I'm writing this on Saturday, which means it's my birthday! Happy birthday me. I've spent the day so far playing Pokémon Arceus which my brother got me for my birthday. I ate cookies for breakfast and I have a caterpillar cake at my mom's to look forward to. It’s going to be a quiet day of me doing whatever I want and then tomorrow I have to do all of the things I usually do on Saturday which I put off because I wanted only fun things for my birthday.

It's difficult to stay feeling too positive on my birthday when just a couple of days ago Russia invaded Ukraine, though. It's a horrible situation but please support where you can.

⚡️Important resource ⚡️

Ukrainians put together a list of resources on how foreigners can help. There are all reputable organizations doing good work. Spread far and wide:https://t.co/NeGElG48jZ

— Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv) February 22, 2022

I don't want to focus too much on it as it's a difficult situation that is really beyond our control. I want to support where I can and try and help stop misinformation from spreading online. Be careful on social media and support where you can. And please distinguish between Putin and his government and the Russian people because I hate to think of Russians all being tarred with the same brush over something they don't necessarily agree with as well.

I began my week rushed off of my feet with work and generally a little worn out. I've been feeling a little off when it comes to reading as I'm very uncertain what exactly I want to read. I'm not in a slump, I'm finishing books, but I'm finding myself leaning a little more into audiobooks because I just don't have the same motivation to pick up a book, which is a little strange. But I've been managing to listen to audiobooks as I work to avoid a breakdown. I'd forgotten how much my reading speed gets upped with audiobooks as I adapt to the faster speed until I'm listening at 2x speed and they actually don't sound like chipmunks. I'm making full use of my library for audiobooks, Overdrive is such an excellent invention. It's actually helping me clear a few arcs from my Netgalley, I mean I do have books on there from like 4 years ago so it doesn't surprise me the audio is available for them. I'm even thinking of renewing my Scribd subscription for a little while.

Apart from a war breaking out this week has also felt weird as Covid restrictions have ended here in the UK. I know, I'm shocked too. Our cases have gone down but I feel like people are testing less. I now don't have to stay home if I get Covid so I'm very concerned people will get it and start spreading it around, but mass testing will soon end here so you won't even know you have it. But my philosophy right now is trying not to dwell on the things out of my control. I will continue wearing face masks when necessary and try and be sensible and that's all I can do.

I had Friday off of work and I've got Monday off. Since my birthday was Saturday I figured a long weekend from work was well deserved. I needed the break, I think. I spent Friday organising my bookshelves and removing a few books I'll either never read again or won't ever start to read. It was actually really satisfying but look at the chaos which preceded the organisation. Now they look all pretty and tidy and I even moved my unread books to their own dedicated shelf so I can see how many books I have to read.

What else did I do this week? I baked cookies! I wasn't certain I'd be getting a birthday cake this year and I'd seen a recipe online for Subway cookies (they do the most delicious cookies and no one can convince me otherwise) so once I found the recipe I knew I had to try them. It took two trips to the supermarket to remember all the ingredients (shopping lists are for losers and people who remember to write them, unlike me) but once I had everything in I was good to go. My house smelled amazing while I was baking and they were delicious. I've hyperlinked the recipe I've used in case anyone else is interested.

What I've Been Reading

I had to read Beach Read after my TikTok discovery of the different endings in the US and UK. Afterwards, I also discovered the audiobook also has the same ending as the US, I suppose recording 2 different audiobook endings would be a bit much. I read a couple more books that had been lingering on my Kindle for far too long and an ARC. It was a decent reading week. During my bout of baking, I also started Battle Royal (it seemed appropriate) but I'm not hooked yet. It's a mood thing rather than the book because I'm three chapters in and love the characters. I also have Legends and Lattes on the go. I couldn't resist it on KU with that cover but, again, mood is getting in the way.

New To Me

 I borrowed Legends and Lattes but then treated myself to quite a few purchases this week. I finally bought The Brightest Star in Paris after reading Nick's fabulous valentine's post and remembering how much I loved The Widow of Rose House. I saw in Nalini Singh's newsletter Archangel's Sun and Quiet in Her Bones. And then, on my birthday, my Afterlight box from Illumicrate arrived and this quarter's book was Delilah Green Doesn't Care, which I have been really excited to read. It was obvious from the hint which book was included so I don't feel like it was a spoiler anyway.

What is keeping you busy this week? And have you any favourite books of the week for me to try and keep me busy?

I was browsing TikTok the other day, as you do, and a video came up on my feed saying about endings being changed in a book based on the country it was released in. I was intrigued so obviously dived into the comments to find out which book they were talking about and apparently Beach Read by Emily Henry has a different ending in the UK. This obviously led to a lot of Googling by me (because I don't believe half of what I read on TikTok without verification) and it's true! I'd never really thought about changes being made to books based on release location beyond the spelling of words being changed from US English to UK English.

It's probably a little naïve of me but I figured they would try and stay true to the story and not ask the author to make major edits. I know books get released with different covers because often the marketing needs to be different to fit with the countries market and there are books released with different titles as well. I mean Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US, Jenn Bennet's Night Owls is The Anatomical Shape of a Heart in the US. I know that when books are translated their titles can often be changed in the language they’re translated to make more sense in that language. I really thought that was the extent of changes made, but it turns out that's not the case so now I want to find out which other books had this happen.

Beach Read – Emily Henry

It's not a major difference, I totally spoiled myself to see what it was, and it just changed how the book ended slightly. It does seem like it would change the tone of the ending slightly and the direction the relationship would be taking for January and Gus. I don't know the reasons behind the change but I think the UK ending sounds more fitting to the book and would be the one I would enjoy best. I've got the UK edition anyway so at least I can be happy knowing it'll work best for me when I eventually jump on the hype train and check it out anyway.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson

This one totally surprised me and I actually only discovered the change when I was reading Sam's post at We Live and Breath Books for Sloth Goes Places: Connecticut. She mentioned the book in that post as being set in Connecticut and I was totally confused. I admit, it's been a couple of years since I read the book but I distinctly remembered it being set in the UK because that's one of the things I liked about it, even though the A-Level project Pip was completing was totally foreign to me as I never did anything like it in my A-Levels. I googled to find out what the deal was because I remembered the US edition of the first book released later than in the UK. Turns out that globally it's UK based but it's only the US where the setting was changed. I admit, I did the typical thing of rolling my eyes because of course Americans had to make it US-based to appeal to their book market but I suppose I shouldn't judge too harshly because I know publishing is complex and they know their markets best and what will sell. I doubt the change of location really alters the story too much but is good to know if I discuss the book with US-based people we will be discussing slightly different books. And here I thought books would unite us worldwide.

Hex – Thomas Olde Heuvelt

I'd actually forgotten about this book until I began writing this post but it perfectly fit. The book was originally published in Dutch in 2013 and was then translated into English in 2016. The book's location was changed to upstate New York and the author even rewrote the ending from the original Dutch book. I borrowed the book a few years ago now and it was actually really scary. I obviously haven't read the original Dutch but I suppose the location itself wouldn't influence the book too much, for me both the Netherlands and America are foreign locations but the US is going to be far more familiar given how widespread US shows and media is. As for the different ending, I can't really remember how it ended now (it's been a few years) but the bits I've managed to find about the changes I don't know if the Dutch ending might be more messed up.

I couldn't think of any more books that changed based on publishing location, but I do not doubt that there are more. I could understand changes being made to Hex as it was translated to English. I know with translation work it does require certain changes to be made simply because to literally translate books would lose a lot of the meaning and intent in the writing. Not all words and phrases are so easily translatable. Each language has its own way of saying things and that's what makes it interesting. I would expect books to be altered to best get the meaning and intent of the book across in each language. It did surprise me to see that books that were written in English were changed in small or major ways. Changing words spelling, like center to centre would be obvious (US spelling does still throw me when I'm reading) and altering from sidewalk to pavement or yard to garden even make sense to me. But the change of location or ending was surprising.

Do you know any books which were changed based on where they were published which I haven't mentioned? And anyone who can and do read in their native language and English, have you ever noticed changes to books if they're translated to your language? I'm really interested to see what changes are made to books.

Another week down and the most exciting thing I did? I don’t even know; it was probably taking Milo for a walk. I need to do more exciting things, don’t I?

It was another busy week of work, I worked over a lot because there has just been so much to do, and I have a couple of days off next week for my birthday, so I want to try and come back to as little work as possible. I already know my emails will have something to say about that, but I can try. I didn’t go into work as intended but I don’t always believe myself when I say these things either. I was exhausted, though. I turned my alarm off Friday morning and ended up going back to sleep for an hour by accident. Sometimes there are benefits to working from home as I managed to have a shower, get ready, and drink a coffee before starting my day. Unfortunately, it did mean that in my first call with my manager my hair was still wet and I was dressed like a slob but it was Friday so who wasn’t?

It was a bit of a miserable week weatherwise. We had two storms hit the UK and it was basically a miserable affair for all. It also meant I discovered that there’s a minor leak in my conservatory, but the origin is currently unknown. It’s all fun and games with houses, isn’t it? Last week did help me discover so many of you have no idea what a conservatory is! Who knew they were such a UK thing? Well, I dug out the original listing photos so you get a view of what a conservatory looks like. 

As you can see, it’s just a small extension into the garden with a panelled roof and lots of windows. They're a sunroom I guess and they usually get toasty in summer and they can get cold in winter, although I’ve found it hasn’t been too bad. I’ll report back if I start melting in summer and need to go into the office to take advantage of the air con.

Because of the terrible weather, my stepdad has had to work late a lot so I’ve been going round to walk Milo. Strangely, the rain disappears by the evening so Milo will walk (honestly, a bit of a drizzle and he gets stubborn and refuses to walk, he hates water touching his fur). Milo is a stubborn dog and has visited my house a couple of times and now any time we walk past he wants to go in. He’ll merrily walk up the drive like he owns the place and if you try and bypass it he’ll just stop and refuse to walk like you’re betraying him by not going where he wants. It’s very annoying because when he leaves he then wants to walk the long way home as well. I really shouldn’t give in to his stubborn ways, but I just look at his little face and can’t say no to him. A dog is manipulating me!

I’m continuing my house cleaning quest. Thankfully, the jobs I have left to do are far less nasty than carpet cleaning. It’s all cleaning the bathroom and trying to find homes for everything, but it’s coming along. Maybe I'll even unpack all of the boxes soon instead of just piling them in hidden corners of my house.

What I’ve Been Reading

I was very worried I was entering a slump this week. I finished Method Acting last week and struggled to settle on anything to read. I placed so many books on my 'never gonna read' shelf after reading just the first chapter and it was frustrating. I eventually started Feral Sins, which was a KU borrow, as it was a fake relationship paranormal. It was all right and I did read it fairly quickly but after finishing I wasn’t convinced I’d continue the series and was still no closer to figuring out what book I was in the mood for. I finished The Sandman audiobook which was enjoyable while I worked but I still didn’t have an evening book to read. I returned to my Kindle browsing the older books I have unread and stumbled across Stealing Mr Right. I had the first two books in the Penelope Blue trilogy already, but I did think I would probably DNF as I couldn’t see how this book could hook me when the couple were already in an established relationship. I was totally wrong and devoured all three books in the past few days. They were spectacular, definite favourites of mine now. I need more books with a relationship similar to that which Grant and Pen had because they were just so well balanced and fun. Definitely recommend, I think I’ll try and figure out how to review it eventually.

New To Me

I bought more books this week. One was a book I had actually read before so that makes it a non-addition to my shelf, right? I last read The Sea King when it was released, I had an ARC of it and I realised there was a gap in my shelf where it should be when I unpacked my books. I know the next book in the series still hasn’t been released but at least I have them to reread when it finally is out. I’d been meaning to buy The Intimacy Experiment ever since I enjoyed The Roommate last year so I had to buy it when it was on offer. And then Seeking Mr Wrong? I needed it after devouring the first two books in the series in just a couple of days. I think I didn’t do too bad, but I know my birthday is next Saturday and I will easily persuade myself to buy more books then because why not? I’ll try and stay strong.

What have you done this week? Do you feel educated seeing what a conservatory looks like? And what do you do when you can’t figure out what to read?

I’ve been reading a few fantasy romances and I thought I should talk about them. Do I think you should review every book you read? Hell no, but I also haven’t really reviewed anything this year and that’s a travesty. What is a book blog if I don’t tell you my thoughts on what I’ve read sometimes?

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon (Mead Mishaps #1) – Kimberly Lemming

Published: 9th August 2021

Source: Kindle Unlimited

Genre: Fantasy romance

My Rating:

All I wanted to do was live my life in peace. Maybe get a cat, expand my spice farm. Really anything that doesn’t involve going on a quest where an orc might rip my face off. But they say the Goddess has favorites. If so, I’m clearly not one of them.

After saving the demon Fallon in a wine-drunk stupor, all he wanted to do was kill an evil witch enslaving his people.

I mean, I get it. Don't get me wrong. But he's dragging me along for the ride, and I'm kind of peeved about it. On the bright side, he keeps burning off his shirt.

I didn't go into this book expecting to love it, yet here we are.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon very much is what it says on the tin. The book is about Cinnamon, who gets drunk at a festival in her village and is stumbling on home when she stumbles across a man who appears to have been caught in a rockslide (or something like that, it's been a while and my memory has seen better days). Anyway, she helps him only to discover he isn’t a random hot guy injured in the woods but instead a random hot demon and demons are crazed and attack people. It's only the chosen warriors and their goddess who protects them. She does what any drunk woman in that kind of situation would do and hauls ass out of there and beats him with a stick of cinnamon when she gets cornered on her families spice farm. She manages to get into her house and the next day her family convinces her it was her drunk brain playing tricks. All good until Fallon rocks up to her house, introduces himself as said demon, and reveals that their whole religion was a lie and they need to go on a little quest to save the demons and kill their goddess who is actual some evil witch.

I know, it's a lot, and that's just the start of the book, there are just 200 pages to fit this whole adventure in. To be honest, if I wasn’t in that kind of mood I might I have just rolled my eyes at this fantasy romance book but I was in the mood for something fun and this book delivered on that front. It was a light hearted romance, while also being surprisingly sexy with a light touch of BDSM and it was a fantasy. I'm pretty sure this book delivered on the rom com vibes that are often in contemporary romance these days with a fantasy backdrop and you just don't get that often enough. Apparently, Kimberly Lemming began writing because she wanted a low angst fantasy romance book and that kind of book just didn't exist. Turns out I want that kind of book too, who knew?

I loved the character of Cinnamon (who likes to be called Cin, her parents really weren't inventive with the naming of their kids) she had me laughing from the start because she is just that fun, messy character who hasn't got life figured out yet. She was a homebody and avoided adventure ever since her sister died and so being drawn into Fallon's quest to destroy the chalices which granted the fake goddess power was very much something she did not want to do. But, she was persuaded to help just to see if he was bullshitting her or not with the tale of the crazed demons. He wasn't and she's off travelling to 4 temples to assist. I liked Cinnamon and I wanted good things for her because she had been hurt. And Fallon? I mean he was a smoking hot demon, like literally hot. He burnt off a few shirts through this book and that was not a bad thing. He was also so much fun and you could tell he was gone for Cin and I loved him for that. And once they finally got together? Like I said, this book surprised me that when it came to them sleeping together we were introduced to some light BDSM elements which I wasn't mad about. This truly was a mash up of a fantasy world and romance. Fantasy romance is usually so much heavier on the fantasy side and it make this book so refreshing to read.

It wasn't in any way perfect, though. I wish the secondary characters had been more developed. They were fun when they appeared, but I think with a longer book they could have been developed more and had more interaction with our MCs to make them feel fully developed. The pacing was off in places. It began a bit slow and then got it's footing when the quest first began, but then it felt rushed to the end to cover them destroying these chalices and that was a little frustrating to read. I enjoyed it, but it's something to be aware of.

I don't want to focus on the negatives though because this felt refreshing. This was like fantasy romance, but light hearted fantasy romance. Kimberley Lemming has helped to develop the lighter romances that mainstream publishers would probably overlook. Fantasy does not need to be angsty and world ending every time, sometimes we just want to escape the real world and want to do it in a fantasy world and that's what you get here. I want more books like this because I don't always want to feel like it's hard work to read something.

Mistlefoe (A Mead Realm Tale) – Kimberly Lemming

Published: 25th December 2021

Source: Kindle Unlimited

Genre: Fantasy romance

My Rating:

It's all fun and games until someone catches feelings

Fate sends me straight into the lion's den. Or rather, the fox's den. After my dad trespassed into a powerful fox demon's territory, our family is struck with a powerful curse. Now, to remove it, I'll have to appeal to the demon's better nature.

Easier said than done. That arrogant fox demon won't be swayed by an apology basket full of treats. He does, however, need a fake mate for a week-long Winter Festival.

Though I'd be a liar if I didn't admit that our doting lovers' act was becoming harder by the day. The more time I spent with Lucca, the more his irresistible charms get under my skin. Deep down, I know it's all a game. But my heart just can't seem to get the memo. When our week-long affair comes to a close, will I really be able to walk away?

I figured I had to review the fun novella which Kimberley Lemming also wrote in this world, Mistlefoe. This was a lovely short novella, just 60 pages yet there was a lot of story packed in here. Ruby and her dad are blacksmith’s. It would be great if her foolish dad hadn’t gotten himself cursed for taking metals from a mine protected by a demon. Now all the weapons he crafts talk and the y like to talk dirty and sass the customers. Really not ideal. So Ruby goes to try and persuade the demon to release the curse in exchange for gifts. Lucca, the fox demon, agrees to remove the curse in exchange for Ruby pretending to be his mate at a week long demon Winter festival. She agrees, because why not right? Hilarity ensues.

How much more can I really say about this without totally spoiling it for you? Once again, Kimberley Lemming delivers on the light hearted romance with a fantasy backdrop. The characters are great and it was an easy story to read. I did get slightly frustrated that two women were arguing over a man and Ruby’s rival was really a caricature of the evil woman wanting attention but that was really a minor niggle, it was difficult to fully develop any other characters other than main couple in so few pages.

Kimberley Lemming did show me I am also dying to have more fake relationship stories with a fantasy backdrop. Or basically, just fake relationship books which aren’t just contemporary. If you know some recommend them in the comments because I cannot get enough of that trope.

Dragon Unleashed (Fallen Empire #2) – Grace Draven

Published: 9th June 2020

Source: Purchased

Genre: Fantasy romance

My Rating:

Magic is outlawed in the Krael Empire and punishable by death. Born with the gift of earth magic, the free trader Halani keeps her dangerous secret closely guarded. When her uncle buys a mysterious artifact, a piece of bone belonging to a long-dead draga, Halani knows it's far more than what it seems.

Dragas haven't been seen for more than a century, and most believe them extinct. They're wrong. Dragas still walk among the denizens of the Empire, disguised as humans. Malachus is a draga living on borrowed time. The magic that has protected him will soon turn on him--unless he finds a key part of his heritage. He has tracked it to a group of free traders, among them a grave-robbing earth witch who fascinates him as much as she frustrates him with her many secrets.

Unbeknownst to both, the Empire's twisted empress searches for a draga of her own, to capture and kill as a trophy. As Malachus the hunter becomes the hunted, Halani must risk herself and all she loves to save him from the Empire's machinations and his own lethal birthright.

I wasn’t sure if I should include my review for Dragon Unleashed in this post but it’s is one of the fantasy romance reads I’ve finished lately. It is the polar opposite of Kimberly Lemming’s books and I really should have had some in between books to cleanse the palate because the transition from light-hearted fun to tense and angsty fantasy was jarring.

I have mixed feelings about this book. When I started it I was convinced I was going to love it. Malachus was hunting for his mother bond which had been stolen and when he'd used the lightning to scry for it, he'd seen a woman with grey eyes who seemed to be linked with it. He needed to find that mother bond to be able to transform into a draga (dragon) otherwise he faced burning up as a human. It was all very tense and interesting and I was invested in his hunt. When he met Halani (who you might remember from the last books... if you're reading memory is better than mine) you could tell there was a spark. She was wary of him but he showed her mother kindness so she returned the favour when she stumbled across him half dead with arrow wounds.

It all sounds good, right? But the story moved at a medium pace at the start. You get the intro to the two characters; it establishes that Halani's uncle has the mother bond and wants to sell it but Halani knows it's being tracked and warns him to sell it quickly. It's at that point the plot sort of fell apart a little. Malachus knows Halani and the free traders are linked to his mother bond somehow but doesn't know how and so while he's recovering with them almost forgets about it totally which seems so strange when he'd been so obsessed with tracking it at the start. Then there's Halani who we know is a nice and caring woman and so she would seek to protect her family, so her warning her uncle to sell the mother bond and working to keep Malachus's attention away from finding it seems sensible. But for the length of time she did that, even whilst growing slower to Malachus, that's the part I found a little out of character for her. I think if she had been more conflicted about how close she was growing with him it would make sense, but the mother bond got forgotten about for half of the book and only came back when it could be used to drive the couple apart.

I did expect the secrets the two kept to be something I was bothered by, but I wasn't. I understood why Halani didn't bring the mother bond up, she only suspected Malachus was linked to it and wanted to protect her family. I understood why Malachus didn't reveal his quest or his true nature as draga, it's not exactly an every day conversation. But it definitely felt like their not talking was deliberate to create conflict later but boring conflict I wasn't invested in.

And, like I said, the first half (if not more) of the book is taken up with a whole lot of nothing. I think it was meant to show the developing romance between the two but I never truly believed in their romance. They lacked a bit of spark I would have liked, but then the plot all unfolds in the last 30% or whatever of the book. It just felt a little all over the place.

That being said, I liked the characters and it was an interesting story. I think I was a little more critical as I read this after reading That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon and that contrast was a lot. It isn't my favourite Grace Draven book but I did enjoy it. I just wish some things had been done better but what can you do?

And that is what I thought about a few fantasy romance reads I finished lately. Have you read any of these? And do you have any recommendations for either lighter fantasy romances or some featuring fake relationships or marriage of convenience?