Review: All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan

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Chaos indeed. I really enjoy Sarah Rees Brennan. She has written so many different kinds of books, and yet they are all well thought out and well crafted. I always get lost in the world. Much like Rae, who is actually lost in the world. Okay, she isn’t lost. She knows where she is, but she failed to get out of the book when she had the chance and now the narrative of the story is out of order. Rae tries to make the most of the situation. If she can get the story back on track. Make the Key the hero, she can get back home, but the thing the story wants what it wants, and the more she tries to change it, the more it fights back. I do love the exploration of Villain vs. Hero. Rae’s character is written to be a villain because she is seen to be promiscuous and manipulative, but the King in the previous book was just the same way, and he was considered a hero to many. Key has done some pretty inexcusable things, but he is also a man that poor and told his whole life he was bad and wouldn’t amount to anything, so is it really shocking that now he is living up to it? It goes deeper than that, but I hope you get the gist. The two books together are just a fun story of people trying to navigate complicated circumstances and trying to make it better. It’s well written, and the world-building is so on point. That even though I have never read the book she is lost in, I feel as though I have. And that ending! I do love a good cliffhanger, but damn girl. The game has really changed and sets up a pretty exciting finale.

Review: Quicksilver by Calle Hart

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Saeris Fane is a thief who is a thief to survive. She steals from the wrong person and gets arrested by the Evil Queen, but wouldn’t you know it, she has special powers that save her. She then discovers there are other worlds when she is taken to a land of fairies and meets Kingfisher, our hero with a dark past. This is pretty much your typical Romantasy. Human girl, supernatural love interest. She has powers or abilities that no one else has. An authoritarian-like government. And fated romance. It’s all there, and I liked it. Saeris is strong, plucky, and resourceful. Kingfisher is brooding, sexy, and empathetic. Just what you want in your heroine and hero in a book like this. While there is nothing new or revolutionary about this book, I argue it doesn’t have to be. It was entertaining. It had good characters. Funny scenes in between intense battles and just enough spice. I didn’t expect how it ended. It leaves so many possibilities for the sequel, which I currently have on hold at my library. All and all, it was just what I expected and what I wanted from a book like this.

Review: This Will be Interesting by E.B. Asher

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The sequel to This Will be Fun is just as cute. This time, we are following Galwell, recently back from the dead, Queen Thessia, tired of being the damsel in distress, and River, an assassin with a moral code. The mystery starts when River is assigned to kill Galwell. The Guild she works for only supports targeting villains, but what evil deed could Galwell have committed? He is, after all, the heroic Galwell the Great. So he has to get out of town, and wouldn’t you know, Queen Thessia and her new husband, Hugh, are going across the sea on their honeymoon. So Galwell sneaks onto the boat, and Raven follows, and soon, everyone is in a new country. They meet the Princes, who both want to change their country for the better, but then one of the princes is killed by someone who looks like Galwell, and now new mystery on top of the other mystery. Galwell has no choice but momentarily stops being heroic by hiding at Mona the Merciless place. Hijinks ensue. Romance is had. The bad guys are unmasked, and the good guys win the day. Just the simple, fun book that everyone needs to read every once in a while. I particularly enjoyed the chemistry between Galwell and Mona. They were truly fun. Galwell, a man from out of time and a misunderstood villain. It just works. Thessia and Hugh are also a great couple. I enjoyed both books, and I wonder if there will be any other books in the series.

Review: Alchemised by SenLinYu

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I wished I liked this more. For one thing, it was way too long. Secondly, over the course of the novel, I started to get really annoyed with Helena. Kaine clocked her when he said that she made so many promises that she gets to pick the ones she wants to keep so she can feel better about herself. She often goes back on her word once she gets what she wants. Her hero complex of wanting to save everyone ended up barely saving anyone at all. I swear, every decision she made only made things worse, not just for her but for everyone. If she had just listened to Kaine in the first place and stayed put, they could have been spared two years of suffering and two-thirds of this book. I didn’t know this when I started reading it, but this started as a Hermione/Draco fan-fiction. As fun as that is, Hermione was ten times more clever than Helena. True Helena eventually figures out how to win the day, so many people suffered because of her and Kaine along the way. If you want to take the time to read, know that there is an upsetting subplot in The Handmaid’s Tale, and because it is about war, there are a fair number of depictions of violence. Honestly, it’s not worth the time.

Review: Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

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In the first book, Butcher and Blackbird, Sloane and Rowan are serial killers who fall in love. Leather and Lark follows Sloane’s best friend, Lark, and Rowan’s older brother, Lachlan, who is a serial killer and contract killer, respectively. Interesting group of people. I have to wonder if everyone they know is a killer. I am starting to think so. Anyhoo, Lachlan and Lark get married in an attempt to save their brother and friend. You see, Lark’s family is into organized crime, and someone is targeting their business, and they think it’s Lachlan. In true Mob fashion, they have no problem targeting his family. So they get married. Lark’s family wouldn’t dare go after her husband. Kind of slim reasoning, but however to get the plot rolling. This book was fine. Lark is a fun character. It’s not as focused on murder as the first book, but there are some fun death scenes. I liked Butcher and Blackbird better. It was just easier to get into. It wasn’t that this book was slow, but I wasn’t as interested in Lachlan and Lark as I was in Rowan and Sloane. I think it’s because I didn’t really find Lachlan all that interesting. He fits the noble hero role, who will do what it takes to protect his family, even if that means committing murder for hire. Lark is similar in that regard. It is her idea that they get married to protect Sloane and Rowan. Not a bad book by any means, but not as exciting as the first.