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I must be starting to enjoy fantasy and YA because in my past few reviews I’ve put my normal “I don’t usually read…” in front of my review because they’re not my genres. But… something must have changed because I’m finally starting to like them.
Caraval is the fantasy I never knew I needed in my life. It’s fast-paced, magical and gripping, and nothing like I expected. I got my copy for Christmas in a Book Matchmaker package. I don’t think if I’d have seen this on a shelf that I would have gone for it because as I’ve said, it’s not my usual type. But I was nicely surprised.
The novel opens with letters from Scarlett to Legend about Caraval as she’s always wanted to see it because of the stories her grandmother told her when she was younger. After years of trying to get an invite, Legend replies and the story begins.
Scarlett is thrown into an adventure with her sister Tella and a sailor, Julien. They all take part in Caraval – a magical game where nothing is ever as it seems – and compete against other players to win a wish from Legend.
I was a bit unsure where the book was going to go in the beginning because it took off quite slowly, but once the action started I couldn’t put it down. It was truly gripping and I was completely obsessed to the point I was reading it in whatever spare time I could find just to finish it.
It finishes with a bit of a cliffhanger but that just means that I absolutely cannot wait for the second book!
Caraval is the fantasy I never knew I needed in my life. It’s fast-paced, magical and gripping, and nothing like I expected. I got my copy for Christmas in a Book Matchmaker package. I don’t think if I’d have seen this on a shelf that I would have gone for it because as I’ve said, it’s not my usual type. But I was nicely surprised.
The novel opens with letters from Scarlett to Legend about Caraval as she’s always wanted to see it because of the stories her grandmother told her when she was younger. After years of trying to get an invite, Legend replies and the story begins.
Scarlett is thrown into an adventure with her sister Tella and a sailor, Julien. They all take part in Caraval – a magical game where nothing is ever as it seems – and compete against other players to win a wish from Legend.
I was a bit unsure where the book was going to go in the beginning because it took off quite slowly, but once the action started I couldn’t put it down. It was truly gripping and I was completely obsessed to the point I was reading it in whatever spare time I could find just to finish it.
It finishes with a bit of a cliffhanger but that just means that I absolutely cannot wait for the second book!
sarah smedley (301 KP) rated Sophia (The Brides of San Fransico book 4) in Books
Oct 22, 2018
romantic western
taken from amazon-Working long hours in a New York City bakery is not at all what Sophia Hayes had planned for her life. When her fiancé breaks their engagement her to marry her thinner, blonder, more beautiful sister, Sophia knows it is time to do something drastic, something completely unexpected. All she's ever wanted is to have a husband and family of her own. Agreeing to be a mail-order bride seems the perfect answer.
Robert Langley has been a sailor his entire life. As Captain of the Sapphire of India, his last cargo made him a very wealthy man, but his time at sea cost him much. His wife was killed in an accident while running away with another man leaving him a widower with four young children who barely recognize their own father. A mail-order bride seems to be the ideal solution. He simply needs a willing woman to warm his bed and a compassionate woman to raise his children. Love is not an option.
Sophia's sister is not content to leave well enough alone. When her husband dies unexpectedly, she makes her way to San Francisco to do what she has always done...take what she wants. And the moment she sets eyes on her sister's new family, what she wants is Robert Langley.
Sophia has always believed her stunning, talented sister deserved the best in life. But this time Sophia is in love, and she's not going to surrender without a fight.
Robert Langley has been a sailor his entire life. As Captain of the Sapphire of India, his last cargo made him a very wealthy man, but his time at sea cost him much. His wife was killed in an accident while running away with another man leaving him a widower with four young children who barely recognize their own father. A mail-order bride seems to be the ideal solution. He simply needs a willing woman to warm his bed and a compassionate woman to raise his children. Love is not an option.
Sophia's sister is not content to leave well enough alone. When her husband dies unexpectedly, she makes her way to San Francisco to do what she has always done...take what she wants. And the moment she sets eyes on her sister's new family, what she wants is Robert Langley.
Sophia has always believed her stunning, talented sister deserved the best in life. But this time Sophia is in love, and she's not going to surrender without a fight.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Caraval in Books
Jan 2, 2020
A good read
Contains spoilers, click to show
Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.
But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic.
It was good!
Lots of twists and turns as Scarlett tries to find her sister in a world created by magic. After escaping her father Tally takes on a whole new persona to save both her and her sister from a life where they are beaten and tormented by a father that is pure evil. Scarletts search for Tally pairs her up with Julien who she falls for although promised to a count! Both her father and count track them down at the caraval in an attempt to drag them home so Scarlett can be married off to the count that's paid a lot of money for her!
Here Scarlett discovers the whole plot put into motion by her sister and the legend.
Looking forward to book 2!
Recommended
⭐⭐⭐

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic.
It was good!
Lots of twists and turns as Scarlett tries to find her sister in a world created by magic. After escaping her father Tally takes on a whole new persona to save both her and her sister from a life where they are beaten and tormented by a father that is pure evil. Scarletts search for Tally pairs her up with Julien who she falls for although promised to a count! Both her father and count track them down at the caraval in an attempt to drag them home so Scarlett can be married off to the count that's paid a lot of money for her!
Here Scarlett discovers the whole plot put into motion by her sister and the legend.
Looking forward to book 2!
Recommended
⭐⭐⭐

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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Reds Robin ( vampire memoirs book 1) in Books
Mar 11, 2022
🔞🔞🔞🔞
45 of 230
Kindle
Reds Robin ( Vampire Memoirs book 1)
By Nicola Omerod
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Robin is a rather self-absorbed model. On a night out, she bumps into Red, a vampire. One unholy and lustfully fantastic night later she finds herself a member of the undead. Having shied away all of her life from love, she now has to adjust to the fact that she and Red are soul mates. But something appears to be amiss with Robin. She doesn't like human blood. She is a Santorian, a special breed of vampire thought to be extinct. As she matures, she will become indestructible, impervious to sunlight. But to accomplish this, she must survive on the blood of other vampires. Robin learns to love for the first time and finds her place in her new family, who have welcomed her into their arms. However, when a vicious rival vampire pack kidnaps Red, it falls solely in her hands to use her newly tuned senses to seek him out and she must battle her way through the entire vampire pack to get him back.
Holy hell this book was filthy 😂 and I mean filth, but in a good way! It was constant but not so you skipped paragraphs or pages like most smut books! Robin was a bitch, she swore like a sailor and was a proper nymph oh and she’s British! Red was just jaw dropping I loved all the characters and under it all it had a decent vampire story. Best smut book I’ve read in a long time and I’m one of those that skips these scenes if I get bored. Brilliant!!
45 of 230
Kindle
Reds Robin ( Vampire Memoirs book 1)
By Nicola Omerod
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Robin is a rather self-absorbed model. On a night out, she bumps into Red, a vampire. One unholy and lustfully fantastic night later she finds herself a member of the undead. Having shied away all of her life from love, she now has to adjust to the fact that she and Red are soul mates. But something appears to be amiss with Robin. She doesn't like human blood. She is a Santorian, a special breed of vampire thought to be extinct. As she matures, she will become indestructible, impervious to sunlight. But to accomplish this, she must survive on the blood of other vampires. Robin learns to love for the first time and finds her place in her new family, who have welcomed her into their arms. However, when a vicious rival vampire pack kidnaps Red, it falls solely in her hands to use her newly tuned senses to seek him out and she must battle her way through the entire vampire pack to get him back.
Holy hell this book was filthy 😂 and I mean filth, but in a good way! It was constant but not so you skipped paragraphs or pages like most smut books! Robin was a bitch, she swore like a sailor and was a proper nymph oh and she’s British! Red was just jaw dropping I loved all the characters and under it all it had a decent vampire story. Best smut book I’ve read in a long time and I’m one of those that skips these scenes if I get bored. Brilliant!!