Hello and welcome back to another episode of Irish Twins but with the other twin waggles brows yes, Gil has stolen the spotlight for the past several weeks, and with good reason considering sometime in the short future we’ll be going on hiatus, but also with terrible reason because that means he’s deprived you poor souls of… me 🥺

takes a quick moment to stand in reverential silence

gets bored with that

Okay, aNyWaYs, moving onnnn I have returned and with me a bring a list of the past ten books I have read and my rating purely from a readers perspective.

cough you’re allowed to judge me if i become a writer in these reviews. They also have to stay around 200 words max. No more than that. And they have to be at least over 50 words. Those are the rules. Last ten books i’ve read (excluding my writing books because i read a bunch of those all in a row), my rating of said books that’s over 49 words but under 201 words. Boom.

Lets get started

NUMBER EIN (yes we are speaking in german numbers, live with it): CALCULATED BY NOVA MCBEE

…. Kay. words for my review don’t count yet cause i gotta explain, yes this is the first time I’ve read this book but I also still have like… 60ish pages left to go in the book so technically I haven’t finished it.

cough

Okay, now the review starts. Basically, Calculated follows Jo Rivers, a math prodigy as she’s kidnapped and making trillions for rotten people. She gets away from said rotten people after several of their rotten deeds and lands up working for a dude who is half good half selfish and no one can ever make up their mind about him, as well as his son Kai. Her math progidy-ness helps her realize that a second great depression is coming and the world might as well be collapsing is what she’s predicting to happen happens cough so she sets out to accomplish a heist of swindling cheats to save the world and the x-girls with Red’s wisdom waggles brow “White sun leans on the mountain then vanishes. Yellow river flows into the sea. If your eyes desire to see a thousand miles, go up one more floor,” Okay, so far I have actually really enjoyed this book, its not quite as enjoyable as The Dogs Of War was for some reason, but like, i’m invested in this story now nods no turning back. I love Jo herself, she’s a a little hard to relate to considering her genius but still sympathetic, and then Red is PEAK, Kai too, Kai…. he’s lovely love interest nodnods and the sang brothersssss, i liked themmmmmm. Honestly all of her characters were really well done. I’m curious about what happened to Kai’s first “girlfriend” and i’m also curious to know who the kid was that was leading Jo to Madame in the first few chapters but aside from that i got a pretty good grip on who’s who and whats what.

You can get this book here »CALCULATED« or on amazon or… just look around, you’ll find some way to get it, XD.

My rating on a scale of 1 to 5 is a 4 and half nods I cannot state all my reasons or I will have changed into a writer review cough but yes, 4 and a half. I’d say this book, age wise is safe for 14 and up, honestly it might even be able to stretch to 13, but at that age I may still think parental guidance would be good. There’s nothing explicit or bad but there are some allusions to things and I just personally noticed some observations/descriptions from Jo that were like… okay… that depends on how much heavier stuff you read in your early teens. But all in all, very clean and intriguing nods

BLURB: Everyone claims teen prodigy Jo Rivers was born lucky, but Jo deems her gift a curse.

When she is betrayed by someone she loves, kidnapped by the world’s most wanted smuggler, and forced to use her near supernatural math ability to shore up a criminal empire, Jo’s knows her destiny is sealed because in her world of numbers, there’s no such thing as coincidence.

But when fellow captive and unlikely sage, Red, teaches Jo to harness her true potential, she starts to believe she can do more than just escape. After Red reveals a secret about her enemies, he makes her vow to right his wrongs. But Jo has a vow of her own. With help from a bitter billionaire and his off-limits son, Jo rises into a new role, ready to take down those who ruined her–until a mathematical error comes back to haunt her with a threat much more dangerous than the criminals on the loose.

To beat the odds, Jo must decide who she really is and if her genius is only a gift if she uses it for what really matters. After all, history is not made—it’s calculated.

Set in Shanghai and Seattle, Calculated is a gritty, modern day blend of the Count of Monte Cristo and Mission Impossible.

NUMBER ZWEI: THE DOGS OF WAR BY EMILY HAYES

Okay, heheh, should we start with my rating? I don’t know, how many people on this newsletter are Calculated fans? cough don’t worry my four and half start rating is pretty typical for good books I read. But.

B. U. T.

The Dogs Of War just so happened to be one of the like… two?- books I have that are five star rated. I honestly am still trying to decide why. Maybe its because of the loyalty shown. The comradeship. Maybe its cause I just hadn’t read anything super exciting per se in a while. I don’t know. But whatever the case, The Dogs Of War gained a five on the scale of 1 to 5 for me. Age range, I’d give it 14+. Its a super clean book. Like, really really clean. There is one use of the d word that I noticed but aside from that, I was honestly so shocked at how clean it was.

NOW clears throat for the actual review

The Dogs Of War is actually part of a series, which is frustrating to me because I’m desperate for the second book but its not out…, but anyways, it basically follows a team in particular, the Iron City Wolves. It doesn’t start out in that team exactly, what happens is Hayes gives you three povs in the first three chapters. She gets you attached to each of those three people. She sets up the games, kinda explains what they are. She pits all three of those people against each other. You start losing your mind trying to determine who you actually want to win because by this point you care about each of them and their reasoning but only one can win. cough I screamed from the tension. Anyways, unfortunate events follow, as typical in a story and soon we find all but one of those three povs on the Iron City Wolves team. The lowest of the lows team. The underdogs. Meant to lose. And sheesh, I can sense a plot twist coming up in the future books and I already am pretty sure someone is gonna die which is terribly sad sobs but anyways, no spoilers. We go through the book rooting for the Iron City Wolves but they keep losing. Even though several of the events they are clearly set up for loss. And then. And then they hit a break. And then, they work together to fight for their honor, for their families, for hope, for each other and boom. We have a kid completely destroy the jackals i think it was by himself. proud moment Anyways, i’m spoiling and I should stop. All in all, I absolutely loved this book, I’m really really excited for the second one and if you like sports in any way, shape or form you’ll love this book too!

BLURB: “Look kid, it’s like this. The Iron City’s one of your one-way streets. Only one direction this thing goes, and that’s down. If you get lucky—real lucky—and that street goes two ways for even a split second, you go. You don’t stop, you don’t think, you don’t hesitate. You run for it.”

Industry, glory, and the Games are the coinage of the Empire, but here in the Iron City, there is no glory. Factories run on despair, office doors hide criminal corruption, and the Iron City Wolves have no chance at victory in the glittering world beyond—until the day they do.

When Jackson Van of the Golden City Toros finds himself exiled to the Iron City in disgrace, he resolves not to go down without a fight. After meeting down-and-out captain Atlas Bolton, once the toast of the Black Town Stags, Van joins him in lighting a fire in the hearts of the Wolves, who are now determined—despite brutal odds—to put the Iron City back on the map.

You can purchase this book...

​»here«​

NUMBER DREI: ANNE OF AVONLEA/AOGG BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

Note: I have not finished this series yet, I promise Mac, I am working on it. Hard. Ish. But y’know… cough its slow going…. I’M ON THE THIRD BOOK NOW THOUGH.

Rating for book one and two because since we are clearly still not finished with the series that’s all I can rate, but book one, I’d say its a four out of five. Enjoyable, but I have watched the movies so much that actually reading the events was probably less enjoyable then it could have been. Book two FOUR AND THREE QUARTERS BECAUSE OF DAVY. peak moment with that kid. He’s sobbing in the corner after Dora hurt herself falling down the stairs. Anne walks in ‘Oh she’ll be alright Davy, don’t cry’ he looks at her and goes ‘i’m not crying cause she’s hurt I’m crying cause I didn’t get to see her fall! Why does all the fun stuff happen when i’m gone?’ dies Age range: absolutely 100% family friendly, i’d read this to my littlest siblings if they would care to listen.

Basically to sum it up if you haven’t heard of Anne Of Green Gables this is about a young orphan who gets taken in by Matthew and Marilla Cuthburt— siblings and neither got married so they’re both pretty old— by mistake. They had wanted to adopt a little boy to help matthew but in a mix up they ended up with Anne. and thus begins the story. Its a basically a diary of all that happens in Anne’s life, minus the fact that it doesn’t read like a diary, its whimsy and funny and heartbreaking in some area’s and always, always quite the experience, some of her incidents are quite spectacular to behold. Even upon reaching the age of seventeen wherein she is preparing to head off to college.

BLURB: HAH. thought you were gonna get a blurb? There isn’t any. Heh. at least not for all eight books as a whole. But i would highly recommend checking them out, they’re quite a fun read.

You can order them »here« for 30 bucks for the entire eight book set as of today but usually its like 60, not too bad considering i’ve seen a couple sets going in the hundreds cough

NUMBER VIER: GUARDIANS OATH BY BRIGITTE CROMEY

Rating? 3 out of 5. I have a reason, okay, listen closely.

raises voice to a whisper no matter how controversial two of those words are

Brigitte spoiled me by, and yes its her fault though who knows how or why because I’d never met her before RealmMakers, but she spoiled me with her Aftermath series cough TSO and ITU. See, listen, this book, Guardians Oath, is, I believe according to her acknowledgements or story thing at the end of the book, first book written, though not the first one published and, in comparison to TSO, it is very much a first book. I loved it, it was clean and sweet and simple but once you read TSO and ITU its like…. cough no going back. Age range: I’d say 13+ extremely clean and honestly even 12 and 11 it might be okay for.

Guardians Oath follows Princess Talianna as her and her father become targets for more and more assassination attempts as well as a plot for the throne and building pressure for her to choose a husband so that her father can pass the crown on. Theres some deceit and betrayal and Tali ends up being escorted to her uncles by her bodyguard (li smirks) but like i said, betrayal and deceit and her bodyguard ends up almost dead. At last, they arrive safely and problems are solved, they fall in love, everything’s lovely… until you realize there’s still way too many pages in the book. cough don’t you just hate that sobs Anyways, then they have to uncover the real traitors and get back without either of them dying so they can warn the king a war doesn’t erupt.

BLURB: Princess Talianna has gotten used to being invisible. As the only child of the royal line, she swears to become the best possible ruler for her people—even if it means no one will ever see the girl behind the crown. When fate reunites her with the knight who was once her best friend, she must hold to her promise and leave the dreams of childhood behind.

Sir Gavin of Andel has never forgotten the princess with a smile as brilliant as the sun. When he’s assigned to guard her after being separated for ten years, he swears to protect her with his life against all enemies—an oath that may prove as deadly in success as it would in failure.

They’re bound to their oaths, but fulfilling them may cause their own hearts to break.

You can get this book...

​ »here«​

Note: this book is part of an anthology so you can get a kindle version with just this book or you can buy an anthology that has stuff themed around the story and get a physical copy.

NUMBER FÜNF: THE COLOR OF A HORSES SONG BY ALLIE LYNN

Rating: y’allllllllllll, omw, I cried with this one, like seriously. sobs for my beans I cannot even tell you how much I love this book, its so gooddddd. A solid 4 and three quarters out of five nodnods omw thoughhhh. Gil literally threw the book, yes you can judge him for throwing a book and both me and my sister and Gil too actually, all cried. Age range: its middlegrade and its a good family friendly book, any age honestly. ITS SO GOODDDD

The Color Of A Horses Song follows Claire and Colton as they deal with a sudden appearance of Colton’s dad, who comes to take him back after seven years of Colton living with foster parents on the ranch right next to Claire’s. It’s a sweet and simple story where Claire has to deal with letting go and not seeing it as final and Colton has to deal with trust and being okay with change in his life. Lots of smiles and tears, a bittersweet, satisfying but also infuriating ending and a desperate longing being left for a second and third and yknow just an entire novel and series for these two kids.

BLURB: Claire Larkton, an ADHD-brained writer, sees color through sound.

Colton Myers, an autistic prodigy, hears music within chaos.

Best friends since third grade, the two of them have spent every summer on horseback between their ranches, and their last summer before high school is planned to be their most epic yet. Then Colton’s estranged father shows up from prison, and their plan for their epic summer turns into a fight to keep Colton from moving away.

Claire doesn’t want to lose her best friend, and Colton is sick of change, but as the summer wanes on and their obstacles take new shape, their experiment to get rid of Colton’s dad has a different result— one that Claire isn’t sure she can stand.

The summer-friends vibes of Honey Butter meet the musical world of August Rush in this coming-of-age story about letting go, living beyond the black-and-white, and enjoying every moment, no matter how long it lasts.

So, this one you actually can’t buy physical copies of sobs me and Gil have physical copies cause we’re special but physical copies are not being sold. However, she does have TCOAHS for free if you sign up for her email list! So you can find that...

»here«​

record scratch Okay coughs ummm. I’m almost at 3k words in this article and only half way through my challenge SO, guess what that means

Mhm.

I’m coming back… as soon as Gil lets me to finish this up!

For now, I hope you enjoyed reading my mini reader rants about the last five books I’ve read, oh man, it took some restraint not to go full writers mode on those cough yes I promise I appreciate stories for the story but like… my brain… makes air motions yeah, anyways.

I will return with the other five soon and until then, cause only minor trouble and whatever you do DON’T DIE

salutes

“I know that the characters are fictional but the emotional damage they cause is real” –sticker i found on pinterest

~Megan 🖊️💣😇🎶