I suppose there will be a part two towards the end of the month, just because I seem to be reading at least one book a day at the moment.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi, expected publication day 14 February 2023.

A gorgeous UK cover. A Gothic tale with beautiful lyrical writing and different folk tales woven into it. 

Sadly, the very slow plot never really gripped my attention. 

Trigger warning: the relationships between the MCs is toxic, which made reading the story not easier.

2/5 Harpy Eagles

Arden St. Ives trilogy by Alexis Hall

How to Bang a Billionaire (2017)

Arden St. Ives is a student at Oxford when he meets billionaire Caspian Hart. There is chemistry, but although Arden would like to pursue the relationship Caspian doesn't want to ... at first.

Arden is a bit neurotic, yet playful and has an interesting approach to life. Caspian has this dark secret that will be uncovered by the end of the trilogy. There is a billionaire throwing his money around, but it's kind of natural rather than OTT. It's not as steamy as I expected it to be, nor full of weird BDSM.

This first book ends without a cliffhanger. Still, you -just like me- might want to read the next book in this gay 50 Shades of Grey trilogy you didn't know you'd want to read until you started it.

4/5 Harpy Eagles

How to Blow it with a Billionaire (2017)

Arden and Caspian are trying to make their relationship work, but the odds are stacked against them. Caspian is a workaholic and has limited time to spend with Arden. 

This book ends in a cliffhanger of sorts. There is a possibility for a happily ever after in the third book though.

5/5 Harpy Eagles

How to Belong with a Billionaire (2019)

Spoiler free! 
Arden and Caspian have a long way to go to get their HEA. 

The most important thing for me was knowing that Ardy-Baby was okay. We also get to see more of Ellery (Caspian's sister) and Bellerose (Caspian's PA), which makes me hope that either of them gets their own book in future.

4/5 Harpy Eagles

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart, published 22 February 2022.

The Paradox Hotel caters for the super-rich who are about to embark on or have come back from a trip to another century at the Einstein Intercentury Timeport. Grumpy January Cole is the head of security at the hotel and her day just got harder. She's unstuck, which means she is no longer rooted in time. She sees her dead girlfriend, different timelines and there is a dead body not even her AI bot can see. On top of that, four trillionaires are about to meet for a summit to bid on the hotel. 

January is the perfect cynical sarcastic detective to find out who killed the dead body. She's pressed for time though, her mind is crumbling, and time is acting up in the weirdest way. 

It's a time travel detective story with a noir vibe, LGBTQ+ representation, and a very diverse found family.

4/5 Harpy Eagles

The Locked Attic by B.P. Walter, published 24 November 2022.

I get that thrillers thrive on secrets, but this story was full of rather obvious secrets. Not only that, the secrets were dangle in front of me like a carrot in front of a donkey; they were clearly just used to make me turn the pages.

I didn't mind the non-linear storytelling. I was much more peeved that the two POV read very similar; shouldn't a teenager sound different from his mid-thirties mother? 

And why was the secret in the titular Locked Attic not the main topic of the story? The title and blurb are misleading. 

I really liked the author's The Dinner Guest, but his last book The Woman on the Pier and this book didn't really work for me.

1/5 Harpy Eagles