evolved that I couldn’t stop reading.

This is on audiobook in my car and I’m a few chapters in. So far, so good.

Terry’s style is quirky and ironic and so bizarre. I find myself laughing at what the MC states is obvious when us normal folk tilt our heads.

I read this and book 2 a few years ago. Because of life stuff, I never got around top book 3. But it’s on my list. I’ve also read her Titan series. I can’t wait for the Wicked movies.

I’m half way through this right now, and loving it. My only quibble is the voice is a little blunt for my liking, but that’s on me.

I’d been following Jenna for a while and had high expectations when she released this. She didn’t disappoint.

I just love this book for so many fun reasons. The MC goes from a quiet and sheltered life to discovering dark secrets that seduce her into breaking some rules.

This is very relatable story from a writer who lives next to my old town. I had to get her book. I’m glad I did.

I was highly disappointed when they stopped the films after just one. I was looking forward to seeing the series on the big screen. Then they made the TV series. I loved how they adapted the story so it wasn’t the same as the books. It added to the surprises.

There are very few people who aren’t Stephen King fans, so it’s no surprise this is on my favourites list.

My childhood would not be the same without this book, or the movie. I can’t remember what order I experienced them in, but they both left a mark on me.

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