Good Morning!
It’s the start of another week. It’s Monday! What are you Reading is hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, this is a weekly event to share what we’ve read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind.
Recent Books
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson | Fantasy | Add to Goodreads
Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.
Arelon’s new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping — based on their correspondence — to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.
But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.
A rare epic fantasy that doesn’t recycle the classics and that is a complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. It’s also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy.
Comfort Zone by Stephen Bentley | Crime Thriller | Add to Goodreads
There’s a killer in all of us. Sometimes you just don’t know it.
What drives people to kill?
Take Phil Mercer, for example, what dark secret from his past changes a decent man, and respected professional into a killer?
Down to earth Northerner, Phil Mercer, begins to question why so-called university friends failed to help him establish a practice at London’s Criminal Bar.
Despite that and colleagues’ professional jealousy, he goes on to achieve success as a fearless defender of society’s less fortunate until his career is threatened by events triggered by something completely out of his control.
Figuring his life and career are about to change forever, Mercer strives to find a way to right wrongs by inventing a new parlour game called ‘Comfort Zone.’
At a dinner party surrounded by colleagues he insists they all play the game. He introduces it after dinner as a ‘storytelling game.’ He adds – “the easy choice is not an option at all. What terrifies you? What scares you shitless? Be brave. Be reckless. You are among friends. What can possibly go wrong? It’s just a parlour game, right?”
Stroke the Flame by Elizabeth Briggs | (Her Elemental Dragons #1) | Fantasy, Romance, Reverse Harem | Add to Goodreads
Four sexy dragon shifters. A huntress with a dark past. A bond that could save the world.
I’ve spent my entire life running from my past and staying out of trouble. That’s how I’ve kept alive ever since my parents were killed by the Black Dragon, who’s ruled the world under her oppressive talons for as long as anyone can remember.
But it’s hard to keep a low profile when four handsome strangers turn up in your village claiming you’re destined to save the world. According to them, they’ve been chosen by the gods to become elemental dragons—and I’m their mate.
Which means one day I’ll be the most powerful dragon of all, able to control all four elements. Assuming I can unlock my powers first…by getting intimate with each of my sexy mates.
Auric, the clever prince. Jasin, the cocky soldier. Slade, the protective blacksmith. Reven, the mysterious assassin. And me. We’re the only ones who can bring balance to the world and overthrow the Black Dragon—if she doesn’t tear us to shreds first….
Kiss the Sky by Elizabeth Briggs | (Her Elemental Dragons #2)| Fantasy, Romance, Reverse Harem | Add to Goodreads
To unlock her powers she must mate with four sexy dragon shifters. One down, three to go…
I’m done hiding. I’ve stopped running. And I’ve finally accepted my destiny—to take four dragon shifters as my mates so I can become the next Black Dragon, the wielder of all the elements.
I’ve already bonded with Jasin, my smoldering soldier, and soon I’ll be getting intimate with Auric, my lofty prince, Slade, my grounded blacksmith, and Reven, my frosty assassin. Only then can we become powerful enough to stop the current Dragons, the overlords of our world.
But as we continue our journey, secrets are uncovered about my mates that make me question everything, even as things heat up between us. Yet the greatest secret of all lies in my own past—and it might destroy us completely.
Light the Fire by Elizabeth Briggs | (Her Elemental Dragons #.5)| Fantasy, Romance, Reverse Harem | Add to Goodreads
The Fire God demands I become his Priestess…and take four mates.
I’ve secretly loved my four best friends ever since we were kids playing in the village together, but I can’t have them all—and there’s no way I can choose only one.
Blane, the town’s resident bad boy who I can’t seem to resist. Roth, the scarred hero who once broke my heart. Derel, the infuriatingly sexy man I’ve been betrothed to my entire life. And Falon, my best friend, who has never seen me as more…or has he?
When the Fire God chooses me to be his High Priestess, he demands I take four men to be my mates. Maybe I don’t have to choose after all…
But will the men agree to give up everything to join me at the Fire Temple? And if they do, what challenges will we face once we arrive there?
Light The Fire is a standalone prequel to the Her Elemental Dragons series.
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho | Novella, Historical Fantasy | Add to Goodreads
Zen Cho returns with a found family wuxia fantasy that combines the vibrancy of old school martial arts movies with characters drawn from the margins of history.
A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.
Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook | Graphic Novel, histoical Fiction | Add to Goodreads
All new adventures starring Mycroft Holmes by author of the best-selling Mycroft series, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
This all-new graphic novel collecting issues #1-5 of Mycroft Holmes: The Apocalypse Handbook presents brand new comic adventures set in the world created by the author of the best-selling Mycroft novel series, and is perfect for fans of Mycroft Holmes and Sherlock Holmes.
Currently Reading
Shake the Earth by Elizabeth Briggs | (Her Elemental Dragons #3)| Fantasy, Romance, Reverse Harem | Add to Goodreads
The fate of the world rests on the shoulders of four sexy dragon shifters and the woman they’re sworn to serve…
It’s time for me to embrace my destiny as the next Black Dragon, the one who can control all five elements and bring balance to the realms.
I’ve bonded with two of my mates, Jasin and Auric, and now we continue our journey so I can become intimate with Slade and Reven. It’s a race against the Dragons we’re meant to overthrow, who will do anything to stop us from fulfilling our destiny.
We’re going to need allies if we want to defeat the Dragons, even if that means confronting the dark secrets of our pasts. But death and destruction follow us at every turn, and unlocking the hearts of my last two mates seems nearly impossible.
When all seems lost, will love be enough to save us?
Ride the Wave by Elizabeth Briggs | (Her Elemental Dragons #4)| Fantasy, Romance, Reverse Harem | Add to Goodreads
The epic conclusion to the Her Elemental Dragons series!
The Black Dragon and her men may think they’ve defeated me and my mates, but we’re not giving up without a fight. We’re the only ones who can restore balance to the world, even if it means destroying my family in the process. This time we’re taking the battle to them and we will overthrow their oppressive rule—no matter the cost.
But what if the price of victory is my very soul?
A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe | Young Adult, Historical Fantasy | Add to Goodreads
Thea Hope longs to be an alchemist out of the shadow of her famous mother. The two of them are close to creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone—whose properties include immortality and can turn any metal into gold—but just when the promise of the Stone’s riches is in their grasp, Thea’s mother destroys the Stone in a sudden fit of violent madness.
While combing through her mother’s notes, Thea learns that there’s a curse on the Stone that causes anyone who tries to make it to lose their sanity. With the threat of the French Revolution looming, Thea is sent to Oxford for her safety, to live with the father who doesn’t know she exists.
But in Oxford, there are alchemists after the Stone who don’t believe Thea’s warning about the curse—instead, they’ll stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone. But Thea can only run for so long, and soon she will have to choose: create the Stone and sacrifice her sanity, or let the people she loves die.
The Blind Banker by Jay | (Sherlock #2) | Manga | Add to Goodreads
Manga adaptation of the second Sherlock BBC episode – printed in English in the US for the first time!
Holmes and Watson tackle brain-teasing crimes in modern-day London in this stunning Manga, presented in its original right-to-left reading order, and in the full chapters as originally serialized! Meet Holmes and Watson for the first time… all over again!
What are you hoping to read this week?
Let’s chat in the comments below!
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Sophril Reads 
I picked up Stroke the Flame after seeing it on your blog earlier and am looking forward to getting to that one! Looks like you’re going right through that series, I’ll take that as a good sign that it’s easily binge-able. 🙂
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I hope you like it. They are fast reads.
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Thanks! Hopefully will get to it soon. 🙂
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