ARC Book Review: Fable (Fable #1) by Adrienne Young

August 26, 2020July 14, 2020 GoodeyReads8 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Author: Adrienne Young
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: September 1st, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.

But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

YES.

That’s how I feel about reading Adrienne Young’s newest book. Just, YES.

Lets start off talking about the setting, ships, islands, deep-sea diving, pirates, OH MY. I loved it. I’m a huge fan of all things water related and getting another book with that setting made me beyond excited. The way the land was separated, how the dynamics of the world worked, character interactions, all of it.

Fable is a fav. Loved her as our heroine. Her resiliency and ability to adapt to whatever situation was in front of her was bar none. Because wow, she was thrown into a rough situation that I’m still trying to grasp the point of (who abandons their child on an island?). She’s a bit rough around the edges from not having any positive interactions with those around her. But, Fable persists, and finding her family was one of the best parts of this book. I love the crew she ends up with and am so excited this book has a sequel.

The only small issue I struggled with (and why I gave it four stars) is that I had a hard time finding the full plot. Things were happening and the story was moving, and yet I didn’t see where it was all going. I guess that’s kind of how it still went about by the end, but the ending was filled with so much I overlooked a lot of it. The amount of action turned out in Fable keeps you on your toes.

I loooove the dash of romance here. It reminds me of how she wrote it in The Sky in the Deep (another fav). It doesn’t take up a lot of pages and it isn’t in your face. The subtle interactions and looks across the way totally add to the vibe between Fable and West. I adored the way it worked out and like how it only enhanced the story. Fable and her quest for her own place to be remained at the forefront.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: none
Romance: kisses, one closed door scene
Violence: guns, physical, fires, murder, drowning, storms
Trigger warnings: child abandonment, loss of a loved one

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ARC Book Review & Blog Tour: Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles

August 24, 2020August 17, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Janella Angeles
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: August 25th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

Thank you to Wednesday books for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

WONDERFUL DEBUT.

You hear this has some The Night Circus aspects and you’re immediately drawn in. I am definitely in agreement. The magician, circus, and romance aspects were soooo good. Soooo good that I can’t wait for book two. There’s a lot here to unfold!

One of my favorite pieces is that I still haven’t decided who’s on what side. The ambiguity of characters and story leave much open to interpretation (in a good way). While plenty is revealed and you’re not left hanging, I love how much isn’t revealed.

Since I’m always a fan of romance in books, I am setting sail of Kallia and Demarco’s ship. I absolutely LOVED how this relationship moved. It’s one of the textbook slow-burns that are my faaaavorite. It was believable and they have true chemistry between them. I really can’t wait to see where they move on next.

Kallia is an amazing heroine. Goodness, I thought she was spectacular. Kallia was brave and bold, confident in her abilities and was striving to better her life. She was also flawed, and got herself wrapped up in tough situations. The conflict made her seem real and truly like someone you can root for her, and root for her I did!

This book reminded me why I love reading young adult fantasy. I would love to see a map to further expound on the world, but I thought the overall development was good. The magic system was interesting and all of the mystery kept me on my toes. The atmosphere and creepy vibes were some of favorite aspects.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: very little light
Romance: kisses / make-outs
Violence: physical, magic, elements

Author Bio:

JANELLA ANGELES is a Filipino-American author who got her start in writing through consuming glorious amounts of fanfiction at a young age — which eventually led to penning a few of her own, and later on, creating original stories from her imagination. A lifelong lover of books, she’s lucky enough to be working in the business of publishing them on top of writing them. She currently resides in Massachusetts, where she’s most likely to be found listening to musicals on repeat and daydreaming too much for her own good. Where Dreams Descend is her first book.

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Book Review: My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

August 21, 2020April 8, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: December 4th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.

So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.

But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship…but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.

AMUSING.

What a quick, cute, simple read. I’ve had this one sitting on my TBR stack for awhile and in interest of clearing out some of those books picked up an audio version from my library to read it (which I highly recommend, I enjoyed the audio book!).

One of the things I loved was that there was a guy’s perspective in this book. We got to see the story from Reid’s point-of-view and I felt that help me understand him and Millie more. Millie’s group of friends were funny, a bit ridiculous, and caring all rolled together. I laughed at their text/IM interactions and the amusing charade of everyone using a dating site together.

I didn’t know how I was going to feel about Half-Night Stand starting off with a half-night. I’m not a fan of too steamy books and these scenes were definitely a bit much for me. While that bothered me a bit, it didn’t take away from the story and especially the clear chemistry between Reid and Millie. I actually really liked this friends to lovers trope and how the catfishing issue worked out too. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I’m not a fan of lying online like that (who is?), but I thought it allowed for some great character development in Millie. She went to him, honestly apologized, and was able to have a constructive conversation about her inability to let other people in. It made me appreciate her character all the more.

The setting was perfect. I love the idea of professor friends hanging out and the older ages of the group (late 20’s, early 30’s). All-in-all this was a great Christina Lauren pick and I’m enjoying slowly going through their backlist, while keeping up with their new releases.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: some strong throughout
Romance: kisses/make-outs; three very detailed/explicit love scenes
Trigger warnings: loss of a parent at a young age, coping with a parent with dementia

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Book Review: The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

August 20, 2020April 6, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Historical Fiction / Magical Realism
Length: 336 pages
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: March 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two siblings. Two brilliant talents. But only one Mozart.

Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish–to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she’ll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age–her tyrannical father has made that much clear.

And as Nannerl’s hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true–but his help may cost her everything.

In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically-told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

A BIT DULL.

I did a buddy-read for this and I think that was more interesting and fun than this book was.

The writing was gorgeous and easy to follow. That was never my issue, I didn’t click with the story as a whole. Magical realism + historical fiction are a hard combination to mix. I usually don’t like them, and this was no different. I found it a unique premise and clearly saw the effort put into this. A lot of research into Mozart’s history was accomplished to make this book what it was. I would have loved a historical fiction based off of Mozart’s life without the fantasy aspects.

I mostly felt disconnected from the story. I did feel some depth with Nannerl and truly saddened by her inability to stand and do what she wanted just because she was a woman (with respect to the time period). She didn’t really ever do anything about this though, which I guess as I’m writing this, falls in line with the historical aspects (based off of the author’s note, not my own research).

It was a younger YA than I was thinking and honestly it needed some more flair for me to be into it. With the characters mostly very young the entire book it wasn’t like they could do much anyways (other than practice the claiver). I was underwhelmed and sped read to get through it. I struggled to even write more for this review because I don’t feel like I have anything to say about it.

Overall audience notes: