Tag: Fantasy

Book Review: Wed to the Lich by Layla Fae

Wed to the Lich
Series: Arranged Monster Mates #8
Author: Layla Fae

Published: September 13, 2023
Paperback: 208 pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: January 19- February 5, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars

Book Description:

Liches are almost gone, only a handful of us left. I must marry to keep my race from extinction, yet how? No living female will ever stoop so low as to marry a lich. People fear us. They say we are the harbingers of death, bad luck, rot and decomposition.

In one last bid to carry out my duty, I request a wife through the Temple. She turns out to be a neglected, sickly thing with trembling hands and downcast eyes, seeking an arranged marriage out of despair.

And she’s perfect. Her blushes burn hot, her voice rings with feeling, and her kisses taste like summer. She is life personified, all warmth, light, and sweetness, and I crave her like darkness craves the sun.

But will she sacrifice her warm, beating heart to a creature of death like me?

The Temple, a matchmaking service for monsters, shifters, and aliens, is open for service.
Arranged Monster Mates is a series of novellas written by your favorite paranormal and sci-fi romance Eden Ember, Layla Fae, and Cara Wylde.

Each of these steamy stories has it a possessive male, a heroine ready to sacrifice herself to the beast, plenty of spice, and a happily ever after to curl your toes!

Jessica’s Review:

Some friends and I all decided to swap books and annotate them in 2024 with the intention that everyone gets their books back by Christmas, and these annotated books would be our gifts to each other.  Sadly, none of us got our books back by Christmas, but we really tried!  Wed to the Lich was one friend’s choice and I would have never picked it up otherwise! I most likely would have not ever heard of it.  But I can proudly say that I did read it!  I am working on going outside of my usually genres, and we will see what I enjoy versus what I don’t enjoy as much.

Wed to the Lich is an arranged marriage book between and human (May) and an undead monster (Virgil).  My thought when I picked up the book is “WHAT is a Lich?” We get both Virgil and May’s point of views in this novel. Both of them are damaged individuals, Virgil is lonely as he is one of the last Lich’s and May suffers severely from Anorexia.  In fact they could both be dying from their issues.

At times Virgil was sweet yet possessive and at times kind of creepy. At one point he was watching May sleep and my annotation I wrote mentioned something to do with him being stalkerish like Edward Cullen!

Wed to the Lich is the eighth book in the arranged monster mates series, and I did not read the others.  I don’t think you really need to read them unless you want to. All of the books deal with a monster who is searching for a mate who is human.

The book is smutty, and not for me.  At times it would be sweet, then Virgil went smutty talking/thinking.  It just doesn’t work for me. I’m fine with ‘fade to black’/ closed door romances. Wed to the Lich isn’t that.

There are some serious issues as May is dealing with Anorexia due to the way her former guardian treated her, who was just terrible! You really hate that woman. There is verbal abuse from the guardian. And be forewarned, there is an animal death.  It is May seeing how Virgil eats, but it won’t be pleasant to some.

I did enjoy the epilogue, as it ended the story. This is a short novel, just over 200 pages.  If you are into smutty monster romances then this series will be for you.  I read it and went outside of my box of my usual thrillers/ YA, I did it for my friend! I was the last to read her choice, so I was able to send her book back to her. 

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

A Re-Read of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author:  V.E. Schwab

Narrator: Julia Whelan
Published: October 6, 2020
Audiobook: 17 hours 10 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened: January 27- February 8, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars

Book Description:

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

Jessica’s Review:

It’s been four years since I read  The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab and I loved it just as much this second time! The was a a re-read for the book club I am in (It was my selection that was picked! I am so glad they all got to meet Addie, and our meeting is Saturday!)

I can’t really say much more than what I did before so here is the link to my review.  The review was actually a double review with Kim and we both loved it. I listened to the audiobook again, which is narrated by Julia Whelan, who is one of my favorite narrators!  Needless to say, I loved her narration! There were things that I forgot  that happened, and I enjoyed the novel just as much this second time around.  It is one of my favorite novels, it just gives you so many feelings! 

If you haven’t read it, you must! And trust me, you won’t forget Addie!

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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Book Review: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Illustrated Edition

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Illustrated Edition
Series: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy #1
Author: Douglas Adams

Illustrator: Chris Riddell
First Published: October 12, 1979
Hardback: 320 Pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: October 13- November 12, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars

Book Description:

A beautifully illustrated edition of the New York Times bestselling classic, timed to celebrate the pivotal 42nd anniversary of the original publication–with never-before-seen illustrations by award winner Chris Riddell.

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker’s Guide (“A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have”) and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox–the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod’s girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don’t forget to bring a towel!

Jessica’s Review:

This book is out of my genre and was not my choice to read:  One of my reader groups of friends all picked out books to pass amongst ourselves and annotate with the intention of it being our Christmas gifts to each other for this year. It sounds like we all won’t have our books back by Christmas, which is ok.  After this one I have two more to read, one is short/ not my genre and another I have read before. It will be fun to get my books back and see what my friends all had to say as they read it!

So… Yeah… Science Fiction with aliens…  And the Earth gets blown up. The positive about it; It did make me giggle quite a bit. That’s honestly about all that I recall with this one.  I can’t really say much else. There were some illustrations, which I guess help.  But again, this isn’t my genre. It wasn’t terrible as I gave it 3 stars, which is an average read. This one just wasn’t for me, but it might be for you!

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

 

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