Book Review: The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 516 pages
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: October 7th, 2014
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nico had warned them. Going through the House of Hades would stir the demigods’ worst memories. Their ghosts would become restless. Nico may actually become a ghost if he has to shadow-travel with Reyna and Coach Hedge one more time. But that might be better than the alternative: allowing someone else to die, as Hades foretold.

Jason’s ghost is his mother, who abandoned him when he was little. He may not know how he is going to prove himself as a leader, but he does know that he will not break promises like she did. He will complete his line of the prophecy: To storm or fire the world must fall.

Reyna fears the ghosts of her ancestors, who radiate anger. But she can’t allow them to distract her from getting the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood before war breaks out between the Romans and Greeks. Will she have enough strength to succeed, especially with a deadly hunter on her trail?

Leo fears that his plan won’t work, that his friends might interfere. But there is no other way. All of them know that one of the Seven has to die in order to defeat Gaea, the Earth Mother.

Piper must learn to give herself over to fear. Only then will she be able to do her part at the end: utter a single word.

Heroes, gods, and monsters all have a role to play in the climactic fulfillment of the prophecy in The Blood of Olympus, the electrifying finale of the best-selling Heroes of Olympus series.

FINISHED.

Another good series is through! What a ride this one has been and wow do I adore this audiobooks.

I can’t get enough of all of the characters. There were a lot to keep up with in the finale and it was a great accomplishment to not feel like anyone truly overshadowed another. Some characters were meant to have more of the spotlight and others not as much and that all worked out as it made sense to the plot.

Plenty of action and enjoyable commentary. I liked the soft moments (PERCABETH) and deep conversations that these teens are having. I love that these books cover many topics but at an approachable and appropriate level for younger audiences.

To me something is missing that makes me want to give it all the stars. These books are wonderful and I’ll recommend them easily, there’s just something that I want more of in the end.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: many physical altercations, large scale battles and war themes, loss of life and many near death moments

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Book Review: A Crown of the Gods (Shadows and Crowns #4) by S.M. Gaither

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 500 pages
Author: S.M. Gaither
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 28th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The highest throne in the Kethran Empire lies vacant, its once-ruler now a god-ascending, bringing more chaos and darkness to an already chaotic world. The line between the divine and mortal realms is blurring. The battlefield is set. A final, devastating war is on the horizon.

Casia Greythorne has finally come home to claim the throne that is rightfully hers—one that she hopes she can use to unite her empire and help it survive a war with the very gods themselves. But to take hold of her crown, she’ll have to wrestle it free of a past that she’s avoided for too long. One that is even more complicated than she realized.

The answers she needs to win her war—and save her world and the people she loves—all lie within that past…

But discovering them might destroy any hope she has of a future.

WHEN CAN I GET THE NEXT ONE.

I adore this series. Another great installment with another cliffhanger that had me going WHAT and now I wait for the finale coming in a few months.

This is such a great example of romantasy. I loooove Elander and Casia. They are constantly working together, and even if some poorer decisions were made in this read I really appreciated the way they can have a true conversation together. I just love them. I almost thought the spice was going to land in the, is this really necessary?, category, but luckily I thought most of it worked with the storyline.

I love the complicated villain aspects too. It shows other sides I wasn’t expecting and keep me very much intrigued in to how things will work out in the end. The plot keeps moving and the assortment of gods that show up is a great plot aspect. I like that I can remember who’s who easily enough and that all of the conundrum involving multiple characters lives make sense.

The finale is sure to be a wild one and I am ANXIOUS.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: three open door (low/med explicit)
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: anxiety depiction, loss of life

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: August 2022

I finally had a great reading month again! Only one 2 star read and I am hoping to ride this high through the fall.

Favorites this month:

  • The River of Silver
  • Well Traveled
  • A Tale of Stars and Shadow (full series)
  • Miss Newbury’s List
  • A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting
  • The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
  • Kiss and Tell
  • Eloise and the Grump Next Door
  • Violet Made of Thorns
  • Royally Rearranged (reread)
  • Red Rising (reread)
  • Begin Again
  • Complete
  • Hidden Waters
  • The Paris Secret

Least favorite:

  • The Even Odder Couple
  • Echoes of TIme
  • In the Weeds
  • Love on the Brain
  • Back to You
  • The Reigning and the Rule (Surviving Trace #2) by Calia Read
  • [ARC] Defend the Dawn (Defy the Night #2) by Brigid Kemmerer
  • All Tricked Out (Wayfair Witches #13) by A.A. Albright
  • The River of Silver (The Daevabad Trilogy #4) by S.A. Chakraborty
  • The Even Odder Couple (Apple Valley Love Stories #4) by Julie Christianson
  • [ARC] Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin
  • [ARC] Well Traveled (Well Met #4) by Jen DeLuca
  • Scales of Ash & Smoke (Ash & Smoke #1) by Emily L. Schneider
  • A Tale of Stars and Shadow (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #1) by Lisa Cassidy
  • [ARC] Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker
  • Echoes of Time (Surviving Time #3) by Calia Read
  • Luna and the Lie by Mariana Zapata
  • Faking it (Wayfair Witches #14) by A.A. Albright
  • A Prince of Song and Shade (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #2) by Lisa Cassidy
  • Brought to Light by Allie Lewis
  • A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin
  • [ARC] The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
  • [Reread] Red Rising (Red Rising #1) by Pierce Brown
  • Testing Times (Wayfair Witches #15) by A.A. Albright
  • [ARC] The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
  • Upgrade by Blake Crouch
  • Kiss and Tell (Creekville Kisses #3) by Melanie Jacobson
  • [ARC] Eloise and the Grump Next Door (Oakley Island Romcoms #1) by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor
  • Violet Made of Thorns (Violet Made of Thorns #1) by Gina Chen
  • [ARC] In the Weeds (Lovelight #2) by B.K. Borison
  • [Reread] Royally Rearranged (Sweet Royal Romcom #1) by Emma St. Clair
  • [ARC] Begin Again by Emma Lord
  • [ARC] Ledge (The Glacian Trilogy #1) by Stacey McEwan
  • A King of Masks and Magic (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #3) by Lisa Cassidy
  • A Duet of Sword and Song (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #4) by Lisa Cassidy
  • A Duel with the Vampire Lord (Married to Magic #3) by Elise Kova
  • The Hookup Plan (The Boyfriend Project #3) by Farrah Rochon
  • [ARC] To Capture His Heart (Matchmakers #2) by Nancy Campbell Allen
  • Complete (The Sweet RomComs #3) by Kortney Keisel
  • [ARC] The Liar’s Crown (Dominion #1) by Abigail Owen
  • Unhappening Ever After (Wayfair Witches #16) by A.A. Albright
  • Promised by Leah Garriot
  • Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
  • A Confirmed Rake (The Donovans #2) by Martha Keyes
  • Back to You (San Diego Marines #1) by Jess Mastorakos
  • Hidden Waters (Tattered & Torn #3) by Catherine Cowles
  • The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester

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ARC Book Review: The Liar’s Crown (Dominion #1) by Abigail Owen

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Abigail Owen
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: August 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One born to rule. One to forfeit…

Everything about my life is a lie. As a hidden twin princess, born second, I have only one purpose—to sacrifice my life for my sister if death comes for her. I’ve been living under the guise of a poor, obscure girl of no standing, slipping into the palace and into the role of the true princess when danger is present.

Now the queen is dead and the ageless King Eidolon has sent my sister a gift—an eerily familiar gift—and a proposal to wed. I don’t trust him, so I do what I was born to do and secretly take her place on the eve of the coronation. Which is why, when a figure made of shadow kidnaps the new queen, he gets me by mistake.

As I try to escape, all the lies start to unravel. And not just my lies. The Shadowraith who took me has secrets of his own. He struggles to contain the shadows he wields—other faces, identities that threaten my very life.

Winter is at the walls. Darkness is looming. And the only way to save my sister and our dominion is to kill Eidolon…and the Shadowraith who has stolen my heart.

Thank you to RB Media and Netgalley for the Audio ARC.

WOW THIS WAS GOOD.

Book hype for this one is real. I super enjoyed this.

Audio notes: I don’t have any! I LOVED the audio. Great narrators. Easy to listen. I flew through it. Highly recommend that avenue if you’re into audiobooks!

Another read where I felt remined why fantasy genre is the best genre. I loved the world building and shadow concept. The twists behind that was so cool and I felt added another unique layer to this story overall. Filled with a morally gray love interest that you can’t get enough of, I was hooked. I liked the steady pacing and that there’s a slow build to everything else happening.

Meren was a strong FMC and I liked her tenacity and loyalty to her sister. I love a great sister bond and I know that’s what is happening here and I hope we get to see more of it in the next book. Reven is the complex soul I love and I’m happy that I feel like I know him as well as Meren. Sometimes the love interest gets tossed aside and seems one dimensional and I liked the complexity his characterization received.

The ending was WILD. Still a bit in shock and everything expertly led to this conclusion. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: one open door + some innuendo
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: battle scenes, loss of life, kidnapping

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