Category: e-reader

September 2025 Wrap Up

It feels like I never read as much as I want to these days, but I did get through a few books in September, and started some new ones. I picked up Strange House when it was on sale from Kobo, this book started out on YouTube and was originally in Japanese, but has been translated. I’ll make sure to post the details about each book when I do the reviews, but coming as no surprise – This Inevitable Ruin, book 7 in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. 5 stars. Absolutely. It was a heavy read, but so well done.

I’ve re-started Onyx Storm a few times now, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as the other books in the series that I have read, but I’m glad I finished it. I am hoping to get back to making more time for reading soon, but the next few weeks are incredibly busy and don’t leave me with a lot of free time. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

July 2025 Wrap Up

It doesn’t look like I got a lot of reading done this month, but the books I did read were fantastic – plus I have a few more on the go that are amazing.

July is the month where I realized that the book club I was participating in was just not for me. Out of 7 months of reads, I only completed two, and I had missed out on a bunch of the in-person discord chats about some of the books, too. I’d like to continue looking for a book club that will appeal to me a bit more. I love reading outside of my preferred genre, but I’d like one that at least leans in the general direction. We’ll see how that search goes.

So my DNF (did not finish) for the month was “The Dose Effect” and that was a book club read. Honestly I just had such an issue trying to find this book in a non-Amazon location. For those unfamiliar, I stopped purchasing books from Amazon and using my kindle earlier this year, and I swapped over to Kobo, where I’ve been ever since.

I finished the audio book to the next Dungeon Crawler Carl book, and started the next one. I love Princess Donut, what can I say.

3/5 Stars – The Christmas Tree Farm

The Christmas Tree Farm, by Laurie Gilmore. I needed something easy on the brain, and this was available at the library so I picked it up. It is your typical hallmark-esc romance, except r-rated with some sex thrown in. I could not take this book seriously. The part where he found her vibrator in the couch was just hilarious to the point of being unbelievable (in specific, their discussion around it, not the actual act, that part I could see happening). Not a literary masterpiece, but it was what I was looking for. Just a nice simple read.

3/5 stars

BBBC for February (Bujo Buddies Book Club)

The Bujo Buddies Book Club read for February was Psyche and Eros, by Luna McNamara. This was my very first Greek mythology retelling, and to be honest, it really didn’t do anything for me. The very first part of the book was incredibly slow, and I wanted to DNF it, but I pushed through and the book started to get good even if the story made no sense to me. Then the story started to rush – and then the ending was SUCH a disappointment. I was very frustrated.

We had our monthly get together about this book and around 100 others showed up. Some were much more experienced with Greek mythology and were able to tell me things I didn’t know, like the fact that MOST Greek mythology end in death / sadness, so the fact that this book did not already made it good for some readers. It was also a mash up of a few different myths, which I hadn’t realized.

Overall, I gave the book a 2.5/5 rating, because it simply wasn’t for me. The pacing felt awkward and while I eventually fell into the story, the ending just ruined everything. I’m still glad I gave it a read, and I really do love participating in my monthly book club meetings even if the books are not all my favourites. March is a self help book, so I’m not expecting great things there, either.

2.5/5 stars

Why I Switched to a Kobo

I know there’s a lot of controversy right now regarding Amazon’s decision to no longer let you back up your kindle books to any non-kindle devices but that is not the main reason that I decided to swap over to Kobo. Let’s face it, the Kobo isn’t exactly any better in letting you explore outside their ecosystem. We’re basically ‘renting’ books, and we don’t really own them.

The main reason that I decided to opt for a Kobo instead of the Kindle that I’ve used faithfully for years now is because in Canada, you cannot borrow library books on your Kindle. The Kobo has exclusive rights. This year I’ve been reading a LOT of books that I borrowed from the library, both in audiobook and e-book format. I’ve been keeping track of the money I saved, and if you space your requests out, it’s really not so bad. My small library has a lot of popular books (not all of them, but a larger selection than I was expecting). Some of them I’ve been waiting to borrow since December (it’s now almost March) but again if you space them out – not so bad.

Anyway. It might have been chance that I decided on this exact moment to swap over, but the issues with Amazon re: downloads certainly didn’t help the situation, it just wasn’t my only reason.

FaRoFeb – Day 5

LISETTE MARSHALL

The Diamond Scar

Hythra has a plan. To avoid the suitors her mother sends after her, she’ll spend the Midwinter ball with the last man who’ll ever try to marry her: a drunkard who has made his dislike of her abundantly clear. Except it turns out Cai is no common drunk at all. Worse, he doesn’t seem to dislike her all that much…

Heat Level: Hot **

24 in 2024 Reading Challenge – Completed

It’s not quite the end of the year yet, but I managed to finish my reading goal: 24 books in 2024. I read some incredible books and I don’t plan on stopping there, I’ll continue to read and see how many more I can add to the list before 2025.

Some of my absolute favourites include The Saint of Steel series by T. Kingfisher (so happy I found this author, I love many of her books, and read a lot of them this year), and The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. I was happy to see a fair amount of diversity in my readings, and while I did stick to a lot of my usual fantasy/romantacy genres, there’s some other genres tossed in too. I’m excited to start up the 25 in 2025 reading challenge and hopefully I am a bit better about writing reviews and other book-related posts here.

4.5/5 Stars: Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Normally I take a bit of a break between series books, but I enjoyed the 1st book to the Blood and Ash series so much, that I immediately jumped into Kingdom of Flesh and Fire. Poppy has found out that everything in her life was a lie, including her love interest, Casteel Da’Neer.

Watching Poppy come to terms with all of the lies she has been told was a fantastic moment spread throughout the book, and showed her growth from the first book. She’s strong, brave, and doesn’t back down from what she believes in. I’ve finally found a character I can appreciate. I also have my moments of annoyance with Poppy. She repeats herself (and her thoughts) a lot, and portions of the book were a slow read. It built up though, and the final quarter was amazing and over before I knew it.

Kieran is probably one of my favourite characters, despite his smaller role. The bond he has with Casteel and his friendship with Poppy is beautifully written. I’m expecting more of this in the third book – the author is very obviously building up to a threesome, I’m just not sure when it’s going to happen.

Keep in mind all of the triggers from the first book, because those haven’t gone anywhere. There’s a lot of violence, a lot of sex, and a lot of everything mixed together. I’m OK with it but you might not be, and that’s OK too.

4.5/5 stars

4/5 Star Review: From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I’m not typically a fan of vampire stories, but the beautifully crafted world created by Jennifer L. Armentrout in this book was definitely worth exploring. That being said, a fair warning: this book deals with some intense themes and graphic scenes. It’s not for the faint of heart, and I appreciated the heads-up from a friend who recommended it to me. Knowing what to expect helped me prepare for some of the darker moments.

The story revolves around Poppy, who longs to experience life but has been raised as the Maiden, a sacred figure forbidden from engaging in much of anything. She spends her days waiting for her Ascension, a mysterious process, until Hawke enters her life and turns everything upside down. The book has a bit of everything—action, violence, passion, romance, friendship, and betrayal.

Initially, I didn’t really like Poppy’s character. She seemed weak, and I struggled to connect with her. However, as the story progresses, Poppy begins to grow and take control of her life. She slowly starts to question the truths she’s been told all her life, and watching her come into her own was satisfying.

The story begins at a slow pace, and I nearly put the book down. However, I’m glad I stuck with it because once the plot picks up, it becomes an engaging read filled with fantastic characters and a richly developed world. I’m now eager to pick up the next book in the series!

4/5 stars