Tag: Book Review

Book Review: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: October 6th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones in In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

A SWEET HOLIDAY READ.

Really enjoyed this one y’all. A quick read. Perfect atmosphere for the holiday’s and I was invested in the romance.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the magical realism aspect of it, but it worked so well here! I love the way it was incorporated and that it didn’t over take the story. It fit the nature of the magical sense that the holiday’s always bring about. Mae even made me laugh a few times because of the reoccurrences until she figured things out.

Mae was a fun character to follow. I liked her determined nature and her willingness to help everyone around her. She was incredibly focused on keeping their family traditions alive, and I love how the book allowed her some growth into acknowledging sometimes things need to change.

Her relationship with Andrew was cute! A childhood friends type romance that caught on fire quick. This is one the lower steam side for CL books (which is what I like so I was all for). I’m not sure I was that into the conflict, but the resolution was incredibly sweet. I think if you’re a general fan of Christina Lauren books you’ll enjoy this one too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some throughout
  • Romance: kisses / heated make-outs; a few medium detailed love scenes

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Book Review: The Royal Treatment (Crown Jewels #1) by Melanie Summers

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 281 pages
Author: Melanie Summers
Publisher: Indigo Group
Release Date: August 15th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Ultra-private, ridiculously handsome Crown Prince Arthur has always gotten by on his charm. But that won’t be enough now that the Royal Family is about to be ousted from power once and for all. When Prince Arthur has to rely on the one woman in the kingdom who hates him most, he must learn that earning the love of a nation means first risking his heart.

Twenty-eight-year-old Tessa Sharpe, a.k.a. The Royal Watchdog, hates everything about Prince Arthur. As far as she’s concerned, he’s an arrogant, lazy leech on the kingdom of Avonia. When he shocks the nation by giving her the keys to the castle, Tessa has no choice but to accept and move in for two months. It’s lust at first sight, but there’s no way she can give in to her feelings—not if she wants to have a career or a shred of pride left when her time at the palace ends…

Can two natural enemies find their forever in each other’s arms, or will they ruin each other to save themselves?

EXCALIBUR.

I picked this up for what was hopefully going to be a distracted, royalty filled romance. Instead I was distracted by one thing that just bleh to me.

I couldn’t handle the Prince referring to his *manhood* as a scepter or Excalibur, over and over again. The first time or two, I shook it off, it fit the theme, okay sure. But the more it went on, the more I was just like…stop. Subtly was definitely lacking for this romance and I didn’t love it.

This did make me laugh at times and it was a quick read. The story was line was quirky and well put together for a royal romance read. My struggles with it didn’t detract from enjoying it. When the subtly was there, I did really like Tessa and Arthur. I thought the moments they were getting to know each other and flirting were cute.

I don’t plan on continuing the series since it wasn’t a total fit for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong throughout
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs; a handful of open and closed door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mention of losing a loved one from suicide

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ARC Book Review: Daughter of Sparta (Daughter of Sparta #1) by Claire M. Andrews

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy / Mythology
Length: 400 pages
Author: Claire M. Andrews
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson Books
Release Date: June 8th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sparta forged her into a deadly weapon. Now the Gods need her to save the world!

Seventeen-year-old Daphne has spent her entire life honing her body and mind into that of a warrior, hoping to be accepted by the unyielding people of ancient Sparta. But an unexpected encounter with the goddess Artemis—who holds Daphne’s brother’s fate in her hands—upends the life she’s worked so hard to build. Nine mysterious items have been stolen from Mount Olympus and if Daphne cannot find them, the gods’ waning powers will fade away, the mortal world will descend into chaos, and her brother’s life will be forfeit.

Guided by Artemis’s twin-the handsome and entirely-too-self-assured god Apollo-Daphne’s journey will take her from the labyrinth of the Minotaur to the riddle-spinning Sphinx of Thebes, team her up with mythological legends such as Theseus and Hippolyta of the Amazons, and pit her against the gods themselves.

A reinterpretation of the classic Greek myth of Daphne and Apollo, Daughter of Sparta by debut author Claire Andrews turns the traditionally male-dominated mythology we know into a heart-pounding and empowering female-led adventure.

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

MANY THOUGHTS.

Well, one of my highly anticipated reads has let me down a bit.

Side note: I read a handful of reviews and it looks like if you Google what’s Daphne’s mythology, it can spoil part of the book. I went and Googled myself (after reading) and would say, YES IT DOES SPOIL. So please don’t search anything until after reading if you’re curious what her history is! I didn’t know before this book there was a story involving Daphne.

I loved the inital set-up and story. I liked that Daphne was trying to find a place for herself. To feel like she has a home. Add in some brothers and I was loving this little family plotline. First goddess into the ring was Athena and thus one of my least favorite tropes arrived: the travelling trope.

Most of this book is indeed spent with Daphne going from location A, B, C, etc. trying to first, figure out what is missing from Olympus and secondly, how to retrieve and fix the situation. What bothered me a lot about this was that a handful of times she ran into someone new (or saw the main villian) they would say you can’t know my name yet. And just WHY? Leaving it as a “mystery” wasn’t really a mystery. It was more annoying than anything not to say who’s who.

I didn’t know there would be a romance, mainly because it took a VERY long time for it to arise and I was suprised by it. There wasn’t anything to them. Honestly, could’ve done without and I might have enjoyed it more. The small scenes didn’t add to the whole story. I would have liked to have just seen more of Daphne being a warrior.

What I did love was the interpretation of mythology. I love books about mythology because I like seeing how each author depicts the gods and whatever story they’re using. It was great seeing many many secondary characters and remembering their general storylines as I went. I love these kind of scenarios brought to life.

By the end I was left with more forced questions than answers, trying to dangle me into reading the next book rather than the entire book convincing me I should want to read the sequel, so we’ll see. It did keep my interest for a very long time. It was towards the end where I started to slip and wanted finish the book quickly. The writing and story is there, I think I had the hype in my mind for a bit different of a tale.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy / Mythology
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: battles, skirmishes, friends being turned into creatures, animal attacks, physical altercations, murder

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Book Review: Age of Empyre (The Legends of the First Empire #6) by Michael J. Sullivan

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 395 pages
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher: Riyria Enterprises, LLC
Release Date: May 5th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A door opens. An army of dragons advance. And the fate of the living rests with the dead.

After obtaining the secret to creating dragons, the leader of the Fhrey has turned the tide of war once more—but gaining the advantage has come at a terrible price. While Imaly plots to overthrow the fane for transgressions against his people, a mystic and a keeper are the only hope for the Rhunes. Time is short, and the future of both races hangs in the balance. In this exciting conclusion to the Legends of the First Empire series, the Great War finally comes to a climactic end, and with it dawns a new era in the Age of Empyre.

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Michael J. Sullivan comes the concluding installment of his six-book epic fantasy. This series chronicles a pivotal point in Elan’s history when humans and those they once saw as gods warred until a new world order was born. Set three thousand years before the Riyria tales, Legends is a standalone fantasy series that is independent of the Riyria novels. But for those who do read both series, Legends will unmask lies and reveal the truth about Elan’s history and the men and women who shaped what the world became.

WELL, THAT’S IT.

I have mixed feelings over this series.

First three books (where it was originally supposed to end) stellar, loved them. These last three books? I’ve had a much harder time getting into them. Many things changed gear and direction that I struggled to catch on to.

Not to say that this story isn’t amazingly thought out, and written well. They’re a quicker fantasy that is still stuffed with an incredible amount of story.

I did enjoy these characters and loved the emphasis on forgiveness, letting go of the things you can’t control, love, compassion, and other qualities. They were all a continual theme throughout and I felt there were many highlight worthy quotes.

The ending did feel a bit rushed, or maybe not even that, just not as fulfilling as I hoped. There was some information about where characters ended up, but not for everyone. There were some storylines left open when I was hoping they’d be closed. I’m sitting here with too many questions about where everyone is and what they’re up to.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: very little, light
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: battles, war, dragons, swords/arrows, physical altercations, magic; fairly detailed but not overly gory

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