🍷🍷🍷 #Review of Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Title: Romanov
Author: Nadine Brandes
Format: Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Published: May 7th 2019 by Thomas Nelson
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07DT64TLH
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N 
Source: Purchased by Reviewer, Amazon Kindle 
Rating: 3 out of 5 Wine Glasses
🍷🍷🍷

My name is Anastasia . . . The history books say I died . . . They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them, and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are either to release the spell and deal with the consequences, or to enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya has only dabbled in magic, but it doesn’t frighten her half as much as her growing attraction to Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her.

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

Crystal's Thoughts

Like any good, self respecting 90’s girl I have a fascination with the tale of the Romanov’s and enjoy reading different spins on the mysterious fate of Anastasia and Alexei Romanov. I was excited when I stumbled across this story on Netgalley before it's release, but sadly I was declined a review copy. So I promptly added it to my Amazon wish list instead and was able to dive into it the summer of 2020. 

#Interview with Abbi Waxman of Adult Assembly Required

Oh the fresh promise of starting over. The excitement! The nerves! And we get to experience it all through Laura in Adult Assembly Required! Please join us in welcoming the author to the blog: Abbi Waxman!

Lexi: Sometimes in life you just need some new scenery. And you gave your main character, Laura, a new city—Los Angeles! A city full of possibilities! What drew you to pick LA as the setting for Adult Assembly Required?

Abbi: Pure physical laziness. It’s where I live. I can literally sit on a bench and gaze numbly into the middle distance and call it research.

#Spotlight on Crown of Crimson by Karina Halle

About the Book

Crown of Crimson
(Underworld Gods #2)
by Karina Halle 
Kindle Edition
Published May 23rd 2022
ASINB09YGDY9QC

The next thrilling instalment in the Underworld Gods series. Perfect for readers who want high steam Hades/Persephone and Beauty and the Beast vibes with a dark Nordic folklore twist.

All Hanna Heikkinen wants is to be reunited with her father again. After all, that's why she ventured into the dark and dangerous fantasy world of Tuonela, the Land of the Dead, in order to save his life. But this time her devotion to her father comes at a cost---her growing relationship with Tuoni, the God of Death himself, who held Hanna captive in exchange for her father's life. The last thing she expects is to feel remorse at how she left things with Death, yet the dark and sexy God is all she can think about.

Death has always prided himself on never trusting the living, but Hanna's apparent betrayal has left a scar fathom's deep. Vowing revenge on his future bride, and making sure she upholds her end of the bargain, Death sets out across his realm to steal Hanna back, which only fans the flames between them. But Death and Hanna aren't just fighting each other---malevolent Old Gods are rising to power within the realm, magic is being poisoned, and buried secrets are brought to light, secrets that may cause Hanna to lose everyone she loves dear once again.

AMAZON

#Spotlight on Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton

About the Book

Our Last Days in Barcelona
by Chanel Cleeton 
Paperback, 320 pages
Published May 24th 2022 by Berkley Books
ISBN0593197828 

When Isabel Perez travels to Barcelona to save her sister Beatriz, she discovers a shocking family secret in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s new novel.

Barcelona, 1964. Exiled from Cuba after the revolution, Isabel Perez has learned to guard her heart and protect her family at all costs. After Isabel’s sister Beatriz disappears in Barcelona, Isabel goes to Spain in search of her. Joining forces with an unlikely ally thrusts Isabel into her sister’s dangerous world of espionage, but it’s an unearthed piece of family history that transforms Isabel’s life.

Barcelona, 1936. Alicia Perez arrives in Barcelona after a difficult voyage from Cuba, her marriage in jeopardy and her young daughter Isabel in tow. Violence brews in Spain, the country on the brink of civil war, the rise of fascism threatening the world. When Cubans journey to Spain to join the International Brigades, Alicia’s past comes back to haunt her as she is unexpectedly reunited with the man who once held her heart.

Alicia and Isabel’s lives intertwine, and the past and present collide, as a mother and daughter are forced to choose between their family’s expectations and following their hearts.

AMAZON | B&N 

#Spotlight on Desperately Seeking a Duchess by Christi Caldwell

 

About the Book

Desperately Seeking a Duchess
(All the Duke's Sins #2)
by Christi Caldwell 
Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages
Published May 24th 2022 by Berkley Books
ISBN0593334930

What happens when an impoverished duke with a reputation for being a rogue collides with a strong-willed heiress who wants to explore the world? An unlikely friendship...and unexpected passion.

Cailin Audley doesn't fit in with Polite Society. A life spent among the working class taught her to value her independence in a way no newfound fortune or glittering ballroom could ever erase. When a major misstep sees the new heiress whisked away to the English countryside, Cailin soon realizes the vexing lengths her family will go to see her settled. But having risked her heart once before, Cailin has no interest in the men of the ton--especially not the frustratingly charming Duke of St. James.

Courtland Balfour, the Duke of St. James, devoted brother and notorious rogue, despises what he must become--a fortune hunter. But with the ducal coffers drained by his late, spendthrift of a father, Courtland knows his duty lies at the altar and he will do anything to ensure a future for his siblings. Just his luck that the one lady who could make this new fate bearable, who enflames him like no other, is the one woman who wants nothing to do with him or his title.

But when an act of desperation inadvertently lands he and Cailin at the heart of another scandal, Courtland knows better than to waste his chance. Surely he can convince Cailin to love him?

AMAZON | B&N 

#Spotlight on Kiss My Giraffe by Erin Nicholas

About the Book

Kiss My Giraffe
(Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild #7)
by Erin Nicholas
Kindle Edition, 360 pages
Published May 17th 2022 by EN Fiction, Inc.
ASINB09R1HG1BY

𝙀𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨…𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙-𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨…𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙪𝙩.

Fiona knew Knox would be mad when she moved in next door.
And not because she brought a collection of wild animals with her.
And she was right.
So she intended to leave him alone. Mostly.
But he’s not ignoring her. He’s actively working to send her and her “ridiculous menagerie” (rude) right back out of town.
Still, as hard as she tries, it’s impossible to stop thinking about the small town grump’s long hair and tattoos and that mouth.
Not the one that’s almost always set in a grim line and says things like, “you got a permit for that?”
Nope, the one that kisses her like she’s everything he’s ever wanted and says very dirty things in her ear. And sweet, protective, supportive things. Sometimes. Accidentally. When she catches him off-guard.
The one that also says he only wants a long-distance fling with her. Nothing serious. And that he never dates women he sees every day. Like his neighbor.
Well, fine. If he doesn’t want her—and her unbelievable past and that-can’t-be-real future—then she doesn’t want him either. He can just kiss her…giraffe. (Yeah, she actually has a couple of those.)
Now she just needs to convince her heart to give him up.

AMAZON | B&N