Tag: Book Review

ARC Book Review: Foul Heart Hunstman (Foul Lady Fortune #2) by Chloe Gong

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Historical Fiction + Fantasy
Length: 560 pages
Author: Chloe Gong
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: September 26th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Winter is drawing thick in 1932 Shanghai, as is the ever-nearing threat of a Japanese invasion.

Rosalind Lang has suffered the worst possible fate for a national spy: she’s been exposed. With the media storm camped outside her apartment for the infamous Lady Fortune, she’s barely left her bedroom in weeks, plotting her next course of action after Orion was taken and his memories of Rosalind wiped. Though their marriage might have been a sham, his absence hurts her more than any physical wound. She won’t rest until she gets him back.

But with her identity in the open, the task is near impossible. The only way to leave the city and rescue Orion is under the guise of a national tour. It’s easy to convince her superiors that the countryside needs unity more than ever, and who better than an immortal girl to stir pride and strength into the people?

When the tour goes wrong, however, everything Rosalind once knew is thrown up in the air. Taking refuge outside Shanghai, old ghosts come into the open and adversaries turn to allies. To save Orion, they must find a cure to his mother’s traitorous invention and take this dangerous chemical weapon away from impending foreign invasion—but the clock is ticking, and if Rosalind fails, it’s not only Orion she loses, but her nation itself.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

DID NOT LET ME DOWN.

You know when you’re waiting for your most anticipated 2023 release and that Netgalley approval finally comes through? THIS IS THAT BOOK FOR ME.

And I loved it. I loved it so much. I am constantly pulled in by Chloe Gong’s writing style and the way she tells a story. Captivated by this spy/agent thriller and all of the relationships in between.

LET ME TELL Y’ALL. The romances are subtle, they are not the main plot, but gosh dang it, I was absolutely smitten with ALL OF THEM (and there’s three so YAY). Every nuanced look or little touch, the glances and swoony confessions and kisses. I ate it all up. Surrounding the romances are such loyal and strong sibling and friendship bonds. I love that this has a found family vibe where everyone was looked after, old friends showed up, and past grievances were resolved.

The plot is entertaining and gasp inducing. I loooove that it’s a multi-POV set up and the flow from character to character. The betrayals and losses, the way my husband asked me if I was going to bed soon and I responded with, I’m at 85% and I don’t know who’s going to survive so NO I AM NOT. My emotions have been invoked, my love for this series is intense and I beg of y’all to give it a chance.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Historical Fiction + Fantasy
  • Language: little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, murder, gun violence, weapons and physical violence, bombings, war themes, torture, medical experimentation, amnesia

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Book Review: Dark Night Golden Dawn (The Immortal Orders #1) by Allison Carr Waechter

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Rating: ★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 408 pages
Author: Allison Carr Waechter
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: March 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a city where the elite are powerful as gods, the season is about to begin. The Immortal Orders will gather, pair and create a spectacle for all of Nuva Troi to witness.

Harlow Krane is a sorcière who wants nothing more than to recover from her most recent breakup in peace. When the season begins, her Order needs her help to save their ancestral occult district from being taken over by the Illuminated, the most powerful immortals in Nuva Troi. They offer to back off—if Harlow agrees to pair with their most eligible bachelor, Finn McKay. But Harlow has been burned by Finn before.

Finn McKay is one of the Illuminated. Rich, powerful, and he isn’t afraid of anyone—except for his parents. When they push him towards Harlow Krane, he knows their purposes are sinister at best. For the past seven years, Finn has done everything in his power to stay away from Harlow and he won’t break his resolve now, even if it means defying his parents. As the season begins, it’s clear something is dangerously wrong but besides Finn, only Harlow seems to notice.

With magic behaving strangely, the balance of power between the Immortal Orders and humans grows deadlier by the day. Harlow and Finn must work together to keep ancient grudges from resurfacing and take back their lives in the process. If they can get over their past, the whole world may have a brighter future.

Dark Night, Golden Dawn is Book One in The Immortal Orders Trilogy, a blazing hot fantasy romance, set in a contemporary world of magic, deception, and betrayal. 

WOW THIS DID NOT WORK FOR ME.

I feel like I read a completely different book than everyone else. Nope nooooooooope no.

A nagging issue I had with this, is that it felt like a contemporary romance shoved into a fantasy world? And not as a compliment. Because than the fantasy elements fell flat and I think a lot more world building could have been focused on. It was this weird zone.

It is definitely a romance which awesome. Things moved way too quickly. Was this supposed to be enemies to lovers? Furthest thing from that. Second chance? Yes that trope was efficient. When the couple is already completely back together before the halfway point I have no connection to them. It just turned into a let’s bang everywhere scenario that y’all know I never love.

There’s some sweet family and sister dynamics. Good friendships and connections. I never really liked the FMC either though which played a big part in me skimming way too much of this book.

I won’t be continuing the series.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open door scenes; med-high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: emotional abusive boyfriend (recounted multiple times), depression, gaslighting, suicide attempt, animal cruelty, fatphobia, homophobia

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Book Review: Thief of Sorrows by Kristen M. Long

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 445 pages
Author: Kristen M. Long
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 17th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What if Robin Hood was a female assassin, with deadly powers, who not only steals from the rich and corrupt…she kills them too. Isolde Cotheran is anything but a damsel in need of saving. By day, she is the heir to Thornwood manor and all its lands. By night, she masquerades as the Hood, a brutal outlaw who leads a cadre of thieves and assassins whose mission is simple, fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. When Isolde brutally kills a lord, it forces two men back into her life. Liam, the handsome Captain of the Guard, who was shunned from Thornwood for joining the evil king’s army. And Gage, the Right Hand of the king and murderer of Isolde’s first love.  After a successful heist leaves Gage humiliated and in danger of the king’s wrath for failure to capture the Hood, Isolde’s world is thrown into chaos. Struggling to protect those she loves not only from the dangers of the kingdom but from her own deadly power, Isolde is forced to take action when one of her own is caught in the crosshairs. Choices are made and blood is spilled, forcing the Hood to face her past. A past that is far more dangerous than even she realizes.

Thank you to the author for a gifted audiobook.

I’LL READ THE SECOND.

Audio notes: I loved the audio! The narrator was great. And I think that really helped my overall enjoyment of the book.

I was very intrigued by the gender bend on Robin Hood and liked how it played out. There’s some great action, lots of politicking and some dark evil. Isolde was a FMC you wanted to root for and I liked seeing her strength and determination to right wrongs.

The romance didn’t really set me swooning. It was a relationship already formed and that left me in the dust for catching up on the chemistry. I am genuinely curious where it’ll go in book two now that events have occurred. There’s room for a solid build.

I felt like the plot meandered and in the middle especially. I kept waiting for different aspects of the story to move, or for even sub-plots to get a little more shine. I still have plans to read book two and see the progression. I do think the writing was wonderful and the potential is here.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2-3 open; low-moderate explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of sexual assault and rape, kidnapping children, assault, murder, near death experiences, weapons violence

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Book Review: From the Fields of Porthlenn (Cornish Romance #5) by Deborah M. Hathaway

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 386 pages
Author: Deborah M. Hathaway
Publisher: Draft Horse Publishing
Release Date: September 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Regency Romance—Cornwall, 1818

Poppy Honeysett wants to be seen as the woman she is—not as the naive young lady she was. She will no longer race across beaches or collect seashells like a child. And she will not, under any circumstances, pine after the lieutenant who broke his promise—and her heart—two years before. But such things are easier said than done, especially when that very lieutenant returns to St. Just with all his charismatic charm in tow.

When an old injury begins to act up, Lieutenant Edmund Harris is placed on reserve from the navy. Instead of returning home to the troubles that await him there, he travels to St. Just to visit with old acquaintances and, of course, to see his darling Poppy. Two years have passed since he saw her last, but Edmund is determined to pick up things where they left off. However, when Poppy seems interested in every man but him, he can’t make sense of it.

Desperate to recreate the past and bring back Poppy’s playful nature, Edmund determines to start their relationship anew, but Poppy resists, refusing to make the same mistakes again. When tragedy strikes, however, and the two of them must come together for the good of St. Just, Poppy must choose to trust again or lose the only man she ever truly loved.

This is the fifth and final book in the clean Regency Cornish Romance series by Deborah M. Hathaway. Although this romance is a stand-alone novel, the books are best enjoyed when read in order.

MY HEART.

I love the way Hathaway crafts romance books. They feel so romantic and the setting is always perfect and I love being whisked away to the shores of Cornwall.

This second chance romance was incredibly tender. I loved watching Edmund and Poppy reconnect and explore what happened in the past and how they could make progress for the future they both sought. There’s a whole spectrum of emotions that I felt wanting these two to kiss and make-up already (and don’t worry, that kiss scene is fire).

I adored all of the surrounding cast (well, most of them, IYKYK) and appreciate that everyone plays apart in the story. It’s a slow build plot that is enchanting and moving. I love that Edmund and Poppy found a way to be together. To communicate and love each other with everything they had.

I can’t wait to read more of Hathaway’s books. She’s one of my top go-to’s for historical romances.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical and emotional child abuse (recounted), loss of a loved one, childbirth, mentions of depression, depictions of grief

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