Bookish Mumma

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  • Court of The Vampire Queen: Act 1 – Chapters 8 – 11

    I had to add an extra chapter this time, I’m sure you’ll see why!

    If you like my thoughts so far and you want to read the gaping holes of non-plot that I haven’t included, you can get it here: https://amzn.to/42DNbCC

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    Chapter 8

    Between one blink and the next, Malachi is out of the chair and pulls me into his arms. “Mina.”
    “Get off me.” I mean it to come out like a command, but it’s a whispered plea. I can’t stop shaking. What the fuck just happened? I don’t understand what’s going on, don’t understand the players, don’t even understand the game.
    Instead of obeying, he scoops me into his arms and sits on the couch, tucking me into his lap. “I’m sorry.”
    “No you’re not. Stop saying that when you don’t mean it.”
    She has a point. Sorrys mean nothing if they’re not backed by action. At that point they’re just empty platitudes

    His eyes are edging toward black and I know enough now to recognize the flames they contain aren’t the same ones reflected by the fire. It doesn’t matter that I’m technically on top. I have no more control in the position than if he had me pinned down onto the couch the way Wolf did earlier.
    What is he, a ViewMaster toy? *Click* he has blue eyes now! *Click* oh, they’re brown!

    “A week,” he grinds out through clenched teeth. “Seven fucking days. You spent your entire life under the thumb of Cornelius and then he shipped you off here where you’re just as trapped. Forgive the fuck out of me if I wanted you to choose me instead of just going along with it because you had no other option.”
    Seven days isn’t even long enough for me to choose a takeaway order and you expect her to be able to choose you in that time? She’s also in a constant state of survival, she’s going to choose the option that is most likely to keep her alive the longest, that’s the best you’re going to get in a week, buddy, survival.

    “Are you a god instead of a vampire?”
    Egotistically, yes

    I shake my head. “We’re both trapped here. You should have told me the circumstances of your side of it.”
    He starts to speak and shakes his head. “You’re right.”
    I blink. I didn’t expect him to actually agree with me. “What?”
    “You’re right. I’ve played this all wrong.” His grip softens on my hips and he nudges me closer to him, pressing us more firmly together. Impossible to ignore that his cock is rock hard. Apparently the regular feedings mean he doesn’t have to bite me to get it up. I shiver.
    And there goes a serious conversation interrupted by a penis.

    I don’t know why I’m so determined to push him, to shove my way through his carefully cool exterior, but I can’t seem to stop. I lean into his grip on my chin. “And what happens if Wolf knocks me up, Malachi? If her gets there first because you’re too busy being noble to take what you want?”
    Well that brings a whole new meaning to ‘baby race’

    Chapter 9

    What if I simply… said yes? Took what Malachi is offering? Took my chances with this small slice of pleasure?
    I lift my head and sigh. I’m looking for an excuse to fuck him. Maybe I just need to stop trying to reason my way through it and simply do it.
    Get it, girl!

    I should leave. Should walk away. Should do anything but stand here and watch like the worst kind of voyeur.
    I wait for hurt or betrayal to rise, but there’s nothing. He told me, after all. He and Wolf are friends who are sometimes more. No matter what Malachi wants from me, he obviously wants Wolf too. I don’t understand their history, don’t really get how they can be so antagonistic and still seem to care about each other.
    I love how unapologetic this is for Malachi and Wolf. Malachi was open, honest and clear and we love that in a man. I also love how she’s not feeling negative about it at all

    “I like the way you say my name, love.” He doesn’t move back, but he also doesn’t close that miniscule distance between us to draw blood. “Makes me think I’ll like it even more if you say it while I’m inside you.”
    I shiver. “You seemed busy.”
    “I am. Malachi and I just hit pause for a brief moment.” He gentles his grip on my upper arm and then his thumbs brush the sides of my breasts. “It’d be a shame if you got the wrong idea. That look back there was an invitation.” He eases me back more firmly against his chest. His cock presses against my ass, which is right around the moment when I realise he’s naked. “Join us.”
    Again, I love how unapologetic this is. It’s clearly confronting to her and she doesn’t know what to think about it, but Wolf is clear, direct and open. I think I like Wolf more than I like Malachi or Mina at this point!

    “Ah well, consider this an invitation to watch, then. I promise to be on my best behaviour.”
    “Do you have a best behaviour?”
    “He laughs. “Not even a little bit.” Wolf pauses in the doorway. “But Malachi does. He’s got enough for all of us.” He disappears into the room before I can form a response.
    Clear, open, honest AND cheeky. Mina can keep Malachi, Wolf is mine now.

    Chapter 10

    I don’t know what I expect, but it’s not for the vampires to start making out as if I’m not in the room. I look around and finally move to the chair near the bed and sink into it.
    Gotta love a good cuck chair!

    [7 pages of smut]

    Chapter 11

    I pull on his hair, frustration getting the better of me. “I’ve never had a choice, Malachi. Not once in my fucking life. I’m saying yes, choosing this. Stop questioning it and fuck me.”
    Ahh yes, horny clarity! Also, this is about as direct and as enthusiastically consenting as it can get

    It’s like lighting a match in a room full of gunpowder. He crushes me to him and then he’s diving into me just shy of brutally, rumbling my name as he comes.
    No notes, this was brilliant imagery of passionate

    I let Malachi tow me beneath the spray, but then I try to pull my hand from his. “I can wash myself.”
    “Hush”
    I blink. “You did not just hush me.”
    I can’t remember why I highlighted this, but I’m sure I had a witty remark

    It feels… good. For once, it’s not sexual, but the sensation of skin against skin is almost too much for me.
    Honestly, I love nothing more than having a shower with my partner. It’s not sexual, but it’s intimate as hell and nothing matches it

    Conslusion

    I thought for a minute there that there was going to be a light sprinkling of plot. I was wrong. I loved it.

  • Court of The Vampire Queen: Act 1 – Chapters 4 – 7

    The person who gifted me this book thought that my post on the first 3 chapters was hilarious. Is this an obligated response because she loves me? Probably…. Here’s the next few!

    https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5182198842395474

    Chapter 4

    Biting him drugs me as much as his bite does. The first dose was free, but he’ll demand I fuck him for another.
    Vampire crack, that’s how they get you.

    But just because Malachi is taking a softer route doesn’t mean he’s a better person. I have to remember that.
    Ooo that is a hard lesson to learn and I absolutely speak from experience.

    I don’t have high hopes for the plumbing, but when I turn the faucet on the large copper tub, the water comes out clear and hot.
    What I would not give for instant hot water and a giant tub to soak in!

    The bastard laughs. It’s just as rusty as the last time. “No, Mina. I’m not here to take my daily feeding.”
    I draw my knees to my chest and refuse to categorize the sinking feeling inside me. “Then why are you here?”
    “I suppose I owe you an apology.” He studies me for a long moment. “All the others who’ve come through that door felt differently about the role than you do. If I hadn’t been half starved, I would have realized it.”
    At least he apologised? Although, if it was a proper apology, he wouldn’t say that he supposed he had to.

    I finally look at him again. Desperate to focus on something else, I go back over what he said. How he apologized. How he dodged my one question. Why he’d be so starved even though he seems more than capable of hunting. I frown. “You’re stuck here too, aren’t you?”
    Oh some lore is about to drop, I can just smell it! Although, if he was stuck, but had access to order things, the least he could to is keep the house looked after

    “I suppose we might as well fuck since you’ve rubbed my nose in the fact that I’m stuck here.”
    He barks out a laugh. “Enjoy the rest of your bath, little dhampir.” A blur of movement and he’s gone, the door closing softly behind him.
    Aww he’s choosing her enjoyment of a bath over sex… Even though he interrupted her bath.

    I walk through the door and have the strangest feeling I’ve walked into a different building entirely. It’s been converted to a passably modern gym.
    So the only places that have been updated or converted are the kitchen and the gym. Why can’t we have a stuck vampire with a converted cinema?

    He moves a few steps into the room. “Would you like to spar, little dhampir?”
    Well this is gonna end in sex, I just know it.

    Chapter 5

    I could try to push back, but it’d just end up in us sparring while I attempt to escape the room. The thought of him getting his hands on me again has my traitorous heartbeat kicking up a notch. “You just want to bite me again.”
    He’s a vampire, did you think he wanted to braid your hair and trade gossip?

    I snort. “You have a heightened opinion of my father he doesn’t deserve.”
    Even the lowest opinion of her father is more than he deserves.

    “There was a time when dhampirs were far more common than they are now. I don’t know what your fool of a father told you, but you haven’t begun to reach your upper limits.”
    Called it, she’s going to be a lot more powerful than she thinks even without magic

    I clutch his shoulders and relax against him. His strength will hold me up, keep me caged, and I can’t decide if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.
    I mean, would you rather fall on your ass?

    He runs him thumb over my bottom lip, urging my mouth open, and presses the pad of his thumb against one of my canine teeth. They’re a little more prominent than a human’s but nowhere near as long as a vampire’s. He frowns. “I don’t think you can break skin effectively with these little things.”
    “Wow, I didn’t realise you were a size queen.”
    Mina, are you kink shaming?

    Maybe I should crave a softer touch, something like my single kiss before this. A tentative brush of lips against mine. A stolen moment filled with yearning. At least on my side… At least until I realized Darrien only kissed me on a dare from his friends.
    Alrighty, so Darrien is on the shit-list alongside her dad

    “When I fuck you, it won’t be with a little tongue.” Another of those slow smiles. “But if you’re feeling needy and want me to kiss your pussy better, I’m more than happy to.”
    I volunteer as tribute

    For better or for worse, I’m choosing this. I lick my lips. “Prove it.”
    Ha, that was the best response to that

    Chapter 6

    The words barely leave my mouth before he’s on me, bearing me to the ground.
    Nothing but compliments to the chef

    “Mina.” My name sounds like sin on his lips.
    I have to swallow hard before I can speak. “Yes?”
    “Are you a virgin?”
    Why are all female MCs virgins or super inexperienced? Can we not have some sexually liberated and experienced queens?

    The first sign something’s gone wrong is the heat flickering against my arm.
    I open my eyes and shriek. “Fire.”
    I don’t think this is what The Kings of Leon had in mind when they sung Sex On Fire

    “Is that going to happen every time we make out?”
    He slumps on top of me and gives a hoarse laugh. “No. I lost control.”
    That’s not nearly as comforting as he seems to think it is. “Let me get this straight. We didn’t even have sex and you lost control enough to set the room on fire.”
    It’s been a while for this guy and it shows

    No matter that he keeps calling me dhampir, he keeps drinking my blood, he seems to forget sometimes that I’m not operating on the same level he is. I think it might be a compliment if it wasn’t likely to get me killed on accident.
    I know it’s pedantic, but I hate that ‘on accident’ has become common. It’s incorrect!

    “I’m tired. Good night Malachi.” I shut the door in his face.
    Even so, I clearly hear him through the thick wood. “I am not the enemy.”
    I want to believe him. I want it so badly I can taste it like the coppery tang of blood on my tongue. But there’s one lesson my father taught me, one I cannot afford to forget. Not even with Malachi. Especially not with him.
    Everyone is the enemy.
    Yet another reason to hate her dad. Not everyone is out to get you, but it can feel like it when you’re put into a situation where even your parent makes you feel like you’re fighting for your life. I hope she taught him that he’s going to be paying for therapy for a long time.

    Chapter 7

    I’m so distracted by the tumultuous thoughts, I don’t realize I’m not alone in the library for a moment too long. I catch sight of the blond vampire and jump off the couch I was sitting on, but I barely make it a step before he’s on me. He digs his fingers into my hair and shoves me back onto the couch, following me down. He gets a knee between my thighs and grins at me. “What a delicious little thing you are.”
    I didn’t think I was into blondes… Then I fell in love with one. But anyway, everyone say hello to Wolf!

    Wolf laughs again. The sound is downright sinful. It sounds like good chocolate tastes, decadent and a little bittersweet. “You’ve been alone too long, my friend. You’ve gotten greedy and forgotten how to be a good host.” He licks his lips. “I’m positively parched.”
    Me too, suddenly I could use a tall glass of water

    “Stay.” The amusement disappears from Wolf’s voice. “We have something to discuss and it involves you.”
    Sit. Stay. Roll over.

    Vampires are eccentric creatures under the best of circumstances. It seemed entirely within the realms of possibility that Malachi was more than happy to have his meals delivered to him. Yes, there was some starving in the intervening years, but it sees strangely logical to suffer that than try to step out into human society with all the technological upgrades they’ve made in the last generation.
    Me too. Give me a plot of land away from the world with a simple house and I’ll survive on my own. Please and thank you.

    Conclusion

    Well Wolf sounds like trouble, but he’s hot, so I guess we’ll ignore all the red flags waving in our faces. Also I was wrong, maybe there will be like 2% plot in this book, but there is only 19 chapters and an epilogue and I’m already at chapter 8, so I guess we will see!

    If my thoughts have somehow inspired you to want to read this, you can get the book here: https://amzn.to/42DNbCC

  • Court of The Vampire Queen: Act 1 – Chapters 1-3

    My best friend’s eldest daughter is getting to an age where she’s getting into young adult fantasy which can include smut. I’m not complaining, she has someone safe to talk to about the things she reads and she and I often talk a lot about the books we read together. I like to think that it provides her with a confidant and a mature role model in me. For my birthday, she bought me this book. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts of the first 3 chapters as I read them.

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    Chapter 1

    I don’t want to be here.
    Starting off strong! Love an opening that’s memorable

    The only reason my father healed me the little bit that he did was to keep me from being fully damaged goods.
    Well, her dad is a dick. No further comments needed on that fact at this point in time!

    And while I’m only 50 percent human, I’m tainted by that lineage enough to not be able to see more than a blur of movement.
    50% human, so not every part of the vampire is undead in this world? [insert drum sting here]

    No, not a man. A vampire. It’s there in his pale skin, the barest hint of fang pressing against his bottom lip.
    Vampire overbite?

    “Cornelius sent you.”
    The perfect name for an asshole dad. I can’t think of a single good person named Cornelius

    One blink he’s a few feet away, and the next he hits me with the force of a runaway truck. He still manages to control our fall so I don’t bash my head on the marble floor, but I don’t have a chance to appreciate the consideration. Not when he surges forward and bites my neck.
    Consideration my ass! He just wanted her on her back. At least take her to dinner first, not make her the dinner.

    “I’m sorry.” I feel more than hear his murmur. His tongue strokes my neck and then he moves to the other side. “I can’t stop.”
    Dude, if you can stop enough to say that you can’t stop, you can stop.

    He gives a hard pull to my neck and I slide my hands down his back to his ass, holding him close as I roll my hips
    Dat ass.

    I need to come more than I need my pride.
    It’s fine, girl, no one has pride when they’re horny!

    My orgasm hits me even harder than the vampire did earlier and I come more intensely than I ever have before, crying and panting as I hump him like I really do want this.
    There is no sentence that has ever been said or written that makes the word ‘hump’ sound good.

    His knuckles brush the wet fabric lightly stroking my pussy. Despite just coming, I have to fight the desire to lift my hips in invitation.
    I feel like it’s too early for this man to be a tease and yet, here he is!

    He pauses, his hands shaking as if he’s fighting himself. He could have broken my wrists, could do so much more damage, and there’s nothing I could do to stop him. “Say it.”
    Is this guy’s name Edward? Is he going to turn into a pretty, pretty princess in the sun?

    He shifts slightly to the side and strikes, quick as a snake, sinking his fangs into the sensitive skin of my upper thigh.
    Oh I am so here for the thigh biting! I predict 0 plot going forward.

    Chapter 2

    The amount of times being magic-less is mentioned so far, I’m thinking she’s actually super powerful, but hasn’t found out yet. Calling it right now!

    The vampire didn’t so much as tear my skin, though I’m not about to thank him for it.
    Him
    Malachi Zion
    Ahh we have a name for him now! Malachi Zion, the vampire with a preference for biting and fucking first and asking questions later. Sexy piranha.

    I limp to where my suitcase is tucked near the door. It appears untouched, but when I lay it down and open it, I find things rifled through.
    “Nosy ass vampire,” I mutter.
    Sexy panty bandit piranha.

    I’d heard bloodline vampires had a pleasurable bite, had even seen it play out during my father’s services when he moves through the room and bites a few of his chosen followers, but I chalked it up to vampire-on-vampire nonsense.
    Can’t have a female main character without daddy issues

    “Such charm you have, little dhampir.”
    Well that hits different… I like it.

    “Why not tattoo ‘sacrifice’ on my forehead in case I forget?”
    And what, carry around a little pocket mirror to show it to you? How does that help you remember?

    His sensual lips curve, and I loathe I notice they’re sensual at all. “Are you mad I didn’t fuck you earlier?”
    My jaw drops. “You’re out of your fucking mind!” I throw my hands up when he drifts another step closer. “I didn’t even want you to bite me.”
    Yep, she’s absolutely mad.

    “Just call me your resident blood bank and womb. Suck me, fuck me, do whatever you want. It’s not like I’m a real person to you. I’m just a little dhampir, after all.”
    “You’re my little dhampir now.” He brackets my waist with his hands, his fingers digging in the slightest bit.
    Possessiveness in real life is gross. In fiction though….

    I am so fucked
    Literally and figuratively

    Chapter 3

    “Mina.” He says it slowly. “It suits you.”
    And 3 chapters in, our female main character has a name!

    [straight smut for the rest of the chapter]

    In conclusion

    This book is going to have absolutely not plot and I am here for it. In all fairness, I was warned that that was the case, though in her words, she did say “Minimal plot, LOTS of spice and too many dicks”. I’m finding it hard to relate to or like either of these two, but I’m told that they grow on you and there are more characters to get used to, so I’m looking forward to the character arcs. I’d love to see less of the word ‘hump’ in any context. In saying that, I have enjoyed these three chapters, but I’m hoping it gets better.

    If my thoughts have somehow inspired you to want to read this, you can get the book here: https://amzn.to/42DNbCC

  • Living with Autoimmunity: A Book Lover’s Journey

    I unfortunately don’t have the freedom to be able to leave the house often as I have a debilitating autoimmune disease and also a very anxious dog. I also work from home, so my whole life revolves around my desk really. I read to escape it all and I know that sharing what I think of the books I read with others, is very satisfying and entertaining. So, why not share it all online with the people who might enjoy it most?

    My disease means that leaving the house can be a nerve wracking experience and full of uncertainty as it is invisible, but when I need help, it can become visible and humiliating very fast. Over the last couple of months, it has been getting progressively worse as I can’t afford to address it, so I just stay home most of the time. I stay home, I read, I pat my dog or I work. What I wouldn’t give to be able to do away with it and be outside in the fresh air more often or walk down the street.

    So while I can’t do a lot due to my health, I can sit and I can read and I can live a million lives in the comfort of my own home. I can ride dragons, I can wield magic and I can be a ferocious queen. Just because my body is limited, that doesn’t mean that my mind has to be.

  • Reading Journey: Chapter-by-Chapter Reflections

    Hello and welcome!

    I’m here to share my thoughts on the books I read, but they’re not reviews per se or probably what you’re used to. What I’m going to be doing is reading a book a couple chapters at a time and then posting my thoughts on what I read in whatever form that looks like to me.

    The books I tend to navigate towards are sci-fi, romance and fantasy, but there may be a few others sprinkled in the mix from time to time. I’m also absolutely open to suggestions

    if you’d like to read what I think or follow along, feel free to stick around, I’m glad you’re here!