August Reading Challenge

 

Let's get reading! August Reading challenge is here!  

Here is a list of books to help you get started:

YA Book:
The Last King of Faerie by Cassandra Clare
Heart of Mischief by Emma Noyes
What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally
 
Greek:
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
Ithaca by Claire North
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes 

We welcome you to comment with your suggestions and tell us which bingo spot you’re most excited about this month!

Queen of Shadow

 

Queen of Shadow
by P.C. Cast
 
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: William Morrow
Pub Date: August 4, 2026
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon  Bookshop

From #1 New York Times bestselling author P. C. Cast—a sexy and magical epic of Celtic legend, perfect for romantasy fans who love Sue Lynn Tan and Thea Guanzon.

Step into the mystical world of the Isle of Skye in 200 BCE, where legends come to life and the Queen of Shadow holds court. But Scáthach is no ordinary queen. Daughter of the Underworld goddess Bēfionn, golden-haired Scáthach is gifted with the Sight, able to glimpse all the possibilities of the future and pass between the world of men and the world of gods.

Scáthach dedicates her life to training the fiercest warriors from across the land in her fortress at Lethra. But then a newcomer arrives in Lethra and upends everything about Scáthach's existence. He is Cuchulainn, the hero of Ulster, son of the Irish God Lugh. Known for his strength and bouts of berserker rage, Cuchulainn wants Scáthach to help him hone his skills and find redemption for his violent past. The Queen of Shadow reluctantly agrees to take him in, ignoring their growing attraction, and what it might mean for her destiny.

Meanwhile, Scáthach's jealous half-sister Aife threatens Scáthach’s claim to the kingdom she loves and challenges Scáthach for Cuchulainn’s loyalty. Caught in a snare of duty and desire as she navigates the perils of leadership, Scáthach discovers that her destiny may lie in the Underworld, where she can forge a future for herself and Cuchulainn by tricking death itself....

 

My Review: P. C. has blown me away YET AGAIN. How does she always do this?!  

Scathach is such an amazing character. I love how genuine she is. She is the Queen of Shadows and the opportunity to be queen of two places. Warriors come to her to be trained. You could say she has it all. Yet, she is so kind and genuine on how she behaves, talks to her students, daughter, friend, etc. She doesnt jump to judge, she doesnt throw around shes is a queen for the sake of it or show off power. Just all around a character you will absolutely love. 

Then you have Cuchulainn who really deep down is a big softie. He first started off on a rough note after breaking Scathach's door. But Scathach accepts his request to be a student in the end. He excels at everything but he doesn't show off. He doesn't boast. He even helps and encourages the other students. Scathach really likes that bout him among other things. 

As the story goes on, there is so much that is packed into this book and I love every moment of it. WELL - actually not one scene. There is a scene about a horse and well don't read it is all I can say. As an animal person, this was hard to read so go ahead and skip that part.

Scathach also has the best daughter and guard leader who is really more like her best friend. Those are some of the best side characters and I loved them.

Scathach's sister is a no go. Don't like her nor what she did. That may also be a rough scene for folks who may be more sensitive about SA, so just keep that in mind.

But overall... This book was simply amazing.  

I've been a fan of P. C. for ages now and will always boast about her books.  She's an absolute favorite of mine and haven't come across one book I haven't loved yet. This was no exception, in fact it made it to the top of the list. 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

Why Author Spotlights Help Readers Discover the Person Behind the Book

 

Readers love stories, but they also love getting to know the authors who write them. Building that connection can be one of the most valuable parts of growing an audience.

That’s where author spotlights come in.

At Lovely Reads Press, our author spotlight services are designed to help writers share their journey, personality, and passion in a way that feels approachable and engaging.

More Than Just Promoting a Book

An author spotlight focuses on you as the creator behind the story. These features often include:

• Your author journey
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• Social media and website links

This type of content helps readers connect with authors on a deeper level, which can encourage long-term support and loyalty.

Building Your Author Brand

In today’s publishing world, readers often follow authors just as much as they follow books. Establishing your presence online can help readers remember you, interact with your content, and stay excited for future releases.

Author spotlights can:

• Strengthen your online presence
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Why Authors Work with Lovely Reads Press

At Lovely Reads Press, we believe book promotion should feel welcoming, professional, and personalized. Our goal is to help authors feel seen while presenting their work in a polished and reader-friendly way.

Every author has a story worth sharing, and our spotlight services are designed to help readers discover the person behind the pages.

Weekly Spotlight - Popular Books that Wasn't for Me

Metal Slinger

Even though she's not one of them, Brynn has spent her life among the Alaha, training to be a guard and waiting for the chance to attend the annual market hosted by the Kenta–the very same people who exiled her adopted community to a life at sea. Going to the market is a rite of passage eagerly anticipated by all young guards, but Brynn does not anticipate breaking a century-long peace treaty while there. Nor does she plan for the intense encounter with an enemy soldier that now threatens to unwind the fragile coexistence between their people–and everything Brynn once believed about herself to be true.

Brynn's loyalty to the Alaha is tested when the truth of her identity is brought to light by this soldier who's taken an oath to bring her back to where she belongs. Narrowly escaping death on the violent high seas, Brynn's connection to the Alaha is further tested when she learns about the world of magic she's been denied. She was once certain of her fate and where she belonged, but the dark, knowing eyes of this stranger have her questioning everything, including her heart. 

My Review

Soul of Shadow

A thrilling Norse mythology inspired contemporary romantasy sure to excite fans of The Vampire Diaries and Atlas Six.

Charlie Hudson just wants to get through junior year. Since the death of her twin sister two years earlier, she’s drifted through life, going through the motions at school and parties and even at home. The spark that once burned so brightly within her has all but flickered out.

Until her classmate goes missing in the forest, leaving nothing behind but a pair of shoes and strange symbols carved into a tree.

Drawn to the disappearances by forces she can’t explain, she finds herself investigating the mysterious, alluring newcomer in town, Elias Everhart. With piercing eyes and sharp wit, he dances around her questions, only intriguing her further. Elias has a secret. More than one.

But what Charlie doesn’t know is that those secrets will lead her to a place she never imagined: a world hiding in plain sight, made of magic, gods, and monsters - and a first love fated to fall apart.

In Emma Noyes's Soul of Shadow, truths and temptations lurk in the darkness, and for Charlie, the only thing more dangerous than facing her past, is the boy with the power to change her future. 

My Review

Cruel Seduction

He was my enemy. My lover. My husband.

And the one man I swore by all Olympus I would destroy.

Aphrodite has never flinched at getting her perfectly manicured hands dirty, and she's not about to start now—even if that means marrying Olympus's enemy number one, the new Hephaestus. She has a wicked plan to keep her deadly new husband off-balance, seducing the one person he seems to care about most in this world: Pandora, a woman as beautiful as she is sweet.

Two can play the seduction game, however, and Hephaestus is all too happy to put his new wife in her place. Her ex, Adonis, seems like he'll do the trick. It doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous in the way of fallen angels, either.

The only problem with using seduction as a weapon? Hearts are all too quick to get involved. With Hephaestus and Aphrodite trading venomous strikes that feel a whole lot like foreplay, lines become blurred and emotions entangled. But a broken heart may be the least of their worries. With unrest in Olympus reaching new heights, these bedroom games may have deadly consequences for themselves, their city, and everyone they've come to love.

My Review

Weekly Spotlight - Books Set in a Hotel

 

Hotel Ruby

Stay tonight. Stay forever.

When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.

Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.

The more Audrey learns about the new people she’s met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…

Welcome to the Ruby.

 

 

All My Rage

Lahore, Pakistan. Then.

Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Cloud’s Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.

Juniper, California. Now.
Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.

Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever.

When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.

From one of today’s most cherished and bestselling young adult authors comes a breathtaking novel of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness—one that’s both tragic and poignant in its tender ferocity.

Get it Here

 

Hotel Magnifique

For fans of Caraval and The Night Circus, this decadent and darkly enchanting YA fantasy, set against the backdrop of a Belle Époque-inspired hotel, follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.

All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.

The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.

With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.

Get it Here

If the Sun Never Sets

 
 

If the Sun Never Sets
by Ana Huang
 
Book: If Love #2
Publisher: Bloom Books
Pub Date: June 25, 2024
Genre: Adult, Romance
Format: Print
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon  Bookshop
 
 Five years ago, he broke her heart. Now, he’ll do anything to win her back.

When Farrah walked into her lunch meeting, she didn’t expect to see him. Blake Ryan. Her first love, her first heartbreak, and now, her first client as a freelance interior designer.

It’s been five years, but she’ll never forget the way he shattered her. He whispers pretty words, but she’ll never believe him. Her body craves his, but she’ll never give him her heart.
Not again. Not ever.

***

Money. Looks. A booming sports bar empire. On the surface, Blake has it all, but inside, he's haunted—both by nightmares of a tragic loss and dreams of the girl he once betrayed.

When fate reunites them, he sees it as a sign: it’s time to get the love of his life back.
No matter what it takes.

If the Sun Never Sets is book two of the If Love duet. It's a steamy second chance romance with plenty of groveling.

 
 
My Review: Loved this book! 
 
It starts off 5 years after the last book and everyone said goodbye after college.
 
We still have the same characters and this book wraps up the story of Farah and Blake.
 
5 years later. Farah has her dream job, working for the person she always saw as her idol and all couldn't be better....until a meeting about a promotion goes the wrong way and Farah has had enough and leaves her job. 
 
Aa for Blake, he's doing really well. His bar is doing great, heck more than great, its amazing. He's got multiple locations and rising in the world. He's just missing a little something....
 
When Blake's friend decided to have him meet a designer to make his home an actual home and not some boring apartment. Well.... he agrees and hasn't a clue about what's coming next.
 
Farah wasn't expecting to become an independent designer and she sure didn't expect her first client was going to be her ex... Both her and Blake are shocked when they both sit down to dinner and Blake's friend Landon quickly puts the pieces together.
 
Farah needs the money and Blake needs Farah. So this arrangement is supposed to all business but uhhh the chemistry between them has always been there and it isn't long before they try again.
 
Farah and Blake have their ups and downs. But things seem like its going to work this time until one night changes things all over again. 
 
One night is all it took to refresh and restart and FINALLY give us the HEA we need. New years eve party, surprises, truth comes out and so much more. 
 
The best part when the HEA finally hits and its everything you wanted. 
 
I cant wait to dive into the next book and read the romances for the other characters.

 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

If We Ever Meet Again

 

If We Ever Meet Again
by Ana Huang
 
Book: If Love #1
Publisher: Bloom Books
Pub Date: 6/25/24
Genre: Adult, Romance
Format: Print
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon Bookshop
 
One year is all it takes for strangers to become lovers...
 
19-year-old Farrah Lin is going to fall in love for the first time during her year abroad in Shanghai. She's sure of it.
 
The only problem? Her would-be leading man is her new friend’s boyfriend.
 
There’s nothing worse than being in love with someone you can’t have...or at least, she thinks it’s love.
 
But if that’s true, why can’t she stop fantasizing about someone else, specifically the cocky blond athlete with the world’s biggest ego (and greatest dimples)?

***

Blake Ryan is—was—a college football star who shocked the sports world when he quit after his third national championship. Instead of dealing with the fallout, he escapes to Shanghai, where he vows to keep life simple.
 
No football. No commitments. No romance.
 
But no matter how hard he tries, he can’t keep a certain beautiful brunette off his mind...or out of his heart.
 
What starts as a physical attraction develops into something much deeper as Blake and Farrah get swept up in the magic of Shanghai—and each other. But they only have one year, and there are forces outside their control that threaten to rip them apart.
 
Can their relationship survive the test...or was it just not meant to be?
 
WARNING: This is the first book in a duet. It's a full-length novel with no sudden cliffhangers, but Blake and Farrah’s story concludes in book two, If the Sun Never Sets, which takes place five years later.
 
If We Ever Meet Again is a steamy strangers to friends to lovers romance. Recommended for 18+ due to adult language and explicit content.
 
 
My Review: This book was soo good. 

I loved all the characters.  Farah and Blake are the main characters in this book and it was something.

 
Farah is not a fan of Blake at all in the start. In fact, she throws some punches back when Blakes attempts at sweet talking her goes sideways and she doesn't buy any of it. 

Blake is sorta just trying to enjoy his senior year while also using this time to get away from everything. What better way than from Texas to Shanghi. 

Farah has her goals in mind while Blake is trying to figure out what his is now that football is off the table. 

These two were meant to hang out as just friends. They spend a day together and it secretly seals the deal. Even more so when both think of the other when some folks from the group go on vacation.

  
When these two finally made it real. It was everything. They had a real connection, love, they looked like they were going to make it. 

When winter break throws everything upside it was an ending that was so hard to read but you know Ana is going to give that HEA in the next book because it simply cannot end the way it did.

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

Weekly Spotlight - Books with Floral Covers

 

A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience

Margaret Dunhaven may have been forced into marriage with the sinister vampire lord of Shadowcroft Manor to fulfill a family obligation, but she's not about to stay trapped there for long. The beastly man doesn't even have any decent tea leaves in his kitchen!

However, when she realizes that she's not the only one who's been tricked into this marital union, it's time to join forces with her unwanted new husband. If they can combine her scholarly skills with his ancient history, then, working together, they might just manage to reclaim her inheritance, break his curse, and find their freedom.

...Just so long as they don't fall in love along the way.

A witty and sparkling gothic fantasy novella that puts a new twist on Beauty and the Beast in an alternate-history version of late 19th century England.

Get it Here

 

 

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm-as its queen.

Along with her former academic rival-now fiancé-the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell's long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare, filled with scholarly treasures.

Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world-how could an unassuming scholar like herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in-Wendell's murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell's magic-and Emily's knowledge of stories-to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

Get it Here

 

 

A Taste of Poison
A Snow White Retelling
A runaway princess wanted for murder.

A deadly huntsman who’s after her heart…
Half-fae Astrid Snow is used to being disliked. With magic that makes her mirror back one’s worst qualities, she has more enemies than friends. And when she’s accused of poisoning her father, her stepmother—the formidable Spring Queen—becomes her greatest enemy yet. Forced into hiding, she finds solace at the Seven Sins Hotel. It provides the perfect subterfuge she needs. For who could ever find an outlaw in a hotel famed for sin?

Bear shifter Torben Davenport lost everything to the gambling halls. To pay off his debts, he serves the fae royals as their personal Huntsman, locating hard-to-find fugitives with his scent-based magic. When the Spring Queen offers him a bargain that will erase his debts for good, he’s willing to do what it takes—even if it means finding the queen’s runaway stepdaughter and cutting out her heart.

Astrid won’t go down without a fight, even if her assailant is a strikingly handsome Huntsman. If she can evade the bear-shifter’s claws, maybe she can make him an ally. It’s easier said than done, especially after she accidentally gets herself handcuffed to her infuriating captor.

Can Astrid cut through Torben’s icy demeanor and convince him to help her find the real killer? Or will she lose her heart in more ways than one?

Get it Here

 
 

Beauty & the Rose
The conclusion to the Beauty's Beast trilogy

They say the gods will accept no small sacrifice.

To appease them you must give your all.
I’ve sacrificed everything.
Lived through loss, and learned to love.
To take the beauty with the pain.
The rose with the thorns.
This love story isn’t perfect, but it’s ours.
We’ll hold onto it forever.
And hope our forever is longer than a day.

Get it Here

 
 

Lies of My Monster
From the USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a new dark mafia romance.

In our brutal world, there’s no such thing as the truth.

Lies overflow until they become a reality.
But I’m determined to uncover what happened to my family.
One problem, though.
My monster, Kirill.
We are not the same anymore.
It’s become hard to trust one another.
But it’s downright impossible to stay away from each other.
It’s mad, chaotic, and wrong, but it’s us.
And we might have to pay for it with blood.

This book is part of a trilogy and can't be read on its own.

Get it Here