Author: GoodeyReads

Book Review: A Crown of Swords (The Wheel of Time #7) by Robert Jordan

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 880 pages
Author: Robert Jordan
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: November 15th, 1997
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this volume, Elayne, Aviendha, and Mat come ever closer to the bowl ter’angreal that may reverse the world’s endless heat wave and restore natural weather. Egwene begins to gather all manner of women who can channel–Sea Folk, Windfinders, Wise Ones, and some surprising others. And above all, Rand faces the dread Forsaken Sammael, in the shadows of Shadar Logoth, where the blood-hungry mist, Mashadar, waits for prey.

WHAT A SNOOZE.

It took everything in me to continue this book y’all. Luckily I was warned beforehand that some of these middle books are slowww and I am VERY grateful for audiobooks that crank up to 3x speed.

I hate Mat and most of this book is about him. If you’re someone who does enjoy his character, I bet you’ll like this a lot more than me. I struggle to find one endearing quality about him and while I’m admittedly curious where he ends up in the end, right now I just want to skip to that ending. And what is it with Rand sleeping with any woman who walks into his bedroom? It’s laughable and makes me want to shake everyone too.

Once again, high meh feelings about how Jordan writes women. The amount of times I quirk my head and question what’s being said is non quantifiable because of how often it occurs.

It feels like nothing happened, though I’m sure some of it is important to future books. Glad to be moving on from this one.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: battle themes, loss of loved ones, near death experiences, rape

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties (Aunties #3) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Cozy Mystery
Length: 304 pages
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 26th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her husband Nathan have landed in Jakarta to spend Chinese New Year with her entire extended family. Chinese New Year, already the biggest celebration of the Lunar calendar, gets even more festive when a former beau of Second Aunt’s shows up at the Chan residence bearing extravagant gifts—he’s determined to rekindle his romance with Second Aunt and the gifts are his way of announcing his courtship.

His grand gesture goes awry however, when it’s discovered that not all the gifts were meant for Second Aunt and the Chans—one particular gift was intended for a business rival to cement their alliance and included by accident. Of course the Aunties agree that it’s only right to return the gift—after all, anyone would forgive an honest mistake, right? But what should have been a simple retrieval turns disastrous and suddenly Meddy and the Aunties are helpless pawns in a decades-long war between Jakarta’s most powerful business factions. The fighting turns personal, however, when Nathan and the Aunties are endangered and it’s up to Meddy to come up with a plan to save them all.  Determined to rescue her loved ones, Meddy embarks on an impossible mission—but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is truly impossible…

Thank you to Berkley (Berkley Partner) for the free book and PRHAudio (PRH Partner) for the free audiobook.

CUTE BUT,

This series is fun, it’s light and humorous and tends to put a smile on my face. That was still the case on this third (is it the last??) book, but a lot fell by the wayside too.

The plot line essentially felt the same as previous books which made for some frustrating repetition. And while Meddy and Nathan have some forward moments, the overall character growth for everyone is not there. The same kind of responses and thoughts that once again, feels like a repeat.

And when the entire story is solved in two chapters and then dragged out for 300 pages, it makes a short book too long.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy Mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

Book Review: Trial of the Sun Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #1) by Nisha J. Tuli

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Nisha J. Tuli
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: November 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Bachelor meets the Hunger Games. Ten women. A deadly contest. Only one can win the Sun King’s heart.

Lor has endured twelve long years of torment under the Aurora King’s rule. Her only desire is to get free and pay him back for every moment of misery.

When a surprise release finds her in the hands of the Sun King, Lor is thrust into the spotlight when she competes against nine other Tributes for the role of queen. If she wins his heart, she’ll earn her freedom and finally get her revenge.

But Lor doesn’t belong in the Sun Queen Trials. She doesn’t understand why she was freed, and she isn’t a citizen of the Sun King’s court. The other Tributes resent her presence and will stop at nothing to ensure Lor is wiped off the gameboard, permanently.

Now Lor must win, because if she loses, she dies. Or worse, she’ll be sent back into the hands of the Aurora King.

THAT’S A NO FOR ME.

This book has a pretty solid rating and I am convinced I must have read a different book because many things didn’t work for me in this one.

The whole the first guy isn’t the true love interest trope can be great, I’ve read ACOTAR, I know the drill. This was executed poorly. Filled with insta-love and unnecessary smut scenes that did nothing for the plot other than to call it “spicy”. That was my biggest turn-off.

I also didn’t love the FMC. And I’m easy to please in that regard. There was this hot/cold nature that did not make sense and I felt like I kept looking at a different character depending on the scene. Could have used some consistency.

The big “twist” with the end could be seen from the beginning of the book. It resembles another few books I’ve read, of which, the secret was hidden much better and felt like a true surprise. While cool, at this point I don’t think I’ll pick up book two.

The idea of the trials was fine, There’s small things here and there I didn’t mind. And it still gets three stars because I think others could enjoy this.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 1-2 open; moderate explicit, some innuendo
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mentions of past rape/sexual assault, near death experiences, loss of loved ones

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: A.B. Poranek
Publisher: McElderry Books
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters. After Liska unleashes her own powers with devastating consequences, she is caught by the demon warden of the wood – the Leszy – who offers her a bargain: one year of servitude in exchange for a wish.

Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past.

Those who enter the wood do not always return…

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Audio for the gifted audiobook.

SURPRISED.

I was hopeful this was would be a good read, and it turned out to be a great read. This gave me Bear and the Nightingale + Beauty and the Beast vibes and I loved it all the more for noticing those aspects. I loved all of the folklore and the whole aura of the book. It’s moody and atmospheric and everything I was after when I picked it up.

The slow burn romance worked well for me too. I loved the time they took to get to know each other and the subtle ways that their connection started to build. There’s a good haunting tale woven in with a bit of mystery that had me reading this as much as I could.

I think the ending stretched out just a little bit long but that’s the only thing I really noticed. I was here for the vibes on this one and it did not disappoint. Not to mention, I am absolutely obsessed with this cover. Oh! And it’s a standalone! A really fantastic standalone at that too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Upper YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph