Monday, August 5, 2024

Book Review: "Leather & Lark" by Brynne Weaver

Title: Leather & Lark
Author: Brynne Weaver
Series: "Ruinous Love" #2
Genre: Dark Romance Comedy
Page Length: 416 pages
Publication Date: June 4, 2024
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Butcher & Blackbird is one of the most unique and fun romances I've read in my entire life. It was a highlight of the start of this year and I have not stopped thinking about it since. Therefore, I was pretty excited for Leather & Lark, the companion sequel, to come out. 

Leather & Lark follows two characters we met in B&B and their hate-to-love romance through the situation of a fake marriage. First of all, the premise had me beyond intrigued. Enemies-to-lovers and fake marriage scenarios are always fun for me to read about. This book was no exception.

I loved this book but I will say that it did have a different vibe to it than the first one. It wasn't in a bad way but it was rather different. I almost felt like this one was more of a serious romance compared to a romcom-esque romance. The two main characters were super fun to read about, though. They're very intriguing and I really enjoyed getting to see them open up to each other. 

The plot was somewhat dealing with the consequences of the first book and partly dealing with previous events. Since we actually ended on a rather big ending, I'm pretty desperate for the third book to come out soon. 

Overall, I loved Leather & Lark, but not as much as Butcher & Blackbird. Sequels are hard and it's often difficult to measure up or surpass a first book when it's as stellar as B&B is. However, that's not to say it was a bad sequel. It was fun and addicting but in different ways. I loved the characters and I know I'll be revisiting this book often. 

P.S. Please make sure you read the trigger warnings at the beginning of either book if you decide to read these! There's a long, long list and I want to make sure everyone is reading responsibly! 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Friday, August 2, 2024

July 2024 Wrap-Up + Book Haul


If the first half of the year seemed like it flew by, July felt like it dragged. I truly feel like I've aged years in the span of a month. It was a long, busy, and overwhelming month in a lot of ways. Books, per usual, were an escape. I read a lot of romance this month compared to usual and enjoyed them all, including some new all-time favorites to add to my list. My hope, though, is I get into more fantasy books as we get into the later months of the year since I'm craving those cozy, fantastical stories. 

1. 
Title: Check & Mate
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

2. 
Title: Blood Oath
Author: Morgan B. Lee
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars

3. 
Title: Shadow Heart
Author: Morgan B. Lee
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars

4. 
Title: Not In Love
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Review TK

5.
Title: Flawless
Author: Elsie Silver
Rating: 4 // 5 stars

6.
Title: Heartless
Author: Elsie Silver
Rating: 4. 5 // 5 stars

7. 
Title: Midnight Sun
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Review TK



I didn't get very many books in July but I am very excited about the ones that I did get. I got three books, of which one of them I paid for many many months ago. I'm also on a no-buy challenge for a few weeks so these books are going to be exciting enough to hold me over. 

Up first I have Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver. I actually read this many months ago but I read an ebook through the library. I knew the moment I finished it that I was going to want my own copy but I told myself to wait until Leather & Lark released. Well, I finally have said copy! I was on vacation and, as we all know, vacation shopping doesn't count. What's most exciting is that I'll be able to annotate it when I reread it and I can lend it to friends and family now that I have a copy to lend. 

Then I finally got the first book from the Seasons of Shadowhunters Kickstarter that I pledged to back in November 2023. It's wild that when I pledged for it, I was living in another country in a long-term relationship and now I've moved countries and am single again with a whole new plan for my life. But I digress. This first shipment was the Secrets of Blackthorn Hall by Cassandra Clare. This is a collection of the weekly series she did on Tumblr, similar to the novella collections for The Bane Chronicles, Ghosts of the Shadow Market, and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. I am thrilled to have this added to my shelf and I can't wait to dive into it when I get to that point in my Shadowhunters read-through.

The last book I picked up was Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, which is my current read at the time I'm writing this post. I was so excited for this book back when it came out in 2020...and then I never read past page 200. I think that's because I'd just read Twilight and I didn't have it in me to read the same book over again. I'm about halfway through on this read and loving it. It's an insightful look into Edward and the Cullens and I'm already wishing we could have an entire story about what they were all up to during New Moon as well as their versions of events in the rest of the books. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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