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The Wandering Shelf

Curated book collection, Book bundles, Small batch bespoke book marks. 🌿📚 Williamsburg, VA. 📍

04/19/2023

The Tri-World Exchange Novellas by Kelly St. Clare

The Tri-World exchange is a collection of 4 novellas following The Tainted Accords book series. Each novella follows a different character and each has major fantasy love epic vibes. And we still get bits and pieces of Olina’s continuing story throughout.

If Game of Thrones and Bridgerton had a baby, these novellas would be it. I loved each one, but Olandon and Rhone were my favorites.

Novella reading order:
1. Sin
2. Olandon
3. Rhone
4. Shard
•
•

04/17/2023

🖤 ARC Review - Stilled by M.L. Harry

So honored and excited to have received the ARC for Stilled: Book 1 of The Serendipity Series by

‼️ Trigger warnings - violence, swearing, age gap, abuse, unaliving, loss of a parent, etc.

Spice level: 3.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Samantha is a woman trying to make a new life for herself in New York City, fueled by lots of coffee, which I can appreciate because ~same~. She could use a bit of luck and a new job, and Elijah enters the picture to offer her that job. Elijah is a bit intense and protective. Definitely the “touch her and you’ll die” protective. He sort of gives me Mikaelson brother from Vampire Diaries vibes.

When the past comes back to haunt Samantha, or more like creepily follows her, she is forced to overcome her fears and learn to trust again.

I enjoy reading books that switch perspectives through different chapters. Switching between Samantha and Elijah was really interesting and drew me into their unfolding story even more. Plus.. (spoiler alert) I always appreciate a good beauty and the beast style library reveal.

04/15/2023

These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

Read this if you like: Human girls finding themselves in a fae world. Fated mates. Magic. Telepathy. Battling faerie courts. You know the drill here, folks. It’s golden.

I found these books immediately after binging through the ACOTAR during the Summer of 2022 and they deepened my love for this genre even further. There are only two books in the series, unfortunately, because I would love to read at least seven more.

I loved entering Brie’s world and journeying with her as she spied, made deals with the Seelie King, stole magical relics, and had to make choices that she’d later regret. I have to say, it was Misha who was my favorite character in the series.

Series order:
1. These Hollow Vows
2. These Twisted Bonds

If you’ve read it, comment below what you thought!

04/12/2023

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

This story follows a tight knit group of former assassins that have now retired from the killing career. We see bits of their life from the 1970’s, when they were training and in their prime, and in present day now that they are in their 60’s.

It’s a charming and funny story. Not in my top favorites, but it was fun and different than my usual read.

04/09/2023

Let’s talk Tessa Bailey.

I typically read a lot of mystery and fantasy series. To give my brain a break, I’ve started working in some fun romance books. A few searches through the library led me to Tessa Bailey. She quickly became one of my favorite romance authors.

Her books are so fun, I have to remind myself to not binge through them. It’s like a vacation for my brain. She’s also a really fun author to keep up with on social media as well.

Below are a few books of hers that I’ve enjoyed:
* Love Her or Lose Her
* Fix Her Up
* Tools of Engagement
* Hook Line and Sinker
* It Happened One Summer

04/08/2023

The Bridgerton Books by Julia Quinn

Read if you like: Historical romance. Downton Abbey. Bridgerton on Netflix. Pride & Prejudice.

Confession: The Bridgerton Novels are my guilty pleasure reads. 🙈 I first watched the Netflix show in 2020, and then immediately devoured the books. The show is good, but the books are even better!

To Sir Phillip, With Love is my most favorite of all the Bridgerton/Rokesby books. It’s the story of Eloise, who happens to be my favorite of the daughters. She’s headstrong and independent, determined with what she wants, despite her brothers trying to stop her or save her from ruin. Philip isn’t the most charming love interest, but I enjoyed the banter throughout.

If you liked Anthony and Kate’s Netflix season, the corresponding book is The Viscount Who Loved Me and it’s just as swoon-worthy. If you are interested in trying these out, I’d recommend starting with that book or The Duke & I (Daphne & Simon).

04/04/2023

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Mass

Read this if you like: A Court of Thorns and Roses. Fantasy. Romance. Fae with cool powers. 17 year-old girls somehow saving the world and everyone loving them for it. Well.. mostly everyone. There is always a bad guy, am I right?

The POWER you feel while reading these books is like no other. This series sucks you in and shows you the world through as Celaena sees it. I binged through all 8 books in a month; it was almost impossible to put them down. This was Sarah J Maas’s first series, so it’s a much slower burn than ACOTAR. She started it at just 16 years old - which is incredible. It really picks up about 3 books in, so hang in there because trust me, it’s worth it.

Series order:
Prequel - The Assassin’s Blade
1. Throne of Glass
3. Crown of Midnight
5. Heir of Fire
7. Queen of Shadows
9. Empire of Storms
11. Tower of Dawn
13. Kingdom of Ash

Some readers tandem read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn together. I recommend doing the tandem read, if you can. I didn’t and then suffered through an entire book focused on Chaol. 😂

“You do not yield.” ⚔️

04/03/2023

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Me while reading this book: “Okay, I think I see where this is going… Okay, yep it’s going here… wait what… what! Okay, this is sad. Now I’m mad. Big mad. RAGE. Mad and sad.”

I’m a few years late on this book, I know. All I knew going in was that this book had something to do with adoption. But man, this book had me heated almost the whole way through. Sometimes you just want to reach through the book and shake some characters, ya know?

I really enjoyed the messages about family, culture, and acceptance in this book. And finding your own way and your own people in life.

“You’ll always be sad about this. But that doesn’t mean that you made the wrong choice. It’s just something that you’ll have to carry.”

03/31/2023

The Tainted Accords Series by Kelly St. Clare

Read this if: You like Game of Thrones. If you like a strong female lead, bonus points if they are a princess.

My friend recommended this series, as it’s one of her favorites. I’m so happy that she did! It took me a few books to really fall in love with this series. I enjoyed them but, once I hit book 3 I was all in, fighting (or sometimes flying) alongside them. The world building is beautiful. The character development of our main character is beautiful. Each character has their own personality and story to them and we get to explore that further in the novellas.

Series order:
1. Fantasy of Frost
2. Fantasy of Flight
3. Fantasy of Fire
4. Fantasy of Freedom
5. The Triworld Exchange (Collection of Novellas)

“At our lowest moments, we recover the essence of who we are.”

03/28/2023

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Read this If: You like a good mystery. I’m talking Knives Out, Death on the Nile type of stories. Minus the detective.

This book was a little slow to start for me leading up to the main event. It is set during a fancy wedding weekend on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. We switch between different characters each chapter, reading along and getting a vibe for each guest. These kind of stories are fun because you get to see many points of view and test your intuition. Everyone is a suspect!

From the beginning, I had a character that I felt good about and one that I hated. Proud to say that my intuition was on point. There were still fun twists to the story that pulled it together in the end.

03/27/2023

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Read this if: You love a good simmery enemies to lovers romance. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love that? If you are a city and a mountain person, you’ll appreciate all the vibes that book has to offer.

Stepping into the main character, Nora’s, life was so fun. The banter in this one had me falling in love right along with her. Like the cover says, it really is a rom-com lovers dream and a book lovers dream all in one.

The only con I would have would be the pages with all the dramatic family angst, but to be fair that is part of Nora’s backstory. It can just seem like filler in a romance book like this. Skim that if you must, but this book is most definitely worth the read.

Genre: Romance

03/22/2023

Let’s talk Jane Harper.

Read this if: You like a good mystery, crime thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. You like Australian accents, maybe you are a parent that watches Bluey.

Jane Harper’s stories are centered around complex, interesting characters with secrets to be kept. You’ll be suspicious of every one. A missing girl, mysterious deaths, and past secrets buried in a small Australian town. Until they are uncovered and it all starts to unravel..

The Survivors pulled me in and didn’t let me go. I picked it up and finished it all in one day! I would think that I knew what was happening, but then a surprise twist or three later and I was left in awe. The ending felt very satisfying, like it was tied up with a nice bow for me after traveling through the journey.

I’ve read three of Jane Harper’s books, and The Survivors is my #1 favorite. The Exiles being a close second.

Genre: Mystery

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