Hey all! It’s rather late, but Happy Wednesday nonetheless!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
This week’s book is:
Brighter Than Nine by June CL Tan! 🗡️✨
One of my most anticipated books of 2026, and one of my top two anticipated sequels of the first half of the year! (The other being the new Murderbot Diaries book.) I’m so excited for this book!
The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets Chinese diaspora folklore in this sequel to the #1 Sunday Times bestseller Darker by Four! The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets the Chinese underworld, drawing inspiration from diaspora folklore, in this epic, sweeping contemporary fantasy duology from Jade Fire Gold author June CL Tan.
Rui has her life back together – or so it seems. Hailed as a hero, she’s finally on her way to becoming an important member of the Exorcist Guild. But she knows the Hybrid Revenants are still out there, and they’re planning something big. Something evil.
Ziziis trapped in the underworld. As his mortal body deteriorates, he realizes he can access the Fourth King’s memories, which may be the key to keeping the mortal realm safe. To save the girl he loves, he must defy fate – and escape Hell.
Yiran watches from the shadows, magicless once more. When he discovers a dark family secret that changes everything he thought he knew, his hunger for power tempts him toward a possible betrayal. And he must decide what he truly stands for – before it’s too late.
As the consequences of the past wreak havoc on the present, three lives bound by the threads of fate must weave a new destiny for themselves – and the realms.
Are you looking forward to Brighter Than Nine? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!
Happy Friday everyone! It’s been almost two months since I’ve done this post, which disappoints me, but January was just so busy. But I’m here with another Bewitching Book Covers now!
For anyone who doesn’t know, Bewitching Book Covers (formerly Tasteful Tuesdays, and before that, Majestic Mondays), is a series where I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it. That’s it, that’s pretty much the point of this post.
This week, the book cover that I’m highlighting is Stolen Midnights by Katherine Quinn!
The first in a new magical young adult romantasy duology from the New York Times bestselling author of To Kill a Shadow. A palace darling and a thief join forces after he unwittingly steals a necklace with the power to change their world forever.
In the city of Andalay, the ruling Fates bestow gifts among society’s most favored. When Damien, a cold and hardened thief, is hired to steal one of those gifts – meant for the “princess” of Ward One, Wren Hayes – he finds himself entangled in a web of secrets.
The gift? A locket containing his own photograph.
Once the locket is opened, hidden truths unravel, shedding light on the ruthless ways of the upper class. Yearning for the three Fates and the magical gifts they bestow, the lords of Andalay will go to any length to keep their power – including murder.
Brought together by destiny, and fighting a dangerous temptation that’s becoming harder to resist, Wren and Damien navigate a seedy world where the truth can destroy not only their lives, but the city itself.
Book Cover Rating: 🌹🌹🌹🌹 • 4 lovely roses
I’ve decided that since Queen of Faces got theCan’t-Wait Wednesday post, I’m going to do a Bewitching Book Covers post for Stolen Midnights. (It also has a great cover, by the way.) And though the book cover for the novel that I’m focusing on today is more simple compared to others I’ve done posts about before, it’s still absolutely beautiful and I really love it.
First off, I really like the background. It’s deep blue with patches of tiny stars dotted around it in a lovely imitation of the night sky. And seeing as the book is called “Stolen Midnights” this is extremely fitting.
The next notable thing about the cover art – and the aspect that first caught my eye about it – is the roses. I love how big they are, and how they come in two shades of pink. It adds a little more color to the cover. Another thing I really like about them is how the colors of the roses naturally complement, but also stand out from the background. It’s also a nice touch that the entirety of the flowers themselves are on the cover, and not just the colorful part with petals. The stems also feature on here, with their thorns and leaves, and the green of them adds yet more color to the book’s cover.
The last thing I want to highlight is the typography. Most books I gush about here have pretty good composition styles on their covers, and this one is no exception. I like the typography itself, and how its paleness makes it stand out from everything else going on on the book cover. The words are also made up of two colors – white and a light gray or silver – and it makes it even prettier. I also love how the gray or silver parts of the words make those parts of the letters seem in shadow. It just makes the cover of Stolen Midnights pop even further. Such a gorgeous cover!
So yeah, here’s yet another beautiful book cover. What do you think about this cover art? Have you read Stolen Midnights? If you have, what did you think of it?
Anyway, as always, thank you for reading, and I hope that you have an excellent day/night!
GENRES: Mystery, Contemporary, Young Adult, Fiction
PUBLISHER: Katherine Tegen Books
RELEASE DATE: 1 March 2016
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The first book in a witty, suspenseful new series about a brilliant new crime-solving duo: the teen descendants of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. This clever page-turner will appeal to fans of Maureen Johnson and Ally Carter.
Jamie Watson has always been intrigued by Charlotte Holmes; after all, their great-great-great-grandfathers are one of the most infamous pairs in history. But the Holmes family has always been odd, and Charlotte is no exception. She’s inherited Sherlock’s volatility and some of his vices–and when Jamie and Charlotte end up at the same Connecticut boarding school, Charlotte makes it clear she’s not looking for friends.
But when a student they both have a history with dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Danger is mounting and nowhere is safe–and the only people they can trust are each other.
My Review
Truth be told, I liked that blurriness. That line where reality and fiction jutted up against each other.
It’s been a heck of a while since my last book review – and it’s more than overdue. And seeing as I’m in a good headspace finally, and I have the time, I decided that it’s time for me to catch up. So here we go: My review for A Study in Charlotte.
I’ve experienced several Sherlock Holmes reimaginings, as well as quite a few things that were clearly inspired by the work. I’ve never read the original, though I probably should give how I enjoy the retellings and such. And this one was no different – I liked several things about this story. (A few things did annoy me, however, but that’s how it always goes.)
The Characters and Story
We weren’t Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I was ok with that, I thought. We had things they didn’t, too. Like electricity, and refrigerators. And Mario Kart.
First off: the characters. 🖊️ Jamie Watson 📖 is our protagonist, as well as a descendant of Dr. Watson. Much like his ancestor, he also narrates the story. I thought he was alright and liked his personality, though I did find him to be kind of cookie-cutter. Our deuteragonist was 🔎 Charlotte Holmes. 🧪 I don’t think I have to even state who she’s descended from. Like her ancestor, she’s a murder magnet, the violin, and has a predilection to solving mysteries. Well, most of her family does; either that or they’re all hyper intelligent. It’s a whole thing. She was okay. Like Jamie, I unfortunately found her to be a little generic, though I really liked their rapport and thought they were a pretty good duo.
None of the other characters really stood out too much to me, except for Jamie’s father. I thought that Jamie and his dad had an interesting relationship, and finding out what was straining their relationship was one of the more compelling threads of the novel. Charlotte’s brother was also intriguing, when he finally appeared, as well as her interactions with him.
🖋️ The story 📒 itself was kind of slow and didn’t really stand out to me either, even though I ended up liking it well enough, once I got closer to the end. But parts of it were really slow to me. I found the twist and the antagonist kind of obvious, however, and was a little bit annoyed at the author’s attempt to throw the reader off the scent. Especially when I found the murderer to be as obvious as it was. I did think that the climax, ending, and epilogue were very good, and they convinced me to give this book an extra half star.
The Romance and Writing
Oh my God,” I said as she startled. “Oh my God. You just wanted to come here to-”
“There are excellent opportunities for observation and deduction here.”
“-to dance.” I was trying very hard not to laugh. “Would you like to?”
“Yes,” she said, and fairly dragged me out onto the floor.
💘 The romance 💝 was okay. I thought that Jamie and Charlotte definitely had some chemistry, and the slow-burn was definitely one of the better parts of the book. I thought that the two complemented one another pretty well, which is important in a Holmes and Watson dynamic.
✏️ The writing 🗒️ itself was also pretty good. Though I found parts of the novel to get slow, I never found any of it to be overwritten, which was nice. Especially as overwriting is one of my biggest pet peeves as a reader (as is slowness, but ehhh). The prose was good and the dialogue sounded pretty natural.
I also really enjoyed all of the 🐍 little nods 💎 to Sherlock Holmes. Charlotte’s science lab being Sciences 442. There being a helpful and caring older lady, who was clearly a reference to Mrs. Dobson, not to mention there being a character with the last name Dobson in the book, as well. And let’s not forget about all the cases featured in the book, as they were based on Sherlock Holmes cases. Even the title is a reference to A Study in Scarlet. Not to mention all of the myriad of other references I know I missed (I don’t know much about the original material, okay?).
Final Thoughts
“You have my implicit forgiveness, you know, even when you’re driving me crazy.”
“Jamie.”
“Charlotte.”
“Do come home soon. It won’t be London without you.”
“You never knew me in London.”
“I know. I intend to fix that.
So yeah, all in all, I thought that A Study in Charlotte was pretty okay. It was well constructed and there was a solid dynamic between the two main characters. The plot was kind of slow, though, and the chapters were really long, and I didn’t really gel with that. I did enjoy the story as a whole, though. I think fans of Sherlock Holmes reimaginings, and possibly of the original material, might like it.
I don’t think that I’m gonna continue with this series, unfortunately. For one thing: there was a lot of stuff going on IRL when I read it. But also, it just didn’t really grab me. And I just have far too many things in my TBR at the moment. Maybe I’ll be feeling the sequels someday – you never know.
And as always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
Wow, it’s been a while since the last time I did this post! Let’s admire another Bewitching Book Cover!
(Erggghhh… This was supposed to come out this past Sunday, and I just noticed that it didn’t post and I accidentally had it scheduled for this coming Sunday. I fixed it though. Ughhhh…)
For anyone who doesn’t know, Bewitching Book Covers (formerly Tasteful Tuesdays, and before that, Majestic Mondays), is a series where I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it. That’s it, that’s pretty much the point of this post.
This week, the book cover that I’m highlighting is Seven Deadly Thorns by Amber Hamilton!
The Cruel Prince meets Powerless in this dark academia romantasy that will tattoo itself onto your heart
In the cursed Kingdom of Aragoa, the punishment for magic is death.
Even the students at Vandenberghe Academy aren’t spared. When Viola Sinclair’s deadly shadow magic is discovered, the queen gives her assassin a new assignment and a new cursed tattoo: seven-thorned rose on his arm for the seven days he has to hunt Viola down and kill her. If he doesn’t, he will be the one to die.
The assassin is Roze Roquelart–entitled prince, arrogant fellow student, and the one person Viola hates more than anyone. Roze should revel in the chance to end her life, but he desperately needs something from Viola and her magic. And he’s willing to spare her life–and fake their engagement–to get it.
Forced to work together, Viola and Roze must contend with deadly threats, dangerous secrets, and an impossible attraction. Will they give in to their deepest desires, even if it means destroying Aragoa–and risking both their lives?
HER WORST ENEMY. HIS ONLY CHANCE.
Be swept away by the sizzling, irresistible enemies-to-lovers romantasy with magic more destructive than your darkest nightmares.
Book Cover Rating: 🌹🌹🌹🌹 • 4 roses covered in thorns
Once again, here’s another gorgeous book cover. There’s just so many things to love about it – the colors, the contrast, the font. I just enjoy a lot of things about the art here.
The first thing that jumps out to me about the cover of Seven Deadly Thorns is probably the colors. I know, it’s so obvious, duh. But blue is one of my favorite colors, and gold always looks good when put up next to it intermingled with it. It’s just a fact.
Another thing that I really like is the font used for the title. It’s really pretty and I think it really fits the vibe that the cover art is going for. All of the words on the cover being in white is also great, because they really stand out against the bluish background, as well as the golden rose that’s the centerpiece of the whole thing.
Speaking of the rose, it’s absolutely my favorite thing about the book cover. Not only is it a lovely shade of gold, but I love how hand drawn it appears. Having a ring dangling from one of its long, sharp thorns is also a nice touch. But the thing that I adore the most about this part of the cover is definitely how the rose itself interacts with the rest of the cover. The thorns of the rise are actually interwoven with the text of the book’s title itself and I love it. I really enjoy it when parts of covers interact like this – it really makes the cohesiveness of the book cover art come together. And the book cover of Seven Deadly Thorns does it well.
So yeah, here’s yet another beautiful book cover. What do you think about this cover art? Have you read Seven Deadly Thorns? If you have, what did you think of it?
Anyway, as always, thank you for reading, and I hope that you have an excellent day/night!
