June was Indie TBR Month and there was a challenge over on TikTok to read only indie books for the entire month. With signing up on Bookbub, I had a lot of Indie books to get through on my Kindle and now was the best time to dive in.
The first read was Cettia's Shadow by Emily Wilson and Celia Oliva.
4/5 ⭐'s It was a really enjoyable read and had a very unique plot. There were many twists and turns throughout the book, so you never knew what was happening next. The world was immersive and it was a great introduction to the series, opening up a lot of opportunity for the rest of the books.
Some parts felt really slow, especially in the middle, and I personally don't like extra lengthy chapters which is nothing on the authors. This book was marketed as enemies to lovers and it wasn't; slow burn is a better way to describe Kato and Az's relationship.
My second read was The Mist Keeper's Apprentice by E.S Barrison. 5/5 ⭐'s
The first chapter didn't grip me but from there I struggled to put this book down. It was like a Dystopian fantasy, you had a strict regime people had to follow to suppress magic under The Order and when the Mist Keeper's came in I was thoroughly intrigued and invested in the story. Multiple plot twists kept the pages flying well into the night. The world building takes a while to wrap your head around but it was highly immersive. Was not expecting a cliff hanger and need book two!
My only negative was Brent's stutter, it got quite jarring towards the end and took me out of the story but I understand this is an accurate portrayal.
This book was beautiful and heart warming. It captivated me from the first page and to the last page. Ben and Theo's story was absolutely beautiful, I cheered on their accomplishments and cried at how heart breaking Theo's life was. At one point this book had me shaking with anger at the mistreatment he faced for being gay and my Kindle had tears on its screen (thanks).
With Ben being an author, I felt very close to him. I knew the struggles he faced with publishing and writing in general so he was very easy to connect with. I did find it a little odd at first, knowing he was going to fall in love with a ghost, but nothing could prepare me for what this book had in store.
Journey by D.D. Larsen. 4.5/5 ⭐'s
** Huge thank you to D.D. Larsen for sending me an ARC of this book. Publication date: 27th July 2021**
This book was a great Journey haha, I'll see myself out. There were many twists and turns that took off immediately after the events of Destiny and so glad the cliff hanger for book one was answered. I loved the mystery aspect in this book, not knowing who to trust and Jamie's ongoing conflict in finding herself, her character development was good and so glad the love triangle is over. I liked exploring more of the world for answers and going to add Colorado and Montana to places I want to travel. I'm still in shock over the cliff hanger and need the next book.
Only thing letting this book down was that the first half seemed like an irrelevant info dump of Destiny's entire plot on repeat. It made getting through the first half very difficult because Destiny was still fresh in my mind, but the book redeemed itself and the fast paced quality of Destiny thankfully returned.
But with this being an ARC, I do plan to read the final published version when available.
The Listed Duology is here and it's finally complete! I had a great launch day that was filled with cake, wine and just relaxing with movies. I went live for a little bit which was fun and the following Monday, I had a live event with Sabinah Adewole where I shared some publishing tips for aspiring authors.
Rebound holds a very special place in my heart and I still feel weird that I have two books published now. I hope that more people get this book into their hands and dives into the adventure that is Listed and Rebound, I don't think they'll regret it.
Currently I am working on T.S.P.R and will share more news later.