Maya

💬: "To ensure success, and your mental health during extended isolation, we have equipped you with ourselves—a dynamic-matrix consensus intelligence encapsulating the ideals and blessed rationality of our Founders. We are implanted in your mind and will travel with you everywhere. We are your companion, and your conscience.

Jemisin, N. K.. Emergency Skin (Forward collection) (p. 3). Kindle Edition. "

📖Genres: sci-fi, fantasy, short story, novella, Hugo Award winners

📚Page Count: 29

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 04min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

TW - <spoiler>Gaslighting, Ableism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Body shaming, Racism, and Xenophobia</spoiler>

"Emergency Skin" by N.K. Jemisin is a short story or novella from the short story collection, "Forward" published by Am*zon. A scout or explorer travels back to Earth to collect information, the danger lies in that Earth was destroyed by climate change centuries ago. When the explorer discovers that there is still some humanity left on Earth, he worries about how dangerous they are. He's instructed to get off Earth and survive any encounters. Will the soldier make it back home intact? Or was the mission more than the explorer could handle?

This was amazing. I am blow away by the fact that Ms. Jemisin created these characters, this story, and the world building within 29 pages. I'm not going to spoil anything, I want everyone to read this story while only knowing what the synopsis is.

"Emergency Skin" is definitely the best short story in the "Forward" Collection published by Am*zon. It's an amazing short story, I was speechless by the ending of the story. I can't believe she wrote this in 29 pages?! Ms. Jemisin is such an amazing writer, I know this and she still manages to surprise me with her talent. I'm giving this book 5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

I own this audiobook, I didn't find it available at the library.

💬: "To ensure success, and your mental health during extended isolation, we have equipped you with ourselves—a dynamic-matrix consensus intelligence encapsulating the ideals and blessed rationality of our Founders. We are implanted in your mind and will travel with you everywhere. We are your companion, and your conscience.

Jemisin, N. K.. Emergency Skin (Forward collection) (p. 3). Kindle Edition. "

📖Genres: sci-fi, fantasy, short story, novella, Hugo Award winners

📚Page Count: 29

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 04min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

TW - <spoiler>Gaslighting, Ableism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Body shaming, Racism, and Xenophobia</spoiler>

"Emergency Skin" by N.K. Jemisin is a short story or novella from the short story collection, "Forward" published by Am*zon. A scout or explorer travels back to Earth to collect information, the danger lies in that Earth was destroyed by climate change centuries ago. When the explorer discovers that there is still some humanity left on Earth, he worries about how dangerous they are. He's instructed to get off Earth and survive any encounters. Will the soldier make it back home intact? Or was the mission more than the explorer could handle?

This was amazing. I am blow away by the fact that Ms. Jemisin created these characters, this story, and the world building within 29 pages. I'm not going to spoil anything, I want everyone to read this story while only knowing what the synopsis is.

"Emergency Skin" is definitely the best short story in the "Forward" Collection published by Am*zon. It's an amazing short story, I was speechless by the ending of the story. I can't believe she wrote this in 29 pages?! Ms. Jemisin is such an amazing writer, I know this and she still manages to surprise me with her talent. I'm giving this book 5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

I own this audiobook, I didn't find it available at the library.

💬: "To ensure success, and your mental health during extended isolation, we have equipped you with ourselves—a dynamic-matrix consensus intelligence encapsulating the ideals and blessed rationality of our Founders. We are implanted in your mind and will travel with you everywhere. We are your companion, and your conscience.

Jemisin, N. K.. Emergency Skin (Forward collection) (p. 3). Kindle Edition. "

📖Genres: sci-fi, fantasy, short story, novella, Hugo Award winners

📚Page Count: 29

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 04min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

TW - <spoiler>Gaslighting, Ableism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Body shaming, Racism, and Xenophobia</spoiler>

"Emergency Skin" by N.K. Jemisin is a short story or novella from the short story collection, "Forward" published by Am*zon. A scout or explorer travels back to Earth to collect information, the danger lies in that Earth was destroyed by climate change centuries ago. When the explorer discovers that there is still some humanity left on Earth, he worries about how dangerous they are. He's instructed to get off Earth and survive any encounters. Will the soldier make it back home intact? Or was the mission more than the explorer could handle?

This was amazing. I am blow away by the fact that Ms. Jemisin created these characters, this story, and the world building within 29 pages. I'm not going to spoil anything, I want everyone to read this story while only knowing what the synopsis is.

"Emergency Skin" is definitely the best short story in the "Forward" Collection published by Am*zon. It's an amazing short story, I was speechless by the ending of the story. I can't believe she wrote this in 29 pages?! Ms. Jemisin is such an amazing writer, I know this and she still manages to surprise me with her talent. I'm giving this book 5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

I own this audiobook, I didn't find it available at the library.

💬: "“I want you.” He states it as fact, as if he’s not crossing a thousand different lines by putting it to voice. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you, all done up in white and marrying my best friend.”

Robert, Katee. Gifting Me To His Best Friend (A Touch of Taboo) (p. ?). Trinkets and Tales LLC. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: adult, spicy, romance, contemporary romance

📚Page Count: 114

🎧Audiobook Length: 04h 06min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

----

TW - <spoiler>Cursing, Roleplaying Infidelity, and Sexual content</spoiler>

Gifting Me To His Best Friend is an erotica and romance novella by Katee Robert. Emma and Grayson are a married couple and every year during Christmas they go to the mountains with Grayson's best friend, Derek. This year Grayson plans to give Derek the unconventional gift, permission to get close and steamy with Emma. Derek stars warming up to Emma and then he starts warming up to Grayson. Their ménage à trois was only supposed to last one night, what happens when it lasts the entire vacation?

This was my first spicy novel with two men and a woman and it did not disappoint me! I originally was told that this book was the "brother's best friend" trope but that was so far from being correct (because the trope in this book is "husband's best friend"). There wasn't a lot of storyline to work with, but there is a little angst towards the end.

The spicy scenes were really good! I definitely enjoyed them, they were creative. There was some roleplaying and even though I'm not a fan of the scenario they were roleplaying, the scenes included some nice spice. I'm giving it four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

I enjoyed this book despite it being something I didn't anticipate. I'm giving this book 4 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [Libbyapp.com]

💬: "‘I’m sorry’ if Bones gets killed doing what you didn’t have time to. After all, it’s so much easier to say you care than to prove it.”

Frost, Jeaniene. First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World Book 1) (p. 30). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: romance, paranormal romance, paranormal, supernatural, urban fantasy

📚Page Count: 374

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 06min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

----

TW - <spoiler>Cursing, Gore, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Death, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Rape, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content</spoiler>

First Drop of Crimson is the first book in the "Night Huntress" spin-off series, "Night Huntress World" both by Jeaniene Frost. Denise has seen so much violence, chaos, and death recently and it seems as if it's not going to stop any time soon. A demon has set his sights on Denise and he won't leave her alone until he's forced to leave her alone. In comes Spade, a centuries old vampire who has promised to protect Denise at any cost. Will Spade be able to save Denise or will all be lost once the first drop of crimson falls?

This was exciting and entertaining just like the books from the Night Huntress series, the only different is that we're following characters who are normally side characters, but in this story they're main characters now. You might need to start the "Night Huntress" series before picking up the "Night Huntress World" series because "First Drop of Crimson" starts off where one of the "Night Huntress" books end. I really enjoyed that the sexy vampire Spade was our main male character. The main female character, Denise, really needed to grow on me. She's a survivor of a horrific attack and she has PTSD, I liked the mental health representation. What I didn't like about Denise is that she had the tendency to misunderstand almost every situation and every other conversation. By the end of the book I liked Denise a lot more but I still don't think she's as compelling as the main female character of the "Night Huntress Series", Cat.

Another thing I didn't like was the threat of sexual assault that Denise had to deal with. There's a character that gets rescued in this book by Spade and Denise and they say that they've spent decades as a prisoner/victim being assault sexually and physically. As you probably guessed, if they don't stop the evil forces in this book, Denise is being threatened with the same fate. I don't like when characters are threatened or have the threat of sexual assault looming over their heads so I'm just going to knock a star off and leave it at that.

The spicy scenes in this story were nice and sizzling hot! I thought Bones was the only vampire I was attracted to but Spade also seems like a good choice in a vampire companion. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Overall, First Drop of Crimson was a good story, I loved how some of the side characters from the original "Night Huntress" series are the main characters of this series, "Night Huntress World". It was entertaining and I enjoyed most of it aside from the parts that mentioned sexual assault, those simply did not have to be included. I'm giving this 4 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 Stars

I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: “I will fight always for you. Until my breath stops, I’ll fight.” She accepted that to the core, and so she could tell him the rest."

Singh, Nalini. Alpha Night (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 4) (p. 274). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult

📚Page Count: 355

🎧Audiobook Length: 11h 19min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

----

TW - <spoiler>Cursing, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Grief, Animal cruelty, Death, and Violence</spoiler>

Alpha Night is the 19th book in the Psy/Changeling series and 4rd in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series both by Nalini Singh. In Alpha Night alpha wolf Selenka Durev is fierce and protective of those who are under her care. She meets Ethan Night who is a standoffish member of The Arrows, somehow they become fated mates at first sight, even though Selenka believed mattings at first sight to be a myth. What Selenka sort of knows but doesn't is that something is wrong with Ethan, Selenka and sense it through the mating bond. Will they be able to stay mated or with the secrets they're both keeping destroy everything?

This was so fun to read, I was definitely entertained through my read. I loved the chemistry and banter between Selenka and Ethan. I also really tend to love the mystery based Psy/Changeling storylines, I find those to be the most interesting and entertaining. It was nice to see past characters in this story pop up (like the author normally does with her Psy/Changeling books.) This reading experience was so pleasant.

The spicy scenes in here were so nice. I did like that we didn't have to read about a woman and her first time, because this author tends to write about that and I never really like those scenes. This was enjoyable. I'm giving it three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

In my review for the previous book in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series I said that "Wolf Rain" had been my favorite book from the series so far. After having read "Alpha Night" I've changed my opinion. "Alpha Night" is my favorite in the series now. The book was entertaining, exciting, and it depicted such a wonderful love. I'm giving this book 5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]

💬:“He swung, but Celaena struck, ramming her fist into his arm, sending the blade soaring through the air. In the same breath, her palm hit his left arm, knocking it aside, too. As he staggered back, her leg came up, and Verin’s eyes bulged as her foot slammed into his chest. The kick sent him flying, and his body crunched as it hit the floor and slid out of the ring, instantly eliminating him. The hall was utterly silent."

Maas, Sarah J.. Throne of Glass (pp. 217-218). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fiction, fantasy, young adult, romance, romantasy

📚Page Count: 423

🎧Audiobook Length: 13hrs 04mins

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

TW - <spoiler>Misogyny, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Gore, and Violence</spoiler>

The Throne of Glass is the first book in the series of the same name, Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas. Celaena Sardothien is an assassin who is being tasked with killing 23 mercenaries, thieves, and warriors in a competition held by the king. Celaena agrees to fight in this tournament in order to win her freedom. Suddenly, the competitors starts dying one by one outside of the competition and Celaena has to wonder, "am I next?" Something evil may be in the castle and Celaena is determined to find out but she's also determined to survive.

There were somethings that worked for me in this story and then there were somethings that didn't work for me. I was very much expecting this book to be more adventurous and have more action than it did. We're reading about an assassin in a combative tournament, I just expected more fight scenes. What I didn't expect was the political intrigue and the focus on going to fancy balls and events held by royalty, I found these parts to be particularly boring.

There was a romance element in this story and I don't think it worked for me, but I almost think everything else in the story worked just fine. At one point the author tries to fake the reader out and she starts to write what could be see as a love triangle and this just doesn't work for me. I feel like Celaena has nothing in common with the prince and I find that the captain of the guard seemed to mesh well with the main character more than the prince did.

I liked that there was sort of a mystery as to who's killing off the contenders and what's lurking in the castle. I found the fighting scenes and the investigative scenes to be the most interesting parts of this book. The ending was fine, just a standard cliff hanger ending to lure you into reading the rest of the series.

I think that overall, this story was okay. There were some elements I didn't like, like the romance and the love triangle stuff. There were other things I really liked, like the fighting scenes and the parts that focused on the mystery at hand. I do plan on reading the second book in this series, book two will probably determine if I listen to the entire series. I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

I listened to this audiobook on [LibbyApp.com]