Tag: Brendan Mancilla

June 2025 Wrap-Up

Personal Highlights from this month:

  • Summer vacation got off to a rainy start. It rained Memorial weekend, with a pause on the following Wednesday, and restarted on Thursday and Friday. Miss R was beyond bored.
  • Miss R ended her elementary school year with a consistent “A” average, including her K-2 grades, which were rated “S.”
  • Mr. Z accomplished what we thought was impossible. He raised his art grade from an “F” to a “B” for the quarter and ended the semester with an “A.“

Reading Highlights from this month:

  • I finished the Scars of the Wraiths series with Take. Out of the entire series, this book was the one to wreck me. I cried at the end. Mainly for Max and what she did to free herself and Jasper. And for Jasper, whose survivor’s guilt turned him into a monster for years. I hope that the author writes more in the series. There are people I want to see get their happy endings (Damien, for example!).
  • I finished the first book in The Magestone Chronicles (Stones Unbound). I had a tough time getting into it. I actually fell asleep while reading it twice. It got to the point where I brought it to Miss R’s riding lesson (twice) to finish it. It was boring. However, once the book picked up around 70%, it ended with a bang. Because of that, I will read the rest of the series once the books become free or are added to KU.
  • I finished book 1 in the Dark Universe series (Into the Dark). Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the book at first, the characters and storyline grew on me.
  • I finished Someone to Remember Me, but I’m not entirely sure how I liked it. Halfway through the book, the author revealed a couple of significant twists that threw me off.
  • I finished The Nevada Brides series. This was a cute series to read, and I enjoyed not having to think too much about the storyline. It did get a little preachy in Abigail’s book, but even that didn’t bother me.
  • I started and DNF’d Mightier Than the Pen. It was one of the most boring books I have read.
  • I read the first book of the Bionics series (Bionics). It was interesting, and with the cliffhanger ending, I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series when it becomes available on KU or the books become free.
  • I started and finished the Men of Mercy series. Oh, baby, was this an intense and sexy series!!
  • I read The Orb of Wrath and was pleasantly surprised by it. The storyline revolves around a party of D&D-type characters, and it didn’t fail. I was totally engrossed by it.
  • I read the first book of the Logic series (Spell Checked). It was an interesting book that explored reincarnation, the paranormal, and romance. I will finish the series if it ever goes on KU.
  • I read the first book in The Surgical Strike Unit (Vengeance) series. It was excellent and heartwrenching. I can’t wait for the rest of the series to become available on KU.
  • I read the first book in the Love in Bloom: Seaside Dreams series (Seaside Summers). It was a cute but predictable read. I am waiting for the rest of the series to go on KU.
  • I also read the first book in the Reckless & Real series. I am on the fence with this book. I am not sure if I like it or not. However, regardless, I will read the rest of the books if they become available on KU.
  • I started the first book in the Jessica Brodie Diaries (Back in the Saddle). So far, I am liking it. The rest of the series will be on next month’s wrap-up.

Books I Read:

Books I bought (unless otherwise stated, books were free at the time of purchase):

Buzzword Reading Challenge 2025—June

Prompts I finished in June

Memory-related words—JUNE BUZZWORD (examples: memory, forget, remember, confuse, know)

Memory word is: Remember

Water Related Words—examples: water, sea, river, lake, ocean

Water words is: River

WWW Wednesday: June 4th, 2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that Sam hosts at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Here is what I am reading, recently finished, and plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday.

Let me know if you have read or are planning on reading any of these books!!

Happy Reading!

What I am currently reading:

It was the worst day of McKenna Jameson’s life. Still reeling after the death of her parents, her uncle shows up with ownership paperwork, confiscating the store right out from under her.
McKenna didn’t know what would become of them. She had four sisters at home and only enough money to last a year. She vows that she’d never marry, but then a handsome stranger, Cole Winters, stops by, proposing they go into business together in faraway Silver, Nevada. McKenna gives it serious thought, since opening a mercantile store in a gold rush town would be a very profitable venture. The only problem is that in 1875, it’s not proper for a woman to travel alone with a man. When Cole proposes they marry in name only, can she truly trust him? And is it worth the risk of losing her heart?

What I recently finished reading:

“In our future is our past…”

A young man named Seven awakens on a deserted street, stricken by an amnesia that he can’t explain. When he discovers other survivors that share his affliction, among them a woman who stirs his dormant memories, they embark on a deadly journey across a ruined landscape.

Haunted by the mystery of their city’s apocalyptic demise and hunted by a malevolent beast, Seven and his companions discover the dark truth of their past.

What awaits the survivors at the crux of myth and legacy is a story of love, loss, and triumph that defies even death itself.

What I plan on reading Thursday through Sunday:

In 1875 women don’t have many choices, but when Cadence’s neighbors, Betty and Frank, insist she marry their grandson, Richard, she’s desperate enough to climb down the trellis and head down to the train station, buy a ticket, and leave the only life she has known behind to join her sister, McKenna, in Silver, Nevada.

She never gets the chance to go anywhere though when Bret Winters, the brother of McKenna’s husband, Cole, shows up and before long Frank arrives and insists they marry to save her family’s good name. Cadence goes along with it, but what other choice does she have and will Bret ever forgive her?

Kayla Jameson’s life had all been planned out by her sisters—go to college, acquire a suitable position—but cared nothing about what she really wanted, a husband and family.

Kayla rolled into Silver, Nevada, along with her sisters Abigail and Penelope. Their other sisters McKenna and Cadence had already married and moved to Nevada, and they finally were able to join them. In 1875, Nevada was more populated with men than women. When Kayla has an unlikely encounter with a handsome stranger, her life takes a drastic change. It was time for Kayla to stand up to her sisters and take charge of her life, even if she’d fallen for a gambler.

Abigail has vowed never to marry unless she falls in love, but when her sisters Kayla and Penelope surprise her with two mail order grooms, she’s faced with what might be the most difficult decision of her life. Abigail has other plans though, and it doesn’t involve rushing to the alter.

The last of the Jameson sisters, Penelope, operates a mail-order bride agency with her sister, Abigail, in Yerington, Nevada, matching ranchers with women from back east. She has sworn off love after her beau, Jake, in Ohio jilted her, but how can a matchmaker stay focused when facing down a handsome rancher?

Mysterious rancher Morgan Henning is new to the Yerington area but is ready to get married, and sending for a mail-order bride seems like a great idea. That is until he meets Penelope, the matchmaker. Does he still want a mail-order bride, or is Penelope the woman he’s been looking for?

It’s Monday: What Are You Reading?—June 2nd, 2025

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet and share what you have been and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-lit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.

What I am Reading Now

“In our future is our past…”

A young man named Seven awakens on a deserted street, stricken by an amnesia that he can’t explain. When he discovers other survivors that share his affliction, among them a woman who stirs his dormant memories, they embark on a deadly journey across a ruined landscape.

Haunted by the mystery of their city’s apocalyptic demise and hunted by a malevolent beast, Seven and his companions discover the dark truth of their past.

What awaits the survivors at the crux of myth and legacy is a story of love, loss, and triumph that defies even death itself.

What I plan to read on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

On a fateful trip to India, Derek Farfield becomes lost and is forced to pay for directions from an old merchant woman who insists he choose a pen from her stall. Subsequently, a freak storm blackens the skies and clears the outdoor marketplace, leaving Derek standing alone in the muddy street clutching a black pen with a shining brass top. Several days later, Derek arrives home in New York, and it is not long before something strange begins to occur. Although he is a bachelor and lives alone, a mysterious handwritten manuscript starts to appear at random intervals and in installments. Curious, Derek gives into temptation and soon discovers that he feels an inexplicable connection to the story, partially fueled by the seemingly impossible similarities between it and his own life. But there are others who would desire the powerful pen. Price Redmond, a vicious bounty hunter, is intent on collecting the reward offered by a very prominent politician in exchange for the pen, and he will do anything to get it. Even as Derek enters into a turbulent romance and fends for his life from the malignant Price, he becomes entranced by the manuscript, which relates the tale of Gavin, a young palace guard in medieval times who stumbles across a mysterious old woman and is entrusted with a quill. The two interlocking stories are separated by time and space, but nothing can cloak the bonds that have been forged between souls—bonds that have resurfaced in the present day and will now either be shattered forever or made stronger. And all because of a pen.

It was the worst day of McKenna Jameson’s life. Still reeling after the death of her parents, her uncle shows up with ownership paperwork, confiscating the store right out from under her.
McKenna didn’t know what would become of them. She had four sisters at home and only enough money to last a year. She vows that she’d never marry, but then a handsome stranger, Cole Winters, stops by, proposing they go into business together in faraway Silver, Nevada. McKenna gives it serious thought, since opening a mercantile store in a gold rush town would be a very profitable venture. The only problem is that in 1875, it’s not proper for a woman to travel alone with a man. When Cole proposes they marry in name only, can she truly trust him? And is it worth the risk of losing her heart?

A heart-pumping futuristic thrill-ride set in a frightening dystopian society. 2016 Once Upon A Book Award Winner. It is the year 4006, and nuclear war has come to the United States. With tens of thousands killed and countless more injured or terminally ill from the blasts, there is no more “normal”…life will never be the same. For her part, Blythe Sol is reeling from the loss of her arm and an eye in one of the blasts – her dreams of following in her father’s footsteps and joining the military completely shattered. When she hears about the Restoration Project – a bionic government program that offers the sick and injured a second chance – she immediately enrolls. Made whole again, Blythe is filled with hope and a renewed sense of purpose. But when it becomes apparent that those outfitted with the robotic parts now possess super-human abilities, fear spreads across the nation. The Bionics are forced to go into hiding, outcast from all society. In desperation, they band together to form an underground rebellion, and Blythe finds herself caught in a confusing tug-of-war between two of her fellow soldiers—Gage Bronson, the mysterious new addition to the Resistance, and Dax Janner, her best friend. But with war on the horizon and a death sentence hanging over her, Blythe hardly has time to worry about her feelings… The Bionics Series is perfect for readers who enjoy futuristic science fiction, dystopian novels, science fiction romance, and genetic engineering science fiction. Filled with action and adventure, this series will appeal to fans of The Gender Game by Bella Forest and Secondborn by Amy A. Bartol. Novels inThe Bionics Series by Alicia The BionicsThe ResistanceThe Revolution (Available January 8, 2018)

WWW Wednesday: May 28th, 2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that Sam hosts at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Here is what I am reading, recently finished, and plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday.

Let me know if you have read or are planning on reading any of these books!!

Happy Reading!

What I am currently reading:

An unrequited love.
A tortured past.
An unbreakable bond.

Their love was well-known throughout the immortal world.
The powerful Taldeburu Waleron and his Delara.
But tragedy struck and tore them apart for years. One believing the other was dead.

When fate finally brings them back together again it isn’t kind.
It’s cruel and testing. Sacrificial.

Because love has no remorse for its victims.
It doesn’t give you options.
And it won’t be stopped.

This is Waleron and Delara’s story.
It’s not pretty and it’s not kind.
But it’s theirs.

A band of fierce warriors walk in the shadows of the human world with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries and the rare Reflectors. They are known as the ‘Scars’.

What I recently finished reading:

“I don’t do nice. Period.” -Kilter (nickname: Off-Kilter)

Kilter is crass, reckless and stubborn. He has alienated everyone—just the way he likes it. Until the day he meets Rayne and emotions he buried long ago reawaken.

“I was nothing but a science experiment.” -Rayne

Rayne has been locked away and used for research ever since she was a child. The abuse caused her to withdraw into a tomb of numbness where she’s found a safe place to hide. But her safe place isn’t safe at all, it’s slowly killing her.
When Kilter rescues her and she is unexpectedly drawn to his raw honesty, Rayne must decide whether to trust him and fight for what she can’t see or drown into the depths of darkness.

For some Scars, it’s the story of healing and redemption, for others it’s the beginning of a tortured existence. Which will it be for Kilter and Rayne?

What I plan on reading Thursday through Sunday:

This is a standalone Scars of the Wraiths.

MAX
Feelings are a luxury I can’t afford. Hidden behind a shield of quiet placidity, I keep my secret safe from those who’d use it against me. Until him—the tatted up, self-centered Scar assassin hired to protect me.
He takes pleasure in tormenting me, chipping away at my defenses as if I’m a toy to be played with. I hate that he continuously reminds me that I’m nothing more than a job. I hate that my body responds to his touch. I hate him.

JASPER
I’m not a good guy and I don’t pretend to be. Condemn me if you want, I don’t give a fuck. You’re nothing to me. No one is … except her—Max. She’s my target. And I was hired to do a hell of a lot more than protect her … I was hired to kill her.
It should’ve been simple, but it was complicated as hell.

Scars: Immortal warriors with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries, and the rare Reflectors. They each have what is known as an Ink, a tattoo that can be called life.

Korvaan is a world of all-powerful Emperors and jealous rival Kings, where the Dar’Shilaar craft items of magic from unbound magestones. From magic portals and mirrors that can traverse great distances for use in travel or communication, to flying ships and floating citadels, the Dar’Shilaar have proven almost anything can be done. But at what cost?

Hoyle is a brash, young, street-wise, thief who specializes in acquiring things that others in Tala’ahar cannot. No treasure is guarded too well that he cannot find a way in, and, more importantly – out, with the goods.

Little does Hoyle know that his latest choice in jobs, the theft of a shipment of unbound magestones, will set in motion events that will reshape his world.

Celia is a member of the Dar’Shilaar, a Spell Wielder, who discovers the theft and is determined to track down the thief and bring them to justice. Complications arise when she encounters Hoyle, and determines that he is by far the smaller threat.

Hoyle and Celia team up to investigate the forces behind the theft and uncover a far ranging plot that twists and turns, trapping them within its web, forcing them to prove their innocence to the Emperor, or face execution.

Into the Dark opens an amazing new futuristic setting by Jason Halstead called Dark Universe.

Aden Garrett is fresh out of security academy and looking for a little excitement. A little more than walking security at local space station bars and a little less than the job that got him kicked out of the academy.

Meshelle and Janna are Vagnosian sisters that run a small transport and special operations ship, and they’re looking to replace a fallen crew member.

Chance brings them together and puts them work for one of the mysterious Kesari merchants who’s looking for some expendable assets for a special job. It’s a perfect match, except the crew of the Uma, Janna’s ship, doesn’t agree to being disposed of when the job is done.

What follows is a game of cat and mouse through the galaxy with twists and turns at every solar system. Lost alien civilizations, six limbed insectoid warriors, plasma rifles, and more await. Much, much more…

“In our future is our past…”

A young man named Seven awakens on a deserted street, stricken by an amnesia that he can’t explain. When he discovers other survivors that share his affliction, among them a woman who stirs his dormant memories, they embark on a deadly journey across a ruined landscape.

Haunted by the mystery of their city’s apocalyptic demise and hunted by a malevolent beast, Seven and his companions discover the dark truth of their past.

What awaits the survivors at the crux of myth and legacy is a story of love, loss, and triumph that defies even death itself.