Book Review: The Twelve Dogs of Christmas (Pine Hollow #1) by Lizzie Shane

November 25, 2022January 2, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 357 pages
Author: Lizzie Shane
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: September 29th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A delightful holiday romance about a small-town single dad and an animal rescue owner as they try to find forever homes for a dozen lovable pups before Christmas.

Pine Hollow has everything Ally Gilmore could wish for in a holiday break: gently falling snow in a charming small town and time with her family. Then she learns some Grinch has pulled the funding for her family’s rescue shelter, and now she has only four weeks to find new homes for a dozen dogs! But when she confronts her Scroogey councilman nemesis, Ally finds he’s far more reasonable — and handsome — than she ever expected.

As the guardian of his dog-obsessed ten-year-old niece, Ben West doesn’t have time to build a cuddly reputation. But he does feel guilty about the shelter closing. So he proposes a truce with Ally, agreeing to help her adopt out the pups. As the two spend more time together, the town’s gossip is spreading faster than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. And soon Ben is hoping he can convince Ally that Pine Hollow is her home for the holidays… and the whole year through.

DID I JUST READ A HALLMARK MOVIE?

The answer to that question would be a resounding YES. That was a positive and a negative for me.

Positive wise it was exactly what I expected and knew going in would bring out all of the Christmas romance vibes. I did like the main characters. There’s even a really cute niece involved. Not to mention, there really were A LOT of dogs and I loved meeting all of them too. I adore a small town set-up and Pine Hollow was what I was looking for.

On the flip side, being Hallmark-esque meant there’d be some come on now issues. One of those being how clueless our love interest was. Ben could not see past his nose about too many things and I wish that hadn’t dragged out so long. JUST KISS HER ALREADY. And the drama was ramped up towards the end when it could have ridden off into the sunset.

The cute pups made me smile and I did enjoy how fast I flew through it. Perfect for the holiday season, and a sweet romance to boot.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: a little
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: orphaned child (parents died off page, recounted), single guardian

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Book Review: Songs of the Wicked (A Dreamer’s Misfortune #1) by C.A. Farran

November 24, 2022July 25, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 703 pages
Author: C.A. Farran
Publisher: Sylvan Ink Press LLC
Release Date: January 22nd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Fear is not my master. I will never submit.

A grave threat looms over the mortal world. The veil that separates the realms has weakened over time, and monsters-Undesirables-claw their way out of the Netherworld to torment the living. What once dwelled in whispered stories now stalks the shadows. The only guard against chaos is balance.

Reapers are duty bound to uphold that balance, tasked with guiding mortal souls to the afterlife. Lark secretly dreams of shedding her immortal chains and forging her own path. She’s captivated by the humans and envies their freedom, their passion, their anguish. Her master, Thanar, god of death, forbids this fascination and demands her utmost loyalty.

When Lark encounters a mortal whose fire and suffering awakens something in her, she denies fate and saves him, refusing to guide him to his death.

To escape Thanar’s wrath, Lark makes a deal with the witch-queen of the Netherworld and is remade as human-trading her power for mortality. She flees through the veil and enters the land of the living, unaware she isn’t the only one freed from the clutches of the Netherworld.

Songs of the Wicked is a New Adult dark reimagining of the Little Mermaid.

STUNNING.

I’m always hesitant to start fantasies over 500 pages (though let’s be honest, that’s also MY JAM). And then most of the time, I find myself completely engrossed in the story not realizing I’ve spent so much time with a new favorite.

This was a fantastic read. Great writing and characterization. I am alllll about the characters and the found family here was WONDERFUL. I loved Lark and her progression throughout everything thrown her way. She was resilient and yet, always remained kind and I can’t get enough of that type of FMC.

Enter in one of the slowest burns ever with Gavriel and I was smitten. If at anytime I here myself say, KISS ALREADY, I know it’s good. And it happened here multiple times. There relationship is so complex and I am very curious how it continues to evolve as the series progresses.

There is a very nuanced Little Mermaid vibe. If you’ve watched the movie enough times it was fun to notice the subtle ways Farran threw in nods and allusions to the tale. While I would have definitely appreciated some actual mermaids, I was pleased with everything else!

The plot is thick with many layers. I thought the world building was written well. Not overly convoluted, but spaced out without info dumping to really allow for the build that this story took. I’m excited to see what book two holds.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy + Romance
Language: some
Romance: open door
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of rape (in initial scenes, side character), kidnapping, loss of loved ones, weapons violence, physical altercations, creature attacks, imprisonment

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Book Review: On These Black Sands (Aisling Sea #1) by Vanessa Rasanen

November 23, 2022December 31, 2021 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: NA Fantasy
Length: 436 pages
Author: Vanessa Rasanen
Publisher: Crab Apple Books
Release Date: August 10th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An awkward stowaway. A troubled pirate captain.
Is she the key to his quest or will she be his ruin?

Aoife wants nothing more than to fulfill her duty and serve on the Council. But a spilled secret reveals a deadly truth she never suspected. Plagued by guilt and wanting no part in the Council’s methods, she panics and runs, stowing away on a pirate ship.

Declan doesn’t have time to deal with an irritating stowaway, and this job is already dangerous enough without having her underfoot. With less than a month to bring the enchanted dagger to the rebels, he needs to find a way past the bloodthirsty creatures guarding it.

In a world of secrets and legends, a lost dagger may be the key to saving a nation. But it will take far more than wit and a cutlass to retrieve it. Can an heir and a pirate work together–or will their secrets drown all hope?

NOT A BAD START.

This was a great debut. Even if I struggled with some of it, I truly enjoyed it overall and look forward to checking out book two.

Aoiefe was alright. I felt like she was extremely naïve about everrrrrything. And some repetitiveness to her storyline and thoughts dragged that on longer than necessary. Luckily, I found a pretty swoony character in Declan. I liked him most of the two points-of-view. He was the kind of dashing pirate, searching for treasure that makes you want to jump on the boat and join him.

The world building was a bit shallow. I was confused about why we were after a certain artifact and still wondering how that artifact works and can change the game, so to speak. There’s also fae involved? I don’t know, I need more answers here. I muuuust have good world building in a fantasy book to be wrapped up in here and that’s what lacked the most.

A predictable ending, with a good set-up for book two. I did like a lot of the side characters and there seems to be plenty of opportunity to expand the world and get some deeper character dives.

Overall audience notes:

NA Fantasy + Romance
Language: some mild
Romance: kisses
Violence: physical altercations, kidnapping,

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ARC Book Review: Saint (The World of the Narrows #0) by Adrienne Young

November 23, 2022November 17, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Author: Adrienne Young
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: November 29th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns to the world of The Narrows with Saint, a captivating prequel to Fable and Namesake.

As a boy, Elias learned the hard way what happens when you don’t heed the old tales.

Nine years after his lack of superstition got his father killed, he’s grown into a young man of piety, with a deep reverence for the hallowed sea and her fickle favor. As stories of the fisherman’s son who has managed to escape the most deadly of storms spreads from port to port, his devotion to the myths and creeds has given him the reputation of the luckiest bastard to sail the Narrows.

Now, he’s mere days away from getting everything his father ever dreamed for him: a ship of his own, a crew, and a license that names him as one of the first Narrows-born traders. But when a young dredger from the Unnamed Sea with more than one secret crosses his path, Elias’ faith will be tested like never before. The greater the pull he feels toward her, the farther he drifts from the things he’s spent the last three years working for.

He is dangerously close to repeating his mistakes and he’s seen first hand how vicious the jealous sea can be. If he’s going to survive her retribution, he will have to decide which he wants more, the love of the girl who could change their shifting world, or the sacred beliefs that earned him the name that he’s known for―Saint.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an ALC.

SOLID PREQUEL.

I know a lot of us are hit/miss on prequel books after the fact the original books are already out. This would be a case of me saying, if you enjoyed Fable / Namesake I think you’ll enjoy Saint too.

I loved getting much of Saint’s background. The heated intensity that is Saint is something else and seeing it with a romantic edge was *chef’s kiss*. It’s a super fast, read in a day, kind of story that gives you a great peek at the fated meeting of Saint and Isolde. It was great getting both points of view because I really wanted some background on Isolde as well. The attraction between them was undeniable and that instantaneous connection worked perfectly here.

The timeline didn’t end where I thought it would (forever wishing Adrienne Young books were a bit longer), but I guess it ended well enough? We all know what happens so I do understand [after the fact] why it closed here, buuut would have loved a bit more in a few different areas.

Audiobook wise: PERFECT. No complaints. Both narrators did an amazing job of reading at the same pace so I was able to keep the speed at the same for the rotating chapters. I felt like it only enhanced my reading experience and would recommend this avenue easy.

Overall audience notes: