ARC Book Review: A Queen of Ice (A Trial of Sorcerers #5) by Elise Kova

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 420 pages
Author: Elise Kova
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Release Date: November 21st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The epic conclusion of Eira’s journey of love, loss, and power.

A pirate does not ask…they take.

Five kingdoms at the brink of war, an Empire ready to capitalize on the chaos, a pirate queen terrorizing the seas… And one young woman with a score to settle.

Eira is done playing by the rules. Done limiting her magic and her heart. Done doing what she’s told by people in power. She’s going to show the world exactly why they were right when they called her “dangerous.”

A Queen of Ice is the fifth and final book in A Trial of Sorcerers, a young adult, epic fantasy series intended for readers who love stories sorcerer competitions, slow-burn romance, adventures to distant lands, good triumphing over evil, and elemental magic.

Don’t miss a single book in the A Trial of Sorcerers series. Readers should first read A Trial of Sorcerers, A Hunt of Shadows, A Tournament of Crowns, and An Heir of Frost before finishing the series with A Queen of Ice.

AHHHHHHH.

That’s how I felt about this book. It took me on a journey. The series took me on a JOURNEY. I love this world so much and I am so happy to have another completed series from Elise Kova. She is one of my favorite fantasy romance authors for a reason.

One of the big things for me was how the romance was handled. I’m pretty sure it’s something I haven’t read before and I loved the way it just made sense. I’m learning I can be convinced of different iterations of tropes and I love that for my reading journey.

The plot is epic and I loved the pacing. There’s not a moment that doesn’t fit, not a moment that doesn’t have you begging to know what happens next. I loved this entire cast and found family. And even the characters I wasn’t expecting to love wormed their way in. The ending is beautiful, the emotions are intense and the voyage is worth it.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: vague open door
  • Violence: moderate – high
  • Content Warnings: torture, loss of life, gun violence,

Book Review: A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Historical Fantasy Romance
Length: 360 pages
Author: June Hur
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: May 14th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.

Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.

1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.

Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.

Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.

When Iseul’s and Daehyun’s fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen:

Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.

UNDER RATED.

At present, I am the only person I know of who has read this book and I think y’all need to get on this too! It is a standalone young adult historical fiction/fantasy with some enemies to lovers/oh wait we both hate the same guy romance that I loved listening to.

Now this book does NOT shy away from the atrocities committed by the king in question. I learned a lot from this book and from the author’s note at the end about this point in time. I love when books broaden my knowledge of time periods I knew little of. I do think some of the historical aspects and characters got lost in the shuffle of trying to create this as a standalone but that was my only issue.

I loved that this was dual POV and that both characters were people you wanted to root for. There were so many scenes that gutted me and so many scenes that pulled at my heart. I loved the intensity and how things came together in the end. It’s a fantastic book.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Historical fiction / fantasy / romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: mentions of rape and abuse, war themes, animal violence, sexual abuse, misogyny, kidnapping of women and girls, incent (mentioned), suicide (mentioned), infanticide (mentioned), panic attacks — the author does have a full trigger warning page at the beginning of the book; because I listened to the audiobook I might have missed something else to note here

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Book Review: The Road of Bones (The Ashen #1) by Demi Winters

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 500 pages
Author: Demi Winters
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: June 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A woman on the run. A crew of Viking mercenaries. A forbidden romance. And the secret which threatens them all.

Silla Nordvig is running for her life.

The queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous quest: travel the treacherous Road of Bones–a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer–and go to Kopa, where a shield-house awaits her.

After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew, while avoiding the Wolf, his distractingly handsome right-hand man. But the queen’s ruthless assassin has other plans and hunts Silla obsessively.

Will Silla make it safely to Kopa? Or will she fall prey to the perils of the Road of Bones?

Featuring an immersive world blending fairy tale with Vikings, The Road of Bones leads you on an adrenaline-fueled chase with fun banter and a slow-building enemies to lovers romance. The first book in the Ashen Series, you are one click away from reading it!

Thank you Delacorte Press for the gifted copy.

THIS IS WHY I LOVE FANTASY ROMANCE.

Oh gosh, I have been looing for the next hit of dopamine that comes from finding an amazing fantasy romance. BLESS. I obsessively listened to this for two days and I regret nothing. This has one of my most favorite plot devices that I would love to tell you more about but I can’t because that would spoil and I will not ruin the fun. JUST TRUST ME.

I loved the multiple points of view and getting every angle of this world through the different characters. I loooove this found family group and the the road trip journey worked beautifully for this story. I found the world building to be easy to follow and I am obsessed with all of the Viking vibes. It’s gruesome and intricate and leaves you begging for more. I must get my hands on book two.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate – high
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games #4) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery
Length: 480 pages
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release Date: August 29th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Four brothers. Two missions. One explosive read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the world of her #1 bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy, and the stakes have never been higher.  
 
Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson’s half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem—efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting bogged down in emotional entanglements.
 
Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. When his mysterious father appears and asks for a favor, Jameson can’t resist the challenge. Now he must infiltrate London’s most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich, the powerful, and the aristocratic, and win an impossible game of greatest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for impossible.
 
Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson—with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather’s fortune—must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win.

A WEE BIT SLOW.

I was not as impressed by this as I had hyped myself for (and maybe that was my undoing???). I really enjoyed the first trilogy and thought we’d finally get some Grayson moments and instead I felt like that poor guy just kept getting beat down more and that we were all back at square one with the characters.

Some aspects of the mystery were intriguing, I loved seeing all of the brothers interact again. I am curious enough to read the next book and I did enjoy listening to this. While there was good, I’m overall a little perplexed (and cautious) at how the next book with further open these plot lines. I did like a few of the twists and betrayals.

And can we please give Grayson a dang break??!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Mystery
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: Closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abandonment, brief mentions of cheating spouse, death of loved one recounted

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