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Book Review: Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology #1) by Sue Lynn Tan

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Sue Lynn Tan
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: January 11th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

ALL THE STARS.

I can’t believe this book wasn’t on my radar until I read it for a book club.

HOLY COW IT WAS AMAAAAAAAZING. WHAT A DEBUT.

I LOVED the character growth that Xingyin exhibited. From the beginning until the end she grew in strength, resilience, listening to her soul to make the next right move. I couldn’t get enough. Xingyin is fantastic and the kind of fantasy heroine I want to always read about.

The ROMANCE. I ENJOYED A LOVE TRIANGLE?! Who am I? This is a testament to the author’s writing abilities because this was accomplished beautifully. The push and pull of young love, new love, and all kinds of love in between. Many quotable moments. Many swoony moments. And moments of pure shock and betrayal. Here for it always.

Everything flowed flawlessly. I didn’t want to stop reading because each chapter kept the right pace for the overall story. I loved the action (and subsequent recovery) scenes. And it even ends just right. No dramatic cliffhanger. Xingyin gets her answers and there’s the small sliver left open for more stories in this realm.

GIVE ME THE SEQUEL.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: some blood/gore
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, torture, possession and mind control

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Book Review: A Proper Scoundrel (Proper Scandals #3) by Esther Hatch

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 256 pages
Author: Esther Hatch
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Release Date: May 10th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

As the successful owner of multiple railroad lines, Diana Barton is all too accustomed to fending off suitors seeking to stake their claim on her wealth. In order to keep the wolves at bay, Diana has contrived the perfect plan: appeal to the most notorious rake in London, the Baron Lord Bryant, to ruin her reputation and scare off the worst of the time wasters. The ruse will be no hardship—she’s secretly been fascinated by the man for years.

Lord Bryant is well aware of his questionable reputation. Indeed, he has cultivated the image carefully, and the last thing he wants is a wife. But when he’s approached by the younger sister of a business associate, he tells her in no uncertain terms that he cannot help. However, when he sees for himself what she is up against, Bryant grudgingly offers his assistance. Faced with his most complicated entanglement yet, Bryant is firm in his conditions—and Diana knows that to get romantically involved with Bryant would spell certain heartbreak. But as the counterfeit couple grow ever closer, the line between truth and lies becomes blurred, threatening both Lord Bryant’s well-laid plans and the future of Diana’s railroad business.

LOVED THIS STORY.

I’m so glad that I finally got to read Lord Bryant’s story!!! It was well deserved and beautifully written.

I adored Diana. I love the way she’s portrayed even a society/time period that didn’t look kindly upon a businesswoman. It’s fantastic seeing this in regency romances and I couldn’t get enough of her resilience and savvy skills to do what was needed.

And of course I looooved Lord Bryant. My sweet, tortured cinnamon roll soul. He met his match in Diana and their flirtatious banter was on point. The tender moments with hands touching, eyes locked had me swooning. I could use 100 more of those scenes and it would never get old.

Some of the antics were a bit different than I imagined for the story (like the Lady Emily sub-plot). That is my only minor complaint. This book had me loving every moment Lord Bryant swaggered into Diana’s rail business and Mrs. Oliver conveniently slipped away.

Everything was unconventional for a regency and their relationship and that is my favorite aspect of Hatch’s stories. They feel fresh and so incredibly romantic. I look forward to reading her next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: brief physical altercation
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a spouse

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Book Review: Wicked Hearts (Stone Hearts #3) by Amber Kelly

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 242 pages
Author: Amber Kelly
Publisher: Amber Kelly, LLC
Release Date: May 14th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

My big brother and I landed in the care of my aunt and her husband after my parents died in a tragic accident when I was three-years-old. I grew up smothered by love from a family that knows what the bitter sting of loss feels like.

Living under that umbrella afforded me the ability to grow up with the security needed to try my every whim… and I have, now it’s time to figure out who I want to be.

My family would love for me to settle down with someone grounded and successful like the sexy new vet in town.

I like him, but I am restless.

I don’t want to be grounded. I want to ride the wind.

Walker Reid has worked on my family’s ranch for years. He’s like a son to Uncle Jeff and my brother’s closet friend. He is a sexy devil, drinks too much and likes to live wild and free.

I’m drawn to him. Maybe he’ll finally be the one to help me let go and find where I belong. Or maybe my brother will kill us both.

DEFINITELY WICKED.

This installment broke me a bit, then sewed me right back together. Full of hope, understanding, and finding a reason to give it your all, Walker & Elle brought the house home in Wicked Hearts.

I thought this story was really sweet. Walker needed someone like Elle in his life to remind him of the love that can grow between two souls. Walker had such a big wall in place and watching the tiny moments that Elle pulled it down were tender. I loved that Elle gave it her all. And really resonated with her inability to find her niche. Both fantastic main characters who I didn’t know I would love as much as I did by the end.

Elle and Walker worked so well together. An opposite attract kind of romance, these two couldn’t stay away. It was intense and full of heart. I love a good Aunt Doreen moment and this one has the BEST one. I love all of these side characters as much as the two that are currently in the spotlight. Another great read for this small town romance series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: kisses to open door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warning: side character gets an abortion (not on page), loss of both parents

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Book Review: Kingdom of Souls (Kingdom of Souls #1) by Rena Barron

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Rating: ☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 496 pages
Author: Rena Barron
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: September 3rd, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

THERE’S MAGIC IN HER BLOOD.

Explosive fantasy set in a world of magic and legend, where one girl must sacrifice her life, year by year, to gain the power necessary to fight the mother she has never been good enough for.

Perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas, Tomi Adeyemi and Black Panther

THERE’S MAGIC IN HER BLOOD.

Arrah is a young woman from a long line of the most powerful witch doctors in the land. But she fails at magic, fails to call upon the ancestors and can’t even cast the simplest curse.

Shame and disappointment dog her.

When strange premonitions befall her family and children in the kingdom begin to disappear, Arrah undergoes the dangerous and scorned process of selling years of her life for magic. This borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal and a danger beyond what she could have imagined. Now Arrah must find a way to master magic, or at least buy it, in order to save herself and everything she holds dear.

An explosive fantasy set in a world of magic and legend with a twist you will never see coming.

COULD NOT GET INTO IT.

I listened to this on audio and physically read it and both couldn’t sway me to enjoy this. The best I can say is that there’s potential and I know others will enjoy, but for a YA fantasy, I expected a lot more.

The first 100 pages or so was spent with Arrah complaining relentlessly about the fact she doesn’t have magic. We get it, it sucks, lets move the plot along. About the time things start to go in her favor she’s then CURSED. So nearly the entire book her curse prevents her from doing anything. Which kept the plot completely stagnant as she watched everyone else in the story try to actually do something. Without Arrah’s full participation I got lost in the world and magic system.

I wasn’t prepared for how dark it was. I didn’t like some of the scenes and I think that just sent me further away from this book being redeemable. There were also some repetitive phrasing and comparisons. It’s something I rarely notice unless it’s written MULTIPLE times. Time to change it up.

This book seems overall liked. Didn’t work for me, but it could work for you!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: physical altercations, magic attacks
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mass murdering of children, torture, child abuse, rape, sexual assault

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