Weekly Spotlight - From the Page to the Big Screen

 

Wicked
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in the classic novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch?
Long before Dorothy drops in, a girl is born in Oz with emerald-green skin. Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous witch, is a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived ideas about the nature of good and evil.

Taking readers past the yellow brick road and into a phantasmagoric world, Gregory Maguire's novel is a rich and triumphant feat of imagination and allegory.

Shop It on Amazon

 

Dune

The Duke of Atreides has been manoeuvred by his arch-enemy, Baron Harkonnen, into administering the desert planet of Dune. Although it is almost completely without water, Dune is a planet of fabulous wealth, for it is the only source of a drug prized throughout the Galactic Empire. The Duke and his son, Paul, are expecting treachery, and it duly comes - but from a shockingly unexpected place.

Then Paul succeeds his father, and he becomes a catalyst for the native people of Dune, whose knowledge of the ecology of the planet gives them vast power. They have been waiting for a leader like Paul Atreides, a leader who can harness that force...

DUNE: one of the most brilliant science fiction novels ever written, as engrossing and heart-rending today as it was when it was first published half a century ago.

Shop It on Amazon

 

It Ends with Us
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

Shop It on Amazon

Visions of Darkness

Visions of Darkness
by A.L. Jackson
 
Book: Darkness #1
Publisher: Author
Pub Date: January 7, 2025
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Format: ARC
Source: Author
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon
 
Destined to be together, forbidden to love, two lost souls fight evil in an everyday world that belongs to the night. A dark romantasy by a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

Aria Rialta is a girl of two realities. One she was born to. The other she was chosen for. Both are a threat.

Every night when Aria falls asleep, she enters the nightmare world of Faydor to fight a war. It’s her calling to help destroy the Kruen, who feed sin and chaos to our everyday world of vulnerable humans. It would be a lonely realm in which to do battle if not for Pax, Aria’s dangerously irresistible soulmate whose mere touch can kill. It’s also a realm that’s getting harder to escape.

Aria’s hallucinations are seeping into her waking world. And the Kruen are coming for her. To help Aria, Pax must do what no one in Faydor has dared to do before—join his soulmate in the light of day. Giving in to their forbidden attraction could be the death of them, but they might not be able to stop themselves as they embark on a cross-country journey to fight the evils hunting them.

As their desire grows, so do Aria’s untapped powers, and a menacing new force far darker than the Kruen.
 
My Review: A fantastic and a breathtaking new fantasy that will leave you dreaming for more!

A.L. Jackson took a shot with this being her first fantasy book and she could not have been more brilliant. Fantasy, romance and some dark tones were served with this book and I could not pull myself away from it. 

Aria is special. She can go into another world when she sleeps in which she can get hurt and it will show in the human world. Which leads her parents to think these marks were done by her and forced her into a psychiatric hospital in which will only cause things to be worse. I will say, parts of it did cause some trigger moments, so just to be aware/prepared for those scenes in the beginning. 

So what does Aria do now? She reaches out for the one person she needs the most, the one who will do anything to protect her. Pax.

Together they go on the run. Where they work on figuring out how Aria can work in both worlds, what it means and how to keep Aria from meeting the same fate as others. Pulling back and forth on their need and their oath and to never give in. The second Pax saved Aria from that hospital, the intensity rises and you'll be sucked into a world you don't want out of. 

Oh and the ending?! Don't even get me started on it, I'm so disappointed that I don't already have the next book, because who ends it like that and leaves someone to wait in agony for the next one?! But seriously, I'll take the next book now. The best fantasy I've read all year.

 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

Weekly Spotlight - January Anticipated Releases

 

Onyx Storm

THE STORM IS COMING . . .

Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons.
No more time for uncertainty.
Because the battle has truly begun; and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre.
The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves - her dragons, her family, her home, and him.
Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.
They need an army.
They need power.
They need magic.
And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.
But a storm is coming... and not everyone can survive its wrath

 Shop It on Amazon

 

 

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

There’s power in a book…

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who knows she’s going to go home and marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood.

Shop It on Amazon

 

After Life

One spring afternoon after school, Amber arrives home on her bike. It’s just another perfectly normal day. But when Amber’s mom sees her, she screams.

Because Amber died seven years ago, hit by a car while on the very same bicycle she’s inexplicably riding now.

This return doesn’t only impact Amber. Her sister, Melissa, now seven years older, must be a new kind of sibling to Amber. Amber’s estranged parents are battling over her. And the changes ripple farther and farther Amber’s friends, boyfriend, and even people she met only once have been deeply affected by her life and death. In the midst of everyone’s turmoil, Amber is struggling with herself. What kind of person was she? How and why was she given this second chance?

Shop It on Amazon

 

Lies on the Serpent's Tongue

A beautifully dark YA set in Appalachia tinged with magic, mystery, murder, and romance.For fans of House of Hollow and Wilder Girls!As Caball Hollow slowly recovers after a tumultuous summer, the James family must also come to terms with their own newly revealed secrets. 

18-year-old Rowan James has spent her whole life harboring unpleasant truths—that’s what happens when you can smell people’s lies—and building walls around herself to block them out. Like her younger sister, Linden, who can taste the feelings of others, Rowan has long resented her gift, which has taught her that everyone lies and no one is who they seem to be. So when her old nemesis, Hadrian Fitch, the biggest liar of them all, shows up on her front porch—bloodied, broken, and asking for help only she can give—her first instinct is distrust. But something new is stalking the Forest that surrounds Caball Hollow.

Now things are disappearing. At first, it’s small stuff—like letters, photos, and keys. But then, Rowan notices people around her are losing their memories. And when the body of a neighbor is found in the middle of town, Rowan knows there’s a link between this death and all the events disturbing the Hollow. Can she find what—or who—the link is before it takes another life?

Shop It on Amazon 

January Reading Challenge

 

Let's get reading! January's challenge is here!  
 
Here is a list of books to help you get started:
 
Mystery:
A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke

You Shouldn't Be Here by Lauren Thoman

In the Lonely Hours by Shannon Morgan 
 
Featuring a Sea Creature:
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

The Siren by Kiera Cass

Tither by Holly Black 

We welcome you to comment your suggestions and tell us which spot your most excited for this month!

2025 Reading Challenge

 

Welcome To Our 2025 Reading Challenge

We’re so glad you’re here!
 
Let’s spend this year in branching out to something new, romances that sweep us off our feet, seasonal reads to bring in the spirit and everything else in between.
 
Read anything you’d like that falls within the theme. In a reading slump? Take a break and watch a movie or TV Show based on the book theme instead.

 

How to Participate

There will be one bingo card for each month and all you need to do is get 3 in a row in any direction.  You can certainly complete the whole card if you’d like to! 

This is all about having fun. If you can’t participate one month, get your 3 in a row or in a reading slump, don’t sweat it! Feel free to put the challenge down and come back to it at any time. 

As we begin each new monthly challenge, we will offer you a list of recommendations for that month’s theme. 

Keep an eye on our website, newsletter and follow our Facebook Page to keep up to date on our reading challenge. Get some book recs from fellow readers, share your current read for the theme, give us your recommendations and so much more!  

As you progress through the monthly challenges, be sure to use #LovelyReadsPressChallenge as you share your pick online. Feel free to tag us as well! We would love to see what you’re reading. 

Below you will find our monthly theme cards. 

Extras and questions

What book formats count?

All of them! Print, eBook or audio. You can enjoy your book anyway you’d like.

Will there be a giveaway/prizes?

As of right now, there is nothing set in place. However, we may do surprise giveaways at some point in the challenge.

Weekly Spotlight - House of Night Pt. 3

 

Destined
In Destined, the forces of Light and Dark collide as their epic struggle focuses on Tulsa’s House of Night. Zoey is home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side – and preparing to face off against Neferet. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx’s gift of a human form, he and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together – if Rephaim can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father’s shadow.

But is Zoey really safe? Does she truly know those who are closest to her? And will love win when it is tested by the very soul of Darkness?

My Review

 

Hidden
At last, Zoey has what she wanted: the truth is out. Neferet's evil has been exposed, and the High Council is no longer on her side—but she's far from done wreaking havoc in the vampyre world. First, a mysterious fire ravages the stables. Then, Neferet makes a devastating move that will test them all.

With the seeds of distrust sown and Darkness breeding chaos at the House of Night, everyone must band together—but that's proving to be more difficult than ever before. The twins are barely speaking, and the House of Night's former enemy, Kalona, has now become their warrior, pushing their trust to the limit.

To top it off, Zoey is pretty darn sure she might be losing her mind. She saw something when she looked at Aurox through the Seer Stone that she can hardly explain to herself, let alone her friends. Is it possible that Heath has come back in a different form? Is that why Zoey's so intrigued by Aurox, when it's so obvious that he's dangerous? And who would believe her if she told them?

Zoey knows that following her instinct about Aurox might be just what they need to defeat evil... but if she's wrong, it could cause the destruction of those closest to her. With the tension at a breaking point and friendships on the line, can the nerd herd come together to stop the spread of Darkness before it's too late?

My Review

 

Revealed
Revealed is the spellbinding eleventh and penultimate installment in the #1 New York Times bestselling vampyre series by PC and Kristin Cast.

Drastically altered after her fall at the end of Hidden, Neferet is now more dangerous than ever―and her quest for vengeance will wreak havoc on humans, as well as Zoey and her friends. Chaos is loosed in Tulsa and the House of Night is blamed. Can Zoey stop Neferet in time to keep her anger from escalating to full-on war? Or will someone else have to step in to take the fall?

My Review

 

Redeemed
The final electrifying installment in the #1 New York Times bestselling vampyre series

Zoey Redbird is in trouble. Having released the Seer Stone to Aphrodite, and surrendered herself to the Tulsa Police, she has isolated herself from her friends and mentors, determined to face the punishment she deserves—even if that means her body will reject the change, and begin to die. Only the love of those closest to her can save her from the Darkness in her spirit; but a terrible evil has emerged from the shadows, more powerful than ever…

Neferet has finally made herself known to mortals. Crowning herself a Dark Goddess, she is evil unleashed and is enslaving the citizens of Tulsa. The vampyres of the House of Night have banded with the police, and are gathering every last resource they have, but they know that no single vampyre is strong enough to vanquish her—unless that vampyre has the power to summon the elements as well as the ability to wield Old Magick. Only Zoey is heir to such power…but because of the consequences of using Old Magick, she is unable to help.

In the final novel in the House of Night series, an epic battle of Light versus Darkness will decide who is redeemed…and who is forever lost.

My Review

Off the Air

Off the Air
by Christina Estes
 
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Pub Date: March 26, 2024
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon
 
Equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining, Emmy Award winning reporter Christina Estes introduces Jolene Garcia in her Tony Hillerman Prize winning debut, Off the Air .

Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona, splitting her time between covering general assignments―anything from a monsoon storm to a newborn giraffe at the zoo―and special projects. Stories that take more time to research and produce. Stories that Jolene wants to tell.

When word gets out about a death at a radio station, Jolene and other journalists swarm the scene, intent on reporting the facts first. The body is soon identified as Larry Lemmon, a controversial talk show host, who died under suspicious circumstances. Jolene conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an advantage. But not for long.
As the story heats up, so does the competition. Jolene is determined to solve this murder. It’s an investigation that could make or break her career―if it doesn't break her first.

 
My Review: DNF

 
For someone who leans more into this field as an interest or career, it might be a decent book for you.
 
For me? Well... let's just say that I hated. So much so, that I'd throw it into the worst books ever read pile. 
 
It says it falls under a cozy mystery, buts it's far from that. The mystery itself was not great and dragged out for too long. The main character was not likeable at all. 
 
Too many characters. Super heavy on politics. The disclaimers at the back ratjer than the front was the wrong way to go. 
 
It basically came off as the author taking one of her reporter experiences and just writing it out. Which just did not translate well into a book. 

My Rating:

✪

Weekly Spotlight - House of Night Pt. 2

 

Hunted
What if the hottest guy in the world was hiding a nameless evil, and all he wanted was you? At the start of this heart-pounding new installment of the bestselling House of Night series, Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer. But an unexpected danger has emerged. Neferet guards her powerful new consort, Kalona, and no one at the House of Night seems to understand the threat he poses. Kalona looks gorgeous, and he has the House of Night under his spell. A past life holds the key to breaking his rapidly spreading influence, but what if this past life shows Zoey secrets she doesn’t want to hear and truths she can’t face?

My Review

 

Tempted
"I can never leave you in peace. You and I are bound. We will be each other's salvation, or each other's doom." He took a step closer, and I mirrored his movement by taking a step back. "Which shall it be? Salvation or doom?"

Zoey Redbird, now High Priestess of the shattered House of Night, is doing her best to hold everything together while dealing with her beloved, injured grandmother, her moody boyfriend, her secretive best friend, and the aftermath of the victory over her former mentor and a terrible, beautiful dark angel.

But Neferet and Kalona have only been banished, not defeated, and everyone knows they're heading straight for the Vampyre High Council, where Zoey must follow.

Zoey might be a High Priestess, but she's still just a teenager. And she's the only hope the world has.

My Review

 

Burned
When friends stop trusting each other, Darkness is there to fan the flames….

Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird's soul has shattered. With everything she's ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey's fading fast. It's seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampyre High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left…

Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae's hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world.

In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She's always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess's own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite's loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey's fate hangs in the balance.
Three girls… playing with fire… if they don't watch out, everyone will get Burned.

My Review

 

Awakened
Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over her immortal consort Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either… And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?

My Review

The Wildest Things

The Wildest Things
by Andrea Hannah
 
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Pub Date: February 25, 2024
Genre: Young Adult, Retelling, Fantasy
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon
 
In this sapphic Snow White retelling, if Snow is to save her kingdom from being ravaged by the Blight, she’ll have to kill the Evil Queen’s daughter…if she doesn’t fall in love with her first.

When her glass coffin unexpectedly shatters, Snow White awakens to anything but a dream. The land is rotting. The animals have mutated. In the twenty years that have passed since Snow bit into the poisoned apple, the kingdom of Roanfrost has transformed from a luscious wild land to a blight-ravaged nightmare. In search of answers and a way to restore her kingdom to its former glory, Snow sets out on a dangerous journey that will test the strength she never knew she had.

Friends will become foes.

New alliances will form.

The Queen with the blood red lips will stop at nothing to seize her power as well as her heart.

If Snow has any chance to survive and restore not only her kingdom, but all of Garedenne, her only option is to become the Seasonkeeper and access the life-giving magic that will heal the plague. But the path to becoming the Seasonkeeper is more treacherous than she could ever imagine—because the wild things have awakened and Snow’s darker impulses yearn to set them free.
 
My Review: Okay, now this is good.

I've read many retellings which tend to be such a hit or miss for me, but damn was this one good.

I've read a few Snow White retellings and this one has to be the most unique one yet and I'm here for it.

Snow White, the princess we all know has a bite of a posion apple and that's how her story ends. With this Snow White, the story is the same, except she has freed herself from her glass coffin. Rising from it as if she has been been in it for mere hours.

Need more of a twist? It's been 20 years since Snow died. Now alive, she must figure out what has happened and how to bring this kingdom back from such a nightmare.

Old friends betray Snow, a new friend comes along to save and help Snow. An evil queen looking to take her heart. Its everything know but in a whole new twisted way that keeps you hooked until the very last word. 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪

2024 Reading Challenge

We hope you enjoyed this years challenges as much as we did. This month wraps up our final reading challenge card for the year. 

Missed a challenge? Needing to finish one? Below you'll find links to this year's challenges.

Don't forget, our challenge survey is still open for you to provide your ideas/feedback. You have until December 20th to submit them before we complete next years challenge cards. 

We hope to have you join us for next years challenge!

January Challenge
February Challenge
March Challenge
April Challenge
May Challenge
June Challenge
July Challenge
August Challenge
September Challenge
October Challenge
November Challenge
December Challenge