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Book Review: Stardust in Their Veins (Castles in Their Bones #2) by Laura Sebastian

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 576 pages
Author: Laura Sebastian
Publisher: Delacorte
Release Date: February 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Princesses Beatriz and Daphne have lost their older sister, but their mother’s grand scheme of taking the continent of Vesteria is far from complete. With the country of Temarin now under the Empress’s control, only the nations of Cellaria and Friv remain free from her rule. What’s worse, an ominous prophecy has begun to shine through the constellations: the blood of stars and majesty spilled.

Usurped by conniving cousins Nico and Gigi, Beatriz fears for her life, while in icy Friv, Daphne continues her shaky alliance with the rebels even as she struggles to stay a step ahead of them. But when an unlikely ally offers Beatriz a deal, she finds herself back in her mother’s sights.

With enemies around every corner and the stars whispering of betrayal, Daphne and Beatriz can’t trust anyone–least of all each other. If they’ve learned anything, though, it’s that the Empress’s game is constantly changing. And the arrival of surprise visitors from Temarin just might tip the scales in the princesses’ favor… if they manage to avoid meeting their sister’s fate before they can make their next move.

LONG.

I’m mostly enjoying this series, but even at 3x audio speed I was feeling the drag of some of the story. I felt the same about book one which means I’m really hoping for the last book to bring this home.

I do like the multi-POV setup. There’s so much happening in many different parts of this world that multi works best to get an understanding of everything across the kingdoms. There’s plenty of politicking, and a lack of action. As a rebellion group I kept thinking the sisters would end up in more scuffles and that there wouldn’t be as much hanging out.

Beatriz is still my favorite of the bunch and I like how morally gray she became throughout. Daphne definitely makes you want to shake her to knock some understanding into her brain, but I didn’t find it annoying. It fit with the story and how each of the sisters are taking their own journey to seeing the evil around them.

I’ll still read the next book, but I will be going the library/audio route again.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, murder, near death experiences, weapons violence, poisoning, physical altercations

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ARC Book Review: An Inconvenient Letter by Julie Wright

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 256 pages
Author: Julie Wright
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: March 5th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Complications arise when Marietta’s secret love letters are accidentally found by the wrong man.

1828, the London countryside

For years, Marietta Stone has harbored a secret infatuation for the handsome Frederick Finch and has poured out her deepest feelings in a series of passionate love letters that she keeps in a locked drawer. But when Marietta’s private letters are accidentally delivered to Frederick’s house, she must retrieve them immediately before they fall into the wrong hands. If the letters were read by anyone else, the resulting scandal could jeopardize her reputation.

Gerard Hartwell has no time for infatuations, courtship, or even love. He must find a wife with a substantial inheritance if he wishes to save his late father’s bankrupt estate. When he accidentally discovers Marietta’s love letters at his cousin Frederick’s estate, he strikes a bargain with her. If she helps him court her older sister, Anne, he will return the letters and help Marietta win Frederick’s heart.

Marietta agrees, and the two quickly pretend to be courting in order to spend time with their individual love interests. Yet, what appeared to be a straightforward bargain becomes complicated when Gerard realizes that the more time he spends with Marietta, the more he wishes he could court her for real. But can he persuade Marietta to give him a chance when her heart might belong to another man?

Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing for the ARC.

WELL.

I loved the author’s previous book and was excited to pick this one up but this was lacking in a lot of facets for me. This felt like a book rather than a story. I wasn’t wrapped up in any of it and had a low emotional connection to anything happening.

Not to mention the rampant miscommunication, not only between the romantic pairing but also side characters too. It would have been way too easy to have a conversation about what was happening rather than literally running away or letting someone explain themselves before judgement.

And I was missing the romantic connection. Mentions of past childhood aspects were brought up, but that didn’t add to the present storyline. It felt like a false experience was being created that I never got around to being invested in.

It’s a short, quick read. And there are some good scenes and moments throughout. I didn’t hate any of the characters (besides the bickering mothers because that was ridiculous). Everyone kind of did their thing and this won’t be one I remember all that well.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical/Regency Romance
  • Lanugage: none
  • Romance: kiss
  • Violence: low

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ARC Book Review: After the Crescent Strike (The Balkan Legends #0.5) by A.L. Sowards

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Novella
Length: 182 pages
Author: A.L. Sowards
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: March 5th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Balkans, 1371

After conquering the Serbian army in battle, bands of Ottoman warriors terrorize the land, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. As one of the few survivors of a deadly attack on her village, Magdalena is determined to protect her newly orphaned niece. When a group of battle-weary Serb warriors offers to lead Magdalena and her charge to safety, a flame of hope flickers to life for the desperate woman, burning brighter when she spots a familiar face among the Miladin, the man she once loved—and lost.

Following a devastating defeat on the battlefield, Miladin resolves to return home to Rivak and pledge his loyalty to the new župan, Konstantin, the young son of the slain leader who led Miladin to war. As Miladin travels back from the Maritsa River Valley to offer aid and allegiance to the inexperienced youth, he expects the way will be fraught with danger, but he never dreams that the journey will reunite him with his first love.

Even as Magdalena and Miladin rekindle a romance once doomed by youth and circumstance, hidden threats draw ever closer. Before they can truly be safe, they must face a ruthless enemy who will stop at nothing to seize power.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an eARC.

READY FOR THE SERIES.

This has me all sorts of excited for the full series coming. I love this setting and the historical and faith aspects too. Even with a short (116ish pages) story I felt like these characters were incredibly well crafted. I could feel the emotional depth of what they were going through. I loved the faith aspects too. Those hit me on a soul deep level and I connected to the main leads so much.

It’s a nice intro to the where the larger story and different characters are going. I look forward to seeing the expansion of the world and learning even more about this time period. I love Sowards gorgeous writing and how well this book has been researched.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical + Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: battle themes, major loss of life, mentions of miscarriages, near death experiences

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ARC Book Review: Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (Finlay Donovan #4) by Elle Cosimano

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Mystery
Length: 320 pages
Author: Elle Cosimano
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: March 5th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero are in sore need of a girls’ weekend away. They plan a trip to Atlantic City, but odds are―seeing as it’s actually a cover story to negotiate a deal with a dangerous loan shark, save Vero’s childhood crush Javi, and hunt down a stolen car―it won’t be all fun and games. When Finlay’s ex-husband Steven and her mother insist on tagging along too, Finlay and Vero suddenly have a few too many meddlesome passengers along for the ride.

Within hours of arriving in their seedy casino hotel, it becomes clear their rescue mission is going to be a bust. Javi’s kidnapper, Marco, refuses to negotiate, demanding payment in full in exchange for Javi’s life. But that’s not all―he insists on knowing the whereabouts of his missing nephew, Ike, who mysteriously disappeared. Unable to confess what really happened to Ike, Finlay and Vero are forced to come up with a new plan: sleuth out the location of Javi and the Aston Martin, then steal them both back.

But when they sneak into the loan shark’s suite to search for clues, they find more than they bargained for―Marco’s already dead. They don’t have a clue who murdered him, only that they themselves have a very convincing motive. Then four members of the police department unexpectedly show up in town, also looking for Ike―and after Finlay’s night with hot cop Nick at the police academy, he’s a little too eager to keep her close to his side.

If Finlay can juggle a jealous ex-husband, two precocious kids, her mother’s marital issues, a decomposing loan shark, and find Vero’s missing boyfriend, she might get out of Atlantic City in one piece. But will she fold under the pressure and come clean about the things she’s done, or be forced to double down?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

IT WAS GOOD.

That’s how I generally feel every time I finish a Finlay book. Yes, I had a good time, but it’s also still missing something. Maybe better romantic development? I think I’m still getting hung up on the deliberate lying.

But this was fun. I liked the change of location and the way this was laid out. I loved seeing things all come together for the final showdown. There was a lot of good humor and enjoyment and I did like many of the Finlay moments we got. The complicated situations really went haywire here and I will say I was actually surprised by one big turning point.

An amusing installment, but kind of wondering where it’s going to go from here? What’s the end game? Will the things I’m looking for finally happen? I don’t know, this is where I start to struggle with cozy-type mystery series like this.

Overall audience notes:

  • Mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, murder, kidnapping

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