Tag Archives: Review

Review: The Righteous by Renee Ahdieh

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Poppy is on the case. Everyone should have a friend like her. When Celine goes missing, she will literally go through a looking glass to find her. Arjun just wants to save a friend. Picking up after the end of The Damned. The Court of Lions are reeling from the fight with the werewolves. Odette is barely hanging on to life and Celine and Bastien are in the among the Fae to escape the the French detective who came to take her back to Paris. Poppy knows something strange is going on. She witnesses Michael wolfing out but what she really cares about is Celine and finding her before she gets married. Following Arjun, she crosses over to another world and to save her, Arjun pretends they are engaged. I do love a fake engagement trope. I got the vibes these two had chemistry and were stoked to read their adventures. I was not disappointed. I enjoyed their witty banter back and forth. Poppy may seem like your typically British aristocrat but she has real grit. Just like everyone, she has a secret and will do anything to save her family. Which makes sense since she will do almost anything to save her friend. It shouldn’t surprise you that they fall in love. Things don’t turn out the way they hoped and now peace between the fae courts is broken. Celine is about to enter in her villain era and I’m here for it. I can’t wait to pick up the final book in the series because it’s going to be a wild ride.

Review: The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy

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The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy was so good; I tore through it. In a world where only women can be witches, Lorel, who has always been seen as a boy and who wants to be a witch, agrees to take her friend Lane’s place when the witches come to collect Lane. What unfolds is a story of magic, identity exploration, friendship, magic, grief, joy, and growth. The witches must find the source of a plague, the colddead, that is spreading across the land or else they will take the blame for it and probably be destroyed. To do this, they must trace the source of the magic of the Sapling Cage, a golden cage with a magical sapling in it that allows anyone, not just witches, to do magic.

Lorel is a delightful character and excellent narrator. Her friends, the other whelps who have also recently joined the witches, were interesting and varied and the whole thing made for a good story. I pledged to the kickstarter campaign for this book, which is why I have an actual physical copy. I don’t buy a lot of books anymore. The only thing I find disappointing about it is that it is the first in the series and now I have to wait for the next one to come out.

The Review: The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent

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Vampires. ✅ Enemies to lovers ✅ Journey through dangerous lands ✅ Yep, this checked off a lot of my boxes. This book takes place maybe a year after the last Crowns of Nyaxia book. It follows Mische, who left the Night Court because she wants to find herself but also she knows she killed the Prince of the Shadowborn and she doesn’t want the consequences coming for her friends. Of course, we find her that she has been caught by the Shadowborn and is about to be executed until the bastard son, Asar, of the King shows up and says I need her to complete my task from the Goddess Nyaxia. In Mische’s human life she was a priestess to the Sun God. Her God abandoned her when she was turned into a vampire but now shows up and gives her the task of sabotaging Asar’s mission. So of course, they go on a long journey between the world of living and the dead to collect what they need for their task and of course they fall in love as they go. In typical fashion, Asar’s reputation is he is ruthless, which you know right away that he isn’t going to be that. I like the banter between the two of them. They have good chemistry. The ending did leave a pretty nice cliffhanger. Not to spoil anything but things did not go as planned. Thank goodness, the next book in the series is already out so I will be reading it soon.

Quick Review: The Damned by Renee Ahdieh

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I will admit. I am a sucker for a moody vampire. Bastien is the moodiest. Sure I can understand why he is. Afterall, he didn’t choose to be turned. He lost his life, his humanity and the girl he loved. As for Celine. She is recovering from the injuries from the end of the last book. She is struggling with her memory loss. To help her out is Michael, who she is dating, kind of and her friend Poppy. The narrative plays out in multiple POV’s beyond Celine and Bastien. The world has grown. It’s not just vampires but werewolves and the Fey. The story still revolves around Celine and Bastien but it also is no longer just their story. It’s a story of found family and secrets. It’s about overcoming trauma. Really more about dealing with trauma because there are definitely a few that never did deal with it and that is why we are where we are now. I am so glad that Kate recommend this series because I am very much enjoying it. I can’t wait for the next book to become available at my library so I can read what happens next. It sounds like it’s going to be a Poppy centered book and I’m stoked about that. She is the one character that didn’t get a POV chapter and the one I am most interested in.

Review: The Blood Phoenix by Amber Chen

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I am not sure how I feel about this book and this series. It’s not that I didn’t like it because I did. I wouldn’t have read the sequel if I had not but there is something about it that…I’m not sure how to explain. I thought maybe of Jade and Dragons it was the narrator of the audiobook that took me out of some moments but I still had trouble connecting with this one as well. So I guess it is the writing. I don’t know. The Book Phoenix takes place about two years after the end of Of Jade and Dragons. Ying is now living in a new village and engaged to a son of Chieftain and Ye-Yang is still the Head Commander. I am still unsettled about how things ended between the two at the end of the last book. With Ye-Yang promising he would come back for her because he doesn’t dream of things, he always gets what he wants. Can we say red flag? In the last book, there were mentions of pirates roaming the sees and the threat to the Nine Isles but now those threats are much more dangerous. They are attacking shipments and have decimated the Antarian fleet. The country has taken a lot of refugees from the Empire, putting more restrain on their resources. Something has to be done. Ying may have walked a way from the Engineer’s Guild but she still continues to create. She has developed the “Octopus” a submarine of sorts. She built it as a means to leave the country but it can be helpful against the pirates. Things change when the pirates, specifically the most feared ship the Blood Phoenix attacks her new home and kills her fiancée. Ye-Yang comes to her for help. He has been keeping tabs on her and knows that she has created something that could turn the tide. In the meantime, he is still engaged to Ying’s younger sister, Nian. The wedding keeps getting delayed but that can only last so long. She and Ye-Yang have yet to connect and she desperately wants to. She has also developed a friendship with Ye-Kan, Ye-Yang’s other brother. The story goes back and forth between the two sisters POV as we get both sides of the conflict. We also get to see how smart both of them are. Ying, has mind to create, while Nian has a mind for strategy. In a lot of ways, they are both are where they are supposed to be. As the story unfolds and we learn more about the complicated history of the clans and the politics on the Nine Isles, it is clear that not everything is black and white. I did appreciate the little bit of a cliffhanger of an ending. I don’t know if there is going to be a third book but if there isn’t. I like of leaving it open ended and up for interpretation. What’s the verdict. Not a bad a series. I liked the story but maybe the not so much the execution.

Review: The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

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I do love a vampire book that takes place in New Orleans. I know Ann Rice is the gold standard but I would add this to the list of should read. Celine arrives in New Orleans after leaving Paris with a big secret. She is immediately drawn into the world the Cours De Lions and Bastien Sainte Germain. There is a bit of enemies to lovers as their first interaction is definitely antagonistic. However the attraction is there from the very beginning. Not that long after she arrives, a series of murders start to occur. First one near the port, a second at the Cours de Lions while Celine is there and a third in the Convent, Celine is staying in. All pointing to the intended victim is Celine herself but is she? The POV chapters of Celine and Bastien are interrupted by the murderer themselves as we get an insight as to why they are doing what they are doing but more a picture of the history. I must admit, I was a off on who the murder was. In retrospect, I should have been a little bit more suspicious at how often a certain off book character was mentioned but it was still a nice surprise. I do love Celine and Bastien’s relationship and the back and forth between them. I also like the friendship between Celine and Poppy and Odette. I do hope that we get more interactions in the next book. I am also pretty excited about the potential love triangle brewing between, Celine, Bastien and Michael. Michael, is the detective looking into the murders and of course has a history with Bastien. The ending definitely sets up a change in dynamics between all three of them. I look forward to reading how that will all turn out.

Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

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I am so mad at this book. I thought this series was a trilogy, and now I have to wait for who knows how long for the next book after that ending. AAHHH! All of that aside. This series keeps getting better. It starts right after Bloodmarked ended. Bree, after being betrayed by the Legendborn Order, is ready to burn it all to the ground. She teams up with the Shadow King to train to fulfill her potential. She leaves behind Nick, Will, and Sel, and disappears, and they spend most of the story trying to find her. What I found most interesting is the book’s format. It starts with a prologue that is like 3 or 4 chapters long that goes into what Bree is willing to do to get the most of her power. Then it goes back to the beginning with the POV of William, Mariah, and Sel’s mother. It gives us a chance to learn more about the aftermath of what Bree did, and with her missing, how powerful she is, but also what a threat she is. Then it goes into a mixed POV of Bree, William, Mariah, and Sel as they all start to put the pieces together. Then, a section of Bree, Nick, and Mariah reunited at a Demon ball. That was a fun section, and finally, the finale of everyone reunited and a clear picture of who the Order is and what they are willing to do to keep their power. A big part of the story is an effort to take away obstacles from Bree’s training. The King casts a spell on Bree that makes her forget all of her friends and family. It’s sad, but I did set up one of my favorite troops of fake a relationship, but with a twist, because it’s Bree and Nick who are/were in a relationship, but Bree doesn’t remember. I enjoyed that part. I don’t want to give any more away, but I genuinely love this series and I look forward to the next book.

Review: Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

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I liked this book, but there was something missing to make me love it. It had all the elements that I like. The morally ambiguous heroine, a school or trial setting, and dual identities. Ying is a clever girl from a small clan in the Nine Isles. She is a bit of a rebel as she is more interested in building things than traditional roles. Her world is turned upside down when she witnesses her father being murdered. This leads her to the path of the Engineer’s Guild in the capital. She knew her father was once a member before moving back home, but she knows very little else about him. On her way to the Capital, she meets, Ye-Yang, a prince in the high command. She has to disguise herself as one of her brothers because women are not allowed to join the Engineers’ Guild, even though they are capable of doing it. She is sure that the answers as to who murdered her father are there and is determined to do what is necessary to find justice. As always the case, there are a lot of twists and turns, and she finds it hard to know who to trust. She, of course, starts to fall in love with Ye-Yang despite the obvious red flags. Always a complication to everything. In the end, Ying will discover how far she is willing to go to avenge her father and the cost along the way. There is nothing wrong with the book itself. Maybe a little too many times, reminding us of the stakes and at times a bit over description, but that is par for the course with novels like this. I got the audiobook from my library because it was available right away, and maybe that had something to do it with it. The narrator’s voice was very breathy and at times didn’t match the scenes she was reading. I don’t know. It was a good book. I still plan on reading the sequel. Maybe I’ll check out the physical book if I can and see if that makes a difference.

Review: The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

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What I love the most about Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is the atmosphere she creates. Even though they all take place in real settings, there is always something magical about them. The Listeners takes place in 1940s West Virginia. The US joined World War 2 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. June Hudson is the General Manager at the Avalon. A luxury hotel that caters to the most elite people in the world. The sweetwater is said to be healing, but there is more than that. Things turn upside down when the US Government takes over the Avalon. The delegates from the Axis nations have to keep and watch somewhere; what better prison for them than a luxury hotel? Tucker Minnock is an FBI agent assigned to their detail and has a secret. Like all of Maggie’s books, she fills them with rich, interesting characters. The German diplomat’s wife is more than just a wife. She has a few depths that prove that people are not just one thing. She cares deeply for her daughter and knows if she goes back to Germany, her life would be in danger but she is also supports the Nazi party. June and Tucker’s relationship develops organically a they both try to do their jobs. June, trying to keep her hotel running while dealing with unusual guests, the staff keep getting drafted, and goods are being rationed. Tucker is listening to the diplomats and reporting back anything that he can report to the Bureau. They all soon realize that after all of this, nothing will be the same. Not just for the hotel but for them as well. Beautifully written and based on actual events in US history. I highly recommend it.

Review: I Remember You, A Ghost Story by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir (Read by Lucy Paterson)

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Cover of I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir

You know when you get sucked into a creepy story and you don’t want to put it down and then you realize it’s nearly 3 a.m. and you do, in fact, have to work in the morning and you’re annoyed you have to put it down? Just me? Anyway, this is a creepy tale that starts off seeming like two very unrelated stories, except that they are sort of happening in the same place, the West fjords in Iceland. (Except they aren’t because they are taking place in the winter in the West fjords so at least part of the story is happening in an isolated location that is hard to reach.) So, while creepy ghost stuff is happening, you are also trying to work out, “How are these two lines of narrative at all related?” But, as the story unfolds, you come to realize how they are related and it is heartbreaking and infuriating.

So, one of the narratives follows Freyr, a psychiatrist who has moved to the West fjords following the disappearance and presumed death of his son and his subsequent divorce from his wife. As the only psychiatrist in the area, he sometimes consults with the police on crime. Freyr is called in when a preschool is vandalized. Speaking with one of his patients later in the day, he comes to find out that there had been a similar incident of vandalism decades before. He and his cop friend start digging into the earlier incident when a woman who turns up dead of an apparent suicide also seems related to the case and to Freyr’s missing son.

Meanwhile, in an abandoned village across the fjord, three friends arrive to begin renovations on a house they bought, hoping to turn it into a summer guesthouse. They… don’t seem like people who should be doing renovation work, but who am I to judge? As they work, and explore the abandoned village, it becomes clear that they are not alone. But who or what is there with them is the question.

The two stories are well integrated; I was interested in both plot lines. I had guesses about what would happen next and I was proved right a couple times, which is a feeling I enjoy. The setting was atmospheric. I could very easily picture the grey Icelandic setting and put myself in the situations the characters were in. The resolution was mostly satisfying. I’m happy with how it ended, although there was at least one character who I would have liked to see a bit more of a comeuppance and at least one character whose ending bummed me out. I enjoyed this and I’m already on the lookout for more books translated into English by this author. So, if you’re into a creepy tale of mystery, betrayal, ghosts, and the search for justice, this is a book you should try!