Tag: Book Review

Book Review: The Goddess Of by Randi Garner

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 516 pages
Author: Randi Garner
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: April 28th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

No gods or curses will keep them from each other.

Naia, the daughter of the High Sea Goddess, is an embarrassment. She holds no title and no power but is the key to a curse placed centuries ago on her mother: Naia must form a union with a god from an opposing family.

When the day arrives for her arranged marriage, she turns to the High God of Death and Curses for help.

He assists Naia under one condition—she must accept a curse, blindly. Willing to do whatever it takes to escape her mother’s kingdom beneath the sea, Naia agrees and flees to the Mortal Land.

When she wakes up in Ronin Kahale’s childhood home, she’s greeted by the warm, welcoming twenty-eight-year-old mortal. Distrustful of Ronin and his selfless hospitality, she’s convinced there’s more to him than what he’s sharing.

However, he’s her one-way ticket into Hollow City, an ominous concrete jungle infested with witches. Somewhere among its streets lies Finnian, Naia’s younger brother and the only one capable of helping her hide from their cruel mother.

Naia desperately tries not to care for another mortal, but as her life intertwines with Ronin’s, she questions the lengths she will go to keep him safe from the gods who hunt her down—and the curse that looms over her.

With gods, though, everything comes with a price.

The Goddess Of is not intended for readers under 18 years of age. Please check content warnings as some material may be sensitive for some readers.

Thank you Book of Matches Media and the author for the gifted copy!

COVER OBSESSION.

The way I am obsessed with this cover y’all. It’s the reason I picked this book up and I found a pretty good story inside too. This was a debut where I enjoyed the writing style and endeared me enough to be curious about the next book in the series (which I believe follows a new couple).

This wasn’t a FANTASY book for me though. It’s much more urban fantasy with a lot of contemporary amenities like cars, cell phones, etc. That threw me a bit, but it worked for the story. I liked seeing Naia navigate everything and make friends and find a home with those around her. I love the way the theme came full circle of Naia finding what she’s the goddess of. It’s such a clever title and the “ah-ha” moment was fantastic. She’s a soft spot in a dark fantasy and I enjoyed that contrast.

The romance was a bit more insta-attraction than I generally enjoy, but I was endeared as the pages went on. This had a fated romance quality to it and I really liked Ronin. I loved finding out his secrets and seeing some of that world building unfold. There’s some flashback chapters that set the stage well and added to Naia’s character.

I did find a few pacing issues where I felt like the timeline kept going from short to long and lacked a little flow. I do love a dark fantasy though and this had a lot of those qualities as well. I liked the story and themes a lot and will definitely be following the author to see what’s next.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: 2ish open door; fade to black
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: verbal/physical/emotional abuse, pregnancy/childbirth, plenty of blood/gore, sexual abuse, loss of life, suicidal ideation, grief, PTSD

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Book Review: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Historical Fantasy
Length: 387 pages
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: April 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

BETTER THAN I HOPED.

I really enjoyed this audiobook and story. I didn’t quite know what to expect and I hadn’t read the synopsis. I just knew I love Leigh Bardugo and went for it.

This had my attention from the beginning. I loved the gothic atmosphere and the intensity of the story. The unique way the historical aspects wove into the fantastical was a great combination. It’s haunting and has awesome horror vibes too.

I liked the main characters and enjoyed the romance between them too. The last quarter had me on the edge of my seat because I truly had no idea where things were going to land for them.

This is multiple POV and I think helped build the story. The differences between those speaking gave way to insight and decisions made from multiple facets of the plot. I do think it slowed down a bit too much in the second half during a particular moment that dragged out, but otherwise, a great book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical fantasy + romance
  • Language: moderate-high
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, suicide, antisemitism, colonization, abuse, sexual assault, torture, forced nudity, blood/gore depiction

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Book Review: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. #2) by Beth Brower

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 162 pages
Author: Beth Brower
Publisher: Rhysdon Press
Release Date: November 1st, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“I was sitting at my desk reading, with a cup of tea, my windows flung open, when I heard The Tenant enter his garret, just on the other side of the wall from myself.”

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

PROGRESSIVELY INTRIGUING.

For 160 pages, this did take me a lot longer to read than I was hoping for. BUT. I will say as things went on I became more and more involved. I think I’m starting to understand Emma’s voice in the story and the journal entries make for a quirky set-up.

I’m especially involved in the touches of potential romance throughout. I love the sprinkle of romance but I NEED MORE. I think Emma is flat out hilarious and I laughed many times throughout.

I’m excited to continue reading these as I love the narrator and how nice of switch up it is from whatever big books I’m generally holding. These are light, humorous and will definitely bring a smile to your face.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction
  • Language: none
  • Romance: flirtations
  • Violence: none
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of loss of parents

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ARC Book Review: All’s Fair in Love and War (Miss Prentice’s Protegees #1) by Virginia Heath

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Virginia Heath
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: May 28th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A new Regency romp of a series, about governess who believes in cultivating joy in her charges, clashes with the children’s uncle who hired her, only to find herself falling in love.

When the flighty older sister of former naval captain, Henry Kincaid, decides on a whim to accompany her explorer husband on an expedition to Egypt, he finds himself unwittingly left in the lurch with her three unruly children and her giant, mad dog. With no clue how to manage the little rascals, a busy career at the Admiralty that requires all of his attention, and no idea when his sister is coming back, Harry has to hire an emergency governess to ensure that everything in his ordered house continues to run shipshape. In desperation, he goes to Miss Prentice’s School for Girls prepared to pay whatever it takes to get a governess quick sharp to bring order to the chaos.

Thanks to her miserable, strict upbringing, fledgling governess Georgina Rowe does not subscribe to the ethos that children should be seen and not heard. She believes childhood should be everything that hers wasn’t, filled with laughter, adventure, and discovery. Thankfully, the three Pendleton children she has been tasked with looking after are already delightfully bohemian and instantly embrace her unconventional educational et

Thank you to UpLit Reads for the gifted copy.

A MISS.

I’ve never read any books by this author so I figured why not give it a go? And unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be picking up another.

The bones of this book were fine. I liked the idea of the story and the characters, it just let me wanting in the execution. The writing style is extremely wordy and it made each scene feel wildly drawn out. I think this book could have been 50 pages shorter and much more charming.

For a romance, it didn’t bring the swoon. There’s a lot of focus on the main storyline vs. the romantic storyline (until the second half at least). Some of the banter is fun, but the spice was kind of odd too. This was a mishmash bag of things. While I liked small aspects, the over arching issues stood out way too much.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: 2-3 open door

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