Book Review: The Princess Will Save You (Kingdoms of Sand and Sky #1) by Sarah Henning

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Sarah Henning
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: July 7th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Princess Will Save You is a YA fantasy adventure inspired by The Princess Bride, in which a princess must rescue her stable boy true love, from the acclaimed author of Sea Witch, Sarah Henning.

When a princess’s commoner true love is kidnapped to coerce her into a political marriage, she doesn’t give in—she goes to rescue him.

When her warrior father, King Sendoa, mysteriously dies, Princess Amarande of Ardenia is given what would hardly be considered a choice: Marry a stranger at sixteen or lose control of her family’s crown.

But Amarande was raised to be a warrior—not a sacrifice.

In an attempt to force her choice, a neighboring kingdom kidnaps her true love, stable boy Luca. With her kingdom on the brink of civil war and no one to trust, she’ll need all her skill to save him, her future, and her kingdom.

TRAVELLING TROPE.

Oh goodness. I don’t *mind* a travelling story. There can be a lot to them that takes away form the fact that the characters are going hundreds of miles somewhere. Take ship stories for instance! They’re on the water plenty and I rarely find it such an issue.

Here? Yes, issue. Even in audio book form I was going wild listening to the repetitive motion of the girl or guy getting captured, then finding a way out, to start all over again.

In instance of The Princes Bride similarities, I did see some. I haven’t watched the movie in a very long time so I won’t speak more to this. But even a casual watcher of it could see where some of the story interlapped.

I liked Ama just fine as a main character. She was interesting. Loved her trying to take down a society that clearly has some flaws by forcing a woman to marry and not letting her rule in her own right. Totally here for that part. I didn’t even mind the love story that much because it was given from the start. It took me some time to get on board with the ship, from having to learn the characters, but I liked the idea.

I kind of think this should have been left as a standalone. With a different, more closed off ending, but I’m not sure how a full second novel will not drag about to continue this story. It’s a predictable plot, with slow pacing that really left me underwhelmed.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult fantasy romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: snake bites, swords, physical altercations, poisoning, murder

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ARC Book Review: Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult thriller/horror
Length: 416 pages
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 16th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Kara Thomas meets Twin Peaks in this supernatural thriller about one girl’s hunt for the truth about her mother’s disappearance in Kate Alice Marshall’s most commercial book yet.

Sophia’s first memory is of drowning. She remembers the darkness of the water and the briny taste as it fills her throat. She remembers the cold shock of going under. She remembers her mother pulling her to safety before disappearing forever. But Sophia has never been in the ocean. And her mother died years ago in a hospital. Or so she has been told her whole life.

A series of clues have led Sophia to the island of Bitter Rock, Alaska, where she talked her way into a summer internship at the Landon Avian Research Center, the same center her mother worked at right before she died. There, she meets the disarmingly clever Liam, whose own mother runs the LARC, as well as Abby, who’s following a mystery of her own: a series of unexplained disappearances. People have been vanishing from Bitter Rock for decades, leaving only their ghostly echoes behind. When it looks like their two mysteries might be one and the same, Sophia vows to dig up the truth, no matter how many lies she has to tell along the way. Even if it leads her to a truth she may not want to face.

Our Last Echoes is an eerie collection of found documents and written confessionals, in the style of Rules for Vanishing, with supernatural twists that keep you questioning what is true and what is an illusion. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own!

CONVOLUTED.

Yes. I enjoyed this. But also yes, some of this went over my head.

This is totally CREEEEEPY. Granted, I’m a wimp when it comes to thriller/horror books, but still. I preferred to read this in the daylight hours and I accept that. The mist and twisted souls wandering around had me second guessing every character in the book (with good reason).

I liked the formatting of this one with flashbacks (and forwards) to “videos” of what was happening at different times on the island. Also, who would even want to stay on this island!?!?

What kind of lost me, was the last quarter or so. I didn’t quite get what all of the echoes were doing, who they were following (and why), and a few other questions. A lot more world-building and deeper explanations would have helped me make sense of everything with Sophia and the echoes.

This is a highly atmospheric read and I think that’s why I thought it was intensely chilling. It kept me flipping pages fast and furious to see who survived and made it out alive. I enjoyed the characters and while I didn’t think the sub-plot of romance was all that necessary, I didn’t mind it. I liked that this group worked together to suss out the entities wreaking havoc on Bitter Rock.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult thriller/horror
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: murder, attacks by supernatural entities

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Book Review: A Trick for a Treat (Wayfair Witches #3) by A.A. Albright

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Length: 238 pages
Author: A.A. Albright
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: October 22nd, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s Wanda’s first Halloween at home for years, but that doesn’t mean she gets to enjoy the holiday. A famous werewolf has disappeared, and his girlfriends are getting knocked off one by one. Murder and mayhem might be all in a day’s work for the Wayfair coven, but this time the stakes are higher than ever. This time, Wanda’s own friends are under suspicion.

Wanda needs to discover the real culprit, and she needs to do it fast – otherwise the people she cares about could spend their lives behind bars. Oh, and while she’s at it, she also needs to pass another few of the Minister’s tests. But who ever said that being a witch was easy?

SMITTEN BY THIS SERIES.

I am now three books in and still wanting to read more. There is clearly something enigmatic and easy to love about these books and my favorite witch, Wanda.

These mysteries have been uniquely different and I honestly don’t easily catch who the culprit is. It only makes me want to read more so I can figure out what paranormal fiend has become the villain now.

Not to mention, the subtle romance that I know will keep building. I am caught up in a small love triangle and…I don’t hate it? I KNOW. I’m just as surprised as you are.

It’s hard to write a long review because these are shorter books. I just like the feeling these books give me. They’re on the lighter-hearted side. The comedy makes me smile and feel like I’m right there with this coven. For someone who isn’t a general paranormal fan, these have captured my reading heart. Can’t wait for the next one and see what Wanda is up to next!

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal cozy mystery
  • Language: none
  • Romance: an almost kiss
  • Violence: murder (nothing bloody/gory)

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Book Review: Roommaid by Sariah Wilson

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 301 pages
Author: Sariah Wilson
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: October 1st, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From bestselling author Sariah Wilson comes a charming romance about living your life one dream at a time.

Madison Huntington is determined to live her dreams. That means getting out from under her family’s wealth and influence by saying no to the family business, her allowance, and her home. But on a teacher’s salary, the real world comes as a rude awakening—especially when she wakes up every morning on a colleague’s couch. To get a place of her own (without cockroaches, mold, or crime scene tape), Madison accepts a position as a roommaid. In exchange for free room and board, all she needs to do is keep her busy roommate’s penthouse clean and his dog company. So what if she’s never washed a dish in her life. She can figure this out, right?

Madison is pretty confident she can fake it well enough that Tyler Roth will never know the difference. The finance whiz is rich and privileged and navigates the same social circles as her parents—but to him she’s just a teacher in need of an apartment. He’s everything Madison has run from, but his kindhearted nature, stomach-fluttering smile, and unexpected insecurities only make her want to get closer. And Tyler is warming to the move.

Rewarding job. Perfect guy. Great future. With everything so right, what could go wrong? Madison is about to find out.

INCREASINGLY BETTER.

I admit, I struggled through the first quarter or so of this one.

Too much detail focused on Madison’s family and her previous lifestyle, etc. I will say, it did come back into play, but I don’t think that much time needed to be spent on it. They were a nuisance from start to finish. I’m reading a romance, I want the two love interests front and center!!

After that initial issue, I got really on board with this one. Tyler is absolutely someone to be smitten with. Precious and easy to love. He and Madison truly did hit it off and I thought their chemistry was fantastic. Those WHY DIDN’T YOU KISS HER scenes are some of the best in this book. I loved their progression and development of feelings. When we got to the main conflict (which we all know happens in a romance formula), I liked the way it was handled. It wasn’t overly blown out of proportion and things got back on track quickly enough that I didn’t feel like anything missed a beat.

I thought the side plots and characters were funny. Watching Madison try to figure out how to use a dishwasher and take care of a dog had me snickering. I think it made her character really lovable and I wanted to cheer her on for choosing her own path, out of the grasp of her Mother.

By the end, I was loving this and even went and picked out another Wilson book to read for my TBR. This low-steam contemporary romance was playful and sincere, and I always love a read that goes by so quickly!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: very little, light
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs
  • Trigger warnings: emotionally and verbally abusive parents; a cheating significant other

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