Ffion's Reading Obsession

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller Tricia Levenseller is a great author, so when I started Daughter of the Pirate King I had high expectations. This YA pirate heist debut is filled with tension, danger and enemies-to-lovers-filled banter.  In the beginning, it can be easily seen that Alosa, the heroine of the duology, is the daughter of an infamous pirate. She purposely gets captured by an enemy ship playing the infuriating prisoner by day and an investigative thief by night.  Tricia does a fantastic job of showing sexism and misogyny among shipmates and in general among the people in this novel. Alosa is a very strong and independent girl who has been taught to rely on only herself but to the detriment of lacking love and affection from her father and growing up fairly lovely in a world where she is deemed useful to the men in her life.  In my opinion, although the slow story of the heist and mission itself, more importantly, it is about Alosa finding hers...

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna Blurb: She found magic in the most unlikely of places. The House in the Cerulean Sea meets Practical Magic in this cosy, heartwarming, and uplifting magical romance about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family - and a new love - changes the course of her life. As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon has lived her life by three rules: hide your magic, keep your head down, and stay away from other witches. An orphan raised by strangers from a young age, Mika is good at being alone, and she doesn't mind it . . . mostly. But then an unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches, and Mika jumps at the chance for a different life. Nowhere House is nothing like she expects, and she's quickly tangled up in the lives and secrets of its quirky, caring inhabitants . . . and Jamie, the handsome, prickly librarian who ...

Maybe this Christmas? by Jill Steeples book review  Blurb: Curl up with the perfect cosy, comforting Christmas romance. When Beth Brown loses her job and her boyfriend in the space of twenty-four hours, she thinks life can’t get any worse. That’s until she finds herself in the depths of the English countryside working for chef, Rocco di Castri. Not only does she have to deal with his legendary moods, but she’s also expected to get his chaotic schedule and workload in check, all while she’s nursing a broken heart. It’s not long before Rocco’s idyllic home starts to work its magic and soon she sees a softer side to her boss too. And as the festive season approaches, Beth dares to look forward to everything the perfect country Christmas has to offer – and perhaps some romance of her own. Until news of an unexpected proposal threatens to put pay to all Beth’s plans. Will Beth get her happily-ever-after? Maybe, this Christmas... Purchase Maybe this Christmas now on Amazon or read with y...

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau ARC review The Daughter of Doctor Moreau was a peculiar tale of found (or created?) family in a rural South American home.  The book opens with a young Carlota Moreau, the daughter of Dr, Moreau, their housekeeper Ramona, and what appears to be her two siblings Lupe and Cachito. The first few chapters, up until the six-year jump, were very slow and difficult to keep up with. As the reader, Silvia introduces small clues as to what takes place in the home. Once the plot was underway, more characters were introduced such as Montgomery, Eduardo and Isidro and they kept the plot moving forward slowly. In parts, the prose was difficult to read due to the descriptive nature of what took place in Moreau's laboratory. It became clear that the doctor was experimenting, creating hybrids of animals the reason being 'medical advancements' but Hernando Izalde's funding of these experiments was to create reliable workers to use instead of slav...

 Someone Else's Honeymoon review I volunteered to write a review for this novel as part of Boldwood Books blog tour. This review is completely my own opinion though. Blurb: When Charley finds herself suddenly single on Christmas Day it feels like her world has fallen apart. Forced to move back in with her parents, she embarks on a journey of re-invention. When she meets Ed, who is on honeymoon alone after being jilted at the altar by a bride he's never met, it looks like her life may be taking a turn for the better. Fate, however, has other ideas, and she and Ed are forced apart. Will she find her way back to him, or are they just not meant to be? Purchase Link - https://amzn.to/3zOzkec Phoebe MacLeod is the author of several popular laugh-out-loud romantic comedies. She mainly sets her books in her home county of Kent and her first new title for Boldwood will be published in November 2022. They will also be republishing her existing titles from August this year. My R...

Marionette by Antonia Rachel Ward This quick read was an unexpected tale of mysterious spirits and withcraft mixed with a story of seeking freedom for female prostitutes who believe they are stuck and have no free will.  George, a 19 year olf English man is first introduced on his journey go Paris where he hopes to pursue his passion of painting.  Celie is introduced as a dancer and performer who is also a sex worker. It becomes obvious she has done sex work for money since she was a young teen and once her family died, she left her small village in pursuit of bigger and better things - or so she thought. I think the title of the short story - Marionette - is a clever way of showing Celie as being a puppet manipulated into performing and doing what she is told by her puppet master.  After a mystery performance that leaves her acting strangely and whirlwind tale takes place leading to quick love, murder and a determination in George to free Celie from a sp...

I was given the opportunity to read Daughter of Darkness as an ARC and it was actually one of the first ebooks I was approved for when I joined NetGalley. The novel is sold as a 'thrilling fantasy inspired by Greek myth'. I have seen this book more and more over the last few months and it is clearly a highly anticipated read for August 2022.  Blurb: Enter the Underworld in an epic new fantasy, where the Gods of ancient Greece rule everything but fate. Deina is trapped. As one of the Soul Severers serving the god Hades on earth, her future is tied to the task of shepherding the dying on from the mortal world - unless she can earn or steal enough to buy her way out. Then the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld. Deina jumps at the chance. But to win, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers she neither likes nor trusts. So begins their perilous journey into th...