November was the the yearly Guild Hunter reread before reading the newest release in the series, Archangel’s Lineage and as is usual with Nalini Singh and my rereads, I had a blast!

Angels’ Blood (Guild Hunter #1) – 5⭐, Archangel’s Kiss (Guild Hunter #2) – 5⭐, Archangel’s Consort (Guild Hunter #3) – 5⭐, Archangel’s Blade (Guild Hunter #4) – 5⭐ Archangel’s Storm (Guild Hunter #5) – 5⭐ . Archangel’s Legion (Guild Hunter #6) – 5⭐, Archangel’s Shadows (Guild Hunter #7) – 4.5⭐, Archangel’s Enigma (Guild Hunter #8) – 4.5⭐, Archangel’s Heart (Guild Hunter #9) – 5⭐, Archangel’s Viper (Guild Hunter #10) – 4.5⭐, Archangel’s Prophecy (Guild Hunter #11) – 5⭐, Archangel’s War (Guild Hunter #12) – 5⭐Archangel’s Sun (Guild Hunter #13) -5⭐, Archangel’s Light (Guild Hunter #14) – 5⭐, Archangel’s Resurrection (Guild Hunter #15) – 5⭐, Archangel’s Lineage (Guild Hunter #16) – 4.5⭐ & Angels’ Flight (Guild Hunter #0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 3.5) -5⭐by Nalini Singh

Archangel’s Lineage

I really enjoyed it but unfortunately it’s not a favourite!

I think for this to be a favourite it would have needed to be about a thousand pages long! I just didn’t feel like there was enough ‘meat’ in it. I do think we are coming to the end of this season of Guild Hunter. I wonder will she finish this arc and give us a new series but based in this world? I must catch up on her newsletters and see, I hope she does because I love this world!

So review: We are at the point with Elana and Raphael that they have so many relationships with so many characters that when they aren’t all mentioned in one of their books it can feel like a disappointment and more so when 15 years have passed. I for one needed WAY more of her grandparents but they only got a bare mention. I needed more Ransom and his family but I feel like he wasn’t mentioned at all. Jason, Neha, Titus (and HIS MOTHER), Lady Sharine, what’s going on in Neha’s territory!?!? We only got snippets if even that and it’s been 15 years! I NEED TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS!

The little bits we got were great but it just felt like there was a lot missing and now we have a new ancient to get to know and well I need to know about the past characters!

I enjoyed seeing how Elena has grown into her immortality and how she continues grappling with one day losing those she loves, that’s really highlighted by Jeffery’s heart attack and the mending of their relationship. She and Raphael have come a long way since that day she stood on that roof and I’ve loved the journey.

I predict that the last book will be the last we get of these particular characters and given the name of the next book and the synopsis I am concerned about my heart! Looking forward to seeing how it goes!

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The Christmas Dog Sitters by Lucy Mitchell – 1.5⭐

Oh this was not for me, I thought a dog and Christmas would be enough for me to enjoy it but it absolutely was not! I’m going to be honest, Rachel was nearly as awful as her family! All of her family.

Her brother in law is absolutely vile but it was also his house and to throw a party in it? Granddad and his general behavior? The teenage antics from every single character? Horrendous!

I did like the dog though. Only part of the book I enjoyed to be honest!

A Princess in Theory (Reluctant Royals #1) – 4⭐& A Duke by Default (Reluctant Royals #2) 3.5⭐by Alyssa Cole

A Princess in Theory

This was a lot of fun. I was unsure I’d like a modern take on a royal family but this was delightful and even though the King and Queen of Thesolo were a little rude the Prince of Thesolo more than makes up for them and the general absurdness of any monarchy!

Naledi was a pure delight and even though I got annoyed with her for not forgiving Thabiso quickly enough I know that she was 100% correct not to. She was a little rigid, I know she has every right to be but I found her to be a little hard on some people, people being Portia.

Was Portia wrong? YES.

Would I have been angry at Portia? YES.

BUT…

Naledi’s punishment of her felt extreme and just a little communication would have saved a lot of heartache. That said though, she is a badass and this and me wanting her to forgive Thabiso quicker just highlight that I’m a pushover!

I loved the gorgeous romance in this book but also the storyline in regards to the underhand tactics that surround cobalt mining. The exploitation of Africa’s natural resources and the forced evictions in places like The Democratic Republic of Congo are something that we shouldn’t ignore. It’s horrific on a human rights level and on an environmental level.

Looking forward to continuing this series!

A Duke by Default

Oh this was so close to being a 5 star read and then it went totally off the rails there at the end! 😀

I can pinpoint exactly where that was. Portia’s drink being spiked! Everything after was bonkers and really took the shine off what had been a wonderful (if not utterly farfetched) story.

I just adored Portia. I felt like everyone was way too hard on her and she wasn’t given as much grace as she deserved.

As with A Princess in Theory, the underlying societal issues were a great addition, in this case it was gentrification and it’s impact on communities.

Trust by Hernan Diaz – 5⭐

This was so engaging and I found it very clever while also making me mad. Mad, because it’s really not that hard to believe that men in history rewriting a woman’s history to the point they make her either mentally ill or so one dimensional they may as well not be mentioned at all. I think this book is something to keep in mind when reading anything about great women in history.

The nonsense that surrounds Catherine the Great actually came to mind a lot while reading this. Truman Capote and the Swans also came to mind when more information was given about Bonds.

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the characters and will be picking up more from this author!