Hey there! This week I’m participating in Six for Sunday, a meme hosted by Steph at A Little But a Lot. In Six for Sunday, you get to choose 6 books (normally) that fit whatever the prompt is for that week. The theme for May is “Spring Into Action,” and today’s topic is Best Character ARCs / Growth, but I decided to switch things up and show you the last six books I read.
I’ve read some pretty amazing books recently, and I cant stop thinking about them. They were all 4 and 5 star reads for me – so many excellent stories, characters, worlds, and romances! Let’s check them out!
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1. Mazarine by Cece Louise
Series: The Forest Tales #3
Publication Date: June 22, 2021
Synopsis: She’s cursed. He’s dead. How far will they go to change their fates?
Princess Marilee is cursed. A mermaid by day and a human by night, she made a fateful decision that has left her trapped between two worlds.
Disgraced Prince Darius is dead. At least, that’s what he wants everyone to think when he’s thrown overboard from a prison ship.
When Marilee and Darius meet, they reluctantly make a deal—Darius will help Marilee return to her family in exchange for enough money so he can disappear forever.
A doomed girl and a condemned man. Can they find redemption, or will they be lost to an unforgiving sea?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | My Review
2. For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
Series: Wilderwood #1
Page Length: 448
Publication Date: June 1, 2021
Publisher: Orbit Books
Synopsis: The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.
For fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale comes a dark fantasy novel about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn’t the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.
As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose-to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he’ll return the world’s captured gods.
Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can’t control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can’t hurt those she loves. Again.
But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn’t learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood-and her world-whole.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
3. The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews
Title: The Santa Suit
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Page Length: 224
Publication Date: Sept. 28, 2021
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Synopsis: When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love—but Ivy didn’t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it’s a full-time job sorting through all of it.
At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it’s from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?
Ivy’s quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
4. The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
Series: Burning Kingdoms #1
Page Length: 480
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
Publisher: Orbit
Synopsis: Author of Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess’s traitor brother.
Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters — but is now little more than a decaying ruin.
Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.
But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
5. Capture the Crown by Jennifer Estep
Series: A Gargoyle Queen – Book 1
Page Length: 464
Publication Date: July 6, 2021
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Synopsis: Gemma Ripley has a reputation for being a pampered princess who is more interested in pretty gowns, sparkling jewelry, and other frivolous things than learning how to rule the kingdom of Andvari. But her carefully crafted persona is just an act to hide the fact that Gemma is a powerful mind magier—and a spy.
Gemma is undercover, trying to figure out who is stealing large amounts of tearstone from one of the Ripley royal mines when she encounters Prince Leonidas Morricone of Morta—her mortal enemy. Gemma tries to steer clear of the handsome prince, but when she finds herself behind enemy lines, she reluctantly joins forces with Leo. Also coming to Gemma’s aid is Grimley, her beloved gargoyle.
Despite the fact that Andvari and Morta are old, bitter enemies, a dangerous attraction sparks between Gemma and Leo. Further complicating matters is Leo’s murderous family, especially Queen Maeven Morricone, the mastermind behind the infamous Seven Spire massacre.
The closer Gemma gets to the stolen tearstone, the more deadly plots she uncovers. Everyone is trying to capture the crown, but only one queen can sit on the throne…
6. Highland Hero by Cynthia Breeding
Series: Children of the Mist #3
Page Length: 264
Publication Date: June 14, 2021
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Synopsis: If Juliana Caldwell said the sky was blue, Rory MacGregor would tell her it was gray, with a storm due any minute. No man gets under her skin more than the arrogantly handsome Scot. When she is abducted by a rival clan, Rory is the last person she expects or wants to call her hero.
Rory is the best tracker the MacGregors have, so when his brother’s sister-by-marriage goes missing, he’s ordered to find her. But binding himself to the fiery English redhead with an opinion about everything is not how he saw this rescue going. To save her from the clutches of the villainous Cameron laird’s son, though, he must declare them handfasted.
When their escape goes horribly awry, Juliana and Rory are forced to take the long way home. Surviving blizzard conditions, meddling clanspeople, and a near-fatal ambush on the trail, nothing compares to the unexpected and unlikely passion that ignites between the rugged Highlander and his English warrior princess.
Have you read any of these? Are any on your TBR? Comment below!!
Some of these look really interesting. I’ll keep an eye for them when they are published.
I’ve enjoyed them all, but I need to stop requesting books on NetGalley. lol My TBR keeps growing and growing!
Hadn’t read any of those
I’m looking forward to reading The Jasmine Throne. 🙂
haven’t read any of these but they all sound interesting. i look forward to reading them
I have For the Wolf & Capture the Crown so it’s good to know you liked them! I’ll have to check out the other four, especially the Mary Kay Andrews one as I love her writing! Excellent list! 😀
I really enjoyed them both – hope you do too!! And I loved the MKA book. It’s a bit shorted than many of her others but still really good!!
I have a feeling I’ll enjoy both – I hope to at least start For the Wolf this weekend. I’ll also have to go find the ARC for MKA! I just got Jasmine Throne, too, so now I have to figure out how to fit that one in with my other ARCs haha.
Lol – I’m in the same boat. I have to stop requesting books on Netgalley!! 🙂
Same! Every time I get my number of ARCs down a little, I keep requesting more haha 😛
You have read some excellent books lately, Julie. I have the Mary Kay Andrews one, but will be reading it during Christmas in July.
I hope you enjoy it!! I read it so fast – it’s just over 200 pages and really charming. 🙂
I can’t wait for For the Wolf!
Oooh, I hope you love it!