Book Review: May Day by Josie Jaffrey [with Playlist & Moodboard]

Book Title: May Day
Author: Josie Jaffrey
Series: Seekers #1
Publisher: Silver Sun Books
Release: July 9th 2020
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

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If the murderer you’re tracking is a vampire, then you want a vampire detective. Just maybe not this one.

It’s not that Jack Valentine is bad at her job. The youngest member of Oxford’s Seekers has an impressive track record, but she also has an impressive grudge against the local baron, Killian Drake.
When a human turns up dead on May Morning, she’s determined to pin the murder on Drake. The problem is that none of the evidence points to him. Instead, it leads Jack into a web of conspiracy involving the most powerful people in the country, people to whom Jack has no access. But she knows someone who does.
To get to the truth, Jack will have to partner up with her worst enemy. As long as she can keep her cool, Drake will point her to the ringleaders, she’ll find the murderer and no one else will have to die.
Body bags on standby.

May Day is the first book in Josie Jaffrey’s Seekers series, an urban fantasy series set in Oxford, England.

Content/trigger warnings at the end of this post may contain spoilers.

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Cover Reveal: The Witch with Nine Lives by B. Austin (& GIVEAWAY)

Book Title: The Witch with Nine Lives (A Dysfunctional Family of Witches)
Author: B. Austin
Publication Date: August 27th 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

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Nikki and Medea are half-sisters and the daughters of Dima. Their mother is 130-years-old, but because of a shapeshifting stone, she appears to be 19. She insists her daughters treat her as a sister and not a mother. Dima can live forever, due to the shapeshifting stone.

Medea and Nikki are both 18-years-old, but Medea is no ordinary, young woman. Medea turns into a cat at night, due to her mother’s irreversible curse. Medea is living the first of her nine lives. She, too, will live a long time. Medea has a secret that can destroy the sisterly tie between her and Nikki.

Nikki is beautiful but jealous of her mother and sister because she has no magic and works as a maid, rather than in the family witchcraft business.

Unknown to Nikki and her family, she, too, has a magical gift she cannot yet control, a sorcery that will threaten Medea and pit two powerful sisters against each other.

GALLEYATHON Wrap-Up

Yes, I know Galleyathon ended 3 days ago. And yep, I am aware that this is a late wrap-up post. I got too caught up with other stuff and completely put off writing this until now. But better late than never, right?

This is the first readathon I’ve joined this year and I’m so happy to say that it’s a successful one for me! Admittedly, I don’t have a great track record when it comes to readathons as I am lacking the focus and commitment it requires. That’s why it was a surprise to me how I managed to do well in this one!

For Galleyathon, I managed to read 3 books and started a 4th book (though I haven’t quite finished reading it yet) from my Netgalley shelf! How I achieved that in only a week, considering how slow my reading pace is, I’m not sure. But the hosts of this readathon sure gave us participants a lot of motivation, especially with the reading sprints so it was a lot of fun!

OMG / I Know That Song Book Tag!

Hello, friends! Today, I bring to you a super fun book tag! I was tagged by Divine from REA(D)IVINE (thank you!) to do this one more or less a year ago, but I was still on my hiatus at the time. I was so ready to jump into this as soon as I saw her post but I had to hold off and catch up on some reading since I haven’t read a lot of books recently.

So here I am now, a year and a few weeks later, finally doing the I Know That Song Book Tag. And I’m so excited because books and music are basically 2 of my most favorite things in the world!

Book Review: The Red Labyrinth by Meredith Tate

Book Title: The Red Labyrinth
Author: Meredith Tate
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: June 4th 2019
Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult
Trigger Warnings: physical & emotional abuse, death of a child, discrimination, border walls, one scene of (non-romanticized) forced kissing, description of PTSD

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The massive labyrinth was built to protect Zadie Kalvers’ isolated desert town. Unfortunately, living in the maze’s shadow makes her feel anything but safe. Even without its enchanted deathtraps and illusions, a notorious killer named Dex lurks in its corridors, terrorizing anyone in his path.

But when Zadie’s best friend vanishes into the labyrinth-and everyone mysteriously forgets he exists- completing the maze becomes her only hope of saving him. In desperation, Zadie bribes the only person who knows the safe path through-Dex-into forming a tenuous alliance.

Navigating a deadly garden, a lethal blood-filled hourglass, and other traps-with an untrustworthy murderer for her guide-Zadie’s one wrong step from certain death. But with time running out before her friend (and secret crush) is lost forever, Zadie must reach the exit and find him. If Dex and the labyrinth don’t kill her first.

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I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY FOR REVIEWING PURPOSES. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINIONS IN ANY WAY.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A thrilling, fast-paced book about a powerless teenage girl riddled with years’ worth of childhood trauma, as she goes on a literal life-or-death journey in the deadly labyrinth in hopes of saving her loved ones.

“I am brave. I am strong. And I am not afraid.”