Earl Grey Books

Welcome back to yet another post I’ve been working on for weeks. I’ve got quite a few I’m trying to finish before the end of the year so here’s hoping that happens.

But today I’m here to start some new series. I’ve been working hard on continuing series lately and so I couldn’t resist starting a few new ones as well. Staying on brand for me these are mostly fantasy/paranormal romance with a dash of cosy mystery to keep things fun. So without further ado…

Dual Nature (Omega Assassins #1) by Elizabeth Knight

I bought this one at BABE in June because ‘Omega Assassins’ just sounded really cool. I didn’t really know what to expect beyond that. I liked the start of this—it’s an intense start but it was interesting. Unfortunately, after the first 100 or so pages I stopped enjoying it as much. I don’t know what it was, but I was having a really hard time reading it for more than 10 minutes at a time. Usually, I’d DNF at that point but this is so short and I own the rest of the series so I really pushed myself through it. It had its ups and downs but I did get through. I think I’ll at least try the next book, I’m hoping we’ll get to see some more development of the characters—in part, I felt like we were just given these characters and told who they were rather than getting to see them. I was hoping for more.

Luxuria (Shades of Sin #1) by Colette Rhodes

I was really excited for this one because a) I love a good monster romance and b) Dead of Spring (Colette Rhodes’ Hades/Persephone retelling) was my first read of 2023 and I loved it. This one reminded me of DoS quite a bit, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I don’t really know why it is. It has a pretty cool premise, I liked the characters and the writing but it was just missing something for me. I think the dynamic between Ophelia and Allerick or just some of the vibes felt a lot like Hades and Persephone in Dead of Spring and I felt almost like I was reading the same book. Honestly, this could just be my brain expecting that, I don’t even know. Anyway, on the whole, this was fun, the romance was a good balance of cute and smutty. I’m thinking I might enjoy the rest of the series a little more since they’re different tropes and all that.

The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

The Bridge Kingdom has been sitting on my shelves since 2021 and I just kept forgetting that I owned it. Even though I really wanted to read it when I bought it, it just got moved to the back for other things. But I wanted to get to it before the end of the year because I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it after hearing some mixed reviews. I can understand where people are coming from, but this was right up my alley. I’m a big fan of the ‘I was sent to kill you but you’re actually really hot and I might be in love with you’ trope. Aren is honestly adorable, we love a man with a heart of gold who falls first. I genuinely think this might have been a 4.5 or 5 stars but I accidentally spoiled myself while trying to borrow the second book off KU so I could read it immediately after. I wasn’t surprised by the ending because I’d expected something like that, but I was about 80 pages from the end at that point and it did make those last pages drag a little. That’s not the book’s fault, but I did just not enjoy the experience as much as I might’ve otherwise.

Ledge (The Glacian Trilogy #1) by Stacey McEwan

I was kind of hesitant going into this one—I’d seen people hauling it online but I hadn’t seen anyone talk about actually reading it. I honestly just liked the cover and decided to buy it for myself. I had fun reading it—it hits a lot of the tropes I like and most of the chapters are short so I got through it quite quickly. The more I look back on it, there’s more that I didn’t really like or just found quite of awkward. I think for the most part it’s put together well, but then there are a couple of moments that are a it melodramatic or cliched. I love the idea of the world with the Ledge and then the Glacians are interesting, but there was a lot that needed to be fleshed out more. I think book two is almost double the size of this one, so here’s hoping for some more development in the world, characters and plot. Right after finishing this, I gave it a four stars but now that I’ve thought about it more I think it’s a 3.5 for this one.

The Thursday Murder Club (The Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman

I’ve been wanting to pick this one up since it was announced—I think in either 2019 or 2020. I used to love watching Pointless while I was living in the UK back in 2015/2016 so when I heard that Osman was releasing this I was very excited. It took me a while to get to it but I’m so glad I have now. I had a fantastic time reading this—I loved all of the murder club members, though I think Joyce is my favourite. I honestly love how devious and cheeky they are—all four of my grandparents were like that too and at times I saw all of them in the characters here. I really liked the mystery too—I thought I’d picked some of it but it turns out I was completely wrong. I love being wrong about mysteries. I can’t wait for my hold of the next book to come into the library!

It’s definitely a bit of a mixed bag here, but I’m still glad I got around to starting these. Now just to see whether I end up continuing anyway!