Category: Book Review

Book Review: The Ever Queen (The Ever Seas #2) by L.J. Andrews

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 450 pages
Author: L.J. Andrews
Publisher: Indie Published
Release Date: January 22nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Songbird:

Captive. Challenger. Queen.

Enemies took her from the man who holds her heart. They might see her as weak, as a pawn in wicked games, but they’re no match for the first Ever Queen.

Let them think they’ve won. Her heart belongs to a beautiful monster, and she will never stop fighting until she’s back in his arms.


The Serpent:

Captor. Villain. King.

His enemies stole the woman who claimed his soul. They betrayed him out of greed and desire for the crown, but they won’t die for that betrayal. No.

They’ll die for touching her.

His heart belongs to a stunning little bird. He will never stop searching for her light across the skies. Not until the blood of his enemies spills at her feet, and his queen wears their bones around her neck.

WHAT A CONCLUSION.

Who knew I’d be obsessed with this dark fantasy? I didn’t and I’m so glad my friends reviews convinced me to pick it up! I loved the way this went. I usually don’t love when a couple is separated for too long in a book, and I think the way the action and intrigue was kept up I was not bothered at all. Everything came together as it should. The slower middle actually worked beautifully because that was the bit of peace the story needed before the action packed, deadly conclusion.

I LOVE Erik and Livia so much. Both on their own and together. There’s incredible growth and I love watching their relationship blossom and thrive. Erik had so many swoony lines that I had to keep highlighting because can you EVEN??? It was the perfect kind of contrast with the darkness of the book. And this whole cast?! I adore them. Side characters can make/break a book and these MADE it.

Fantastic book. I loved it. I am very excited to see that there will be more books in this series (following a different pair!!).

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 4+ open door
  • Violence: very high; high blood/gore
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: torture, sexual assault (brief, on page), war themes

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Book Review: The Duchess Takes a Husband (The Gilded Age Heiresses #4) by Harper St. George

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 335 pages
Author: Harper St. George
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: May 23rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A scandalous arrangement between a London rogue and an American duchess leads to lavish stakes.

Despite her illustrious title, Camille, Duchess of Hereford, remains what she has always been—a pariah. Though her title means she’s technically accepted by London Society, the rebellious widow with her burgeoning interest in the suffrage movement and her American ways isn’t exactly high on every hostess’s guest list. But Camille starts to wonder if being an outcast is not without its perks when the tantalizing answer to her secret fear appears in the shape of Jacob Thorne, the illegitimate son of an earl and co-owner of London’s infamous Montague Club.

Jacob is used to making deals with his club members—he’s just not accustomed to them being beautiful women. Nor have the terms ever been so sweetly seductive as Camille’s shocking proposition. To finally buy his own club and gain the crucial backing of investors, Camille offers Jacob the respectability of a fake engagement with a duchess. In return, the tempting widow has one condition: she wants Jacob to show her if it’s possible for her to experience pleasure in bed.

The lure of such a bargain proves too delicious to resist, drawing the enterprising rogue and the wallflower duchess into a scandalous game and an even more dangerous gamble of the heart.

NICE CONCLUSION.

First of all, who else is obsessed with every cover in this series?? Because SAME.

Any who, I liked this story more than I was expecting from the initial plot set up (I’m just not a fan of benefits situations & the spice was past my personal preference too). What I did love though was the exploration surrounding Camille’s back story and trauma. I loved how Jacob approached everything and the entire time there was a sense of comfort and safety.

There’s not really a larger plot here and I think that’s where I got distracted. Why I LOVE heavy focused romances I missed out on something more moving along in the background. I did love the glimpses of the previous books heros/heroines and where they were in life now. This felt like a good wrap up to the series with some swoony feels and tender moments.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3 open door; high explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: domestic and emotional abuse recounted

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Book Review: Burning Crowns (Twin Crowns #3) by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 457 pages
Author: Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Release Date: May 7th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Twin queens Rose & Wren survived the Battle for Anadawn and brought back magic to their kingdom. But danger lurks in Eana’s shadows.

Wren is troubled. Ever since she performed the blood spell on Prince Ansel, her magic has become unruly. Worse, the spell created a link between Wren and the very man she’s trying to forget: Icy King Alarik of Gevra. A curse is eating away at both of them. To fix it they must journey to the northern mountains—under the watchful guard of Captain Tor Iversen—to consult with the Healer on High.

Rose is haunted. Waking one night to find her undead ancestor Oonagh Starcrest by her bed, she receives a warning: surrender the throne—or face a war that will destroy Eana. With nowhere to turn and desperate to find a weapon to defeat Oonagh, Rose seeks help from Shen-Lo in the Sunkissed Kingdom, but what she finds there may break her heart.

As Oonagh threatens all Rose and Wren hold dear, it will take everything they have to save Eana–including a sacrifice they may not be prepared to make.

BEST OF THE BUNCH.

I haven’t been a WILD FAN about this series, but I have genuinely increasingly enjoyed each book in this series. Holy cow though y’all, this last book brought it as is easily my favorite. A fantastic conclusion that had everything I needed and reminded me why I love young adult fantasy books so much. This writing duo aced it.

I loved Rose and Wren. I have loved seeing their character growth over the story and how much they have risen to their individual callings. There’s strength in their souls and the unfailing loyalty and love they have to each other. These are the kind of sister books that squeeze my heart. I loved this relationship so much.

Other relationships I enjoyed were the romances!!! Gosh I felt like I was in a chokehold the entire time. For romances to be perfectly drawn out over three books is an impressive feat and this truly accomplished that goal. I still felt giddy every time our pairs (each sister has a romance) glanced each other’s way and those lasting moments of love confessions made me WEAK Y’ALL. ABSOLUTELY WEAK.

I felt like everything came together and wrapped up it should. I loved how the villain was taken down, how the romances worked out and where the ending scenes landed. Beautiful series, I can’t wait for more from these two!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: vague fade to black
  • Violence: moderate-high

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Book Review: Saints and Monsters by Ellen McGinty

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 392 pages
Author: Ellen McGinty
Publisher: Quill & Flame
Release Date: March 5th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

With her crooked spine and reckless heart, Princess Meera always knew she wasn’t meant to become queen of Ezo. But when her sister, the rightful heir, is cursed on the eve of her coronation, Meera must defend her kingdom from ruthless invaders by taking the throne. Yet, while some countries have simple coronations, in Ezo . . .

The princess must first claim a sea dragon.

Only the dragon is vicious, perfect, and whole-everything Meera is not. And if the dragon doesn’t deem her worthy, it will devour her. Turning to the Saints for help, she doesn’t anticipate that her actions will transform the dragon into a mortal, or that she’ll steal his heart . . . literally.

Now, as two hearts beat inside Meera’s chest, she’s reminded that her life is entwined with a dragon, who despises her weaknesses. Despite their differences, they must work together to reverse the curse and save the kingdom before more is lost than their stolen hearts.

Thank you to the author for a gifted e-book.

WHAT A SURPRISE.

I had seen this around a touch and didn’t know if it would be a hit or miss for me. But an opportunity presented itself, I took it, and then proceeded to binge this book in two days. There’s your review, clearly you need to pick this up too.

BUT, I will give you more. I loved Meera. I loved her strength and loyalty to her family and kingdom. Her journey was amazing and I loved how things came together. This is a standalone and while usually a struggle for me, I had none of those issues this time. I loved the world building, the magic, the DRAGONS and all of the characters. I felt like I got enough of everything needed to feel like it was a well rounded story and closed off all of the plot lines by the end.

There’s a subtle romance woven in that was sweet to watch unfurl. I adored the connection and how slowly but surely (through my favorite forced proximity) they started to work together and solving problems. I don’t want to give too much away in the romance aspects so trust me!!

This was truly a gem of a read. I had a wonderful time and it was the fantasy book I didn’t know I was craving. I look forward to more books by this author!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate

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