The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms #2) by Cinda Williams Chima

December 4, 2018 GoodeyReads5 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5
Audience: Young adult fantasy, no language, some implied romance, kiss/make-outs, some violence
Expected Length: 586 pages
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Expected Release Date: September 24th, 2010
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden’s Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn’t mean that danger isn’t far behind. Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery—but the bargain they make is one Han may regret.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets. Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden’s Ford. If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will offer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen.

Everything changes when Han and Raisa’s paths cross, in this epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the irresistible power of attraction.

I AM ENJOYING THIS SERIES SO MUCH!

What started out as a bit slow as our characters made their way to Oden’s Ford gradually became an intense, couldn’t put down ending.

I DON’T KNOW WHERE WE GO FROM HERE Y’ALL.

Well, actually, I have a tiny bit of an idea. But so not sure on how this collision will work out. I have faith all goes well!

I promise you this: I will not be a captive Queen.

All hail future Queen Raisa. She is strong, stubborn, and unwilling to compromise her values. I love that she won’t give up on what she truly wants until there is no other option. I appreciate that she’s small and is actually not [that] great at sword-wielding. It makes her character more human and lets us see how her mind often comes up with a better solution.

Han, I love him even more this time around. He’s my little reformed thief wizard extraordinaire. I think our sweet soul is in for a rude awakening soon. His tenacity is about to bring his world really crashing down. I can’t wait to see what this does for his arc overall.

I felt there was too much time spent in classes. It was lookin’ a little HP-esque and I was a bit bored listening to the ramble of professors. It did help the plot, but it’s also book two (of four) so there was unnecessary fillers.

A lot is happening with so many characters and I’m totally enamored. I love having a lot of story lines as long as they keep weaving back into the main plot. And this book is giving everything and more of that.

All the magic is enchanting and Oden’s Ford grew on me as time went on. There’s a lot of traversing through the countryside as well. I love how well the world is built and the map in this book definitely helps!

Overall audiences notes:

Young adult fantasy
No language
Some vaguely implied romance; kisses/make-outs, a little descriptive
Some violence
Trigger Warnings: attempted assault

November 2018 Monthly Wrap-up!

December 1, 2018 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

The best month of the year!

My birthday is November, so clearly (and everyone should agree) that it’s the best month. Fall is my favorite time of year and in Texas we finally got a good dose of cooler weather. I’m a firm believer in letting Thanksgiving have its day before Christmas starts so now that December is here, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Here’s what I read this month:

Ash and Quill (The Great Library #3) by Rachel Caine

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte

Archenemies (Renegades #2) by Marissa Meyer

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Radiance (Wraith Kings #1) by Grace Draven

Smoke and Iron (The Great Library #4) by Rachel Caine

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

A Sorrow Fierce and Falling (Kingdom on Fire #3) by Jessica Cluess

The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

The Lost Queen (The Lost Queen Trilogy #1) by Signe Pike

The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Favorite book: The Final Empire (Mistobrn #1)

Least favorite: Archenemies

How many books did you get to? Did you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: Romanov by Nadine Brandes

November 30, 2018 GoodeyReads1 Comment

Rating: ☆☆☆.5
Audience: Young adult historical fiction/fantasy, no language, a lot of violence, a kiss or two
Expected Length: 352 pages
Author: Nadine Brandes
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Expected Release Date: May 17th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the author of Fawkes comes a magical take on the story of Anastasia Romanov.

The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them . . . and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of survival are to either release the spell, and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s never dabbled in magic before, but it doesn’t frighten her as much as her growing attraction for Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her . . .

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

*Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in the review are completely my own. Thank you for the opportunity to read Romanov! Publication date, length, etc. subject to change.

HISTORICALLY MAGICAL.

Second note: some of this may seem like a spoiler, but Brandes does a wonderful job of intertwining history WITH the magical pieces. Anything I bring up historically, really did happen and shouldn’t be a surprise at all.

I think [know] I let myself get too hyped about this and was a little disappointed overall. It was still a good standalone that had the historic story as the basis with magic woven in so well that I was intrigued from the start! Some kinks left me wanting more.

I read this digitally, so let’s see…it took til 54% through the book to FINALLY GET OUT OF THE HOUSE. I know we’re in exile, but I was dying to see something else in my mind. There wasn’t a lot of world building. I felt that I was expected to know what Russia and these other places looked like already so I missed out on the detailing of it all.

What I found really interesting was how Brandes gave the Romanov’s such humanity. History dictates that this 300+ year old royal line was all kinds of crazy cruel (and that’s putting it lightly). Now, I only know so much, this last group with Nicholas II as tsar could have been a more decent family than I’m aware of. It made me stop and think that all in all, this was a family. And this family was brutally murdered without trial.

This gave the whole family a lot more depth as “characters”. They prayed together, were sincere to their captors, and were only wanting to be released somewhere together. Anastasia was fiercely loyal and protective of her brood. There was a huge emphasis on forgiveness from her character. This ideal repeatedly comes up as she struggles (rightly so) accepting her new fate.

My biggest loss was the magic system. I have no idea how it works. Very little was ever explained. There’s spell masters, spell ink, some can use it, some can’t, how is it made, can anyone be a spell master, how does this spell work, SOMEONE HELP ME. I am so confused. Since this was the fantasy portion of the book I was looking for a more detailed story-line of why magic was the target of the Red Army in the first place.

I am frazzled with one piece of the ending and booed at my book when it happened, but besides that this was the best ending for this book. And I mean that in a good way! Since it follows history, there’s an assumption of what could’ve happened. I thought it was sweet and hopeful that fates cards were dealt differently for the Romanov’s than what history served them.

One of my favorite parts of books are the Notes from the author (yes, I totally read those). When fully explained, they can really enhance the book! There was a wonderful explanation of what was true, what wasn’t, and why she made certain creative decisions. It honestly made me like the book even more. I was totally surprised about some pieces actually being true! It helped me better understand the plot and the addition of some characters.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult historical fiction/fantasy
No language
A little love story that leads to a kiss or two
Violence: y’all there is a lot so everyone is aware, it is the Russian Revolution and historically on point; plenty of blood and fairly detailed
Trigger warnings: contemplation of suicide, gun violence

Review: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

November 28, 2018November 28, 2018 GoodeyReads3 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: No language, epic fantasy, a tiny bit of romance, some violence
Length: 541 pages
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: July 17th, 2006
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with color once more?

In Brandon Sanderson’s intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage — Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

OFFICIALLY A SANDERSON FAN.

I’ve been really weary of reading anything Sanderson, NOT because I ever heard anything bad, but I was weirdly concerned that it was so loved that I would not enjoy it myself. I stand here today saying [so far]: I am wrong!

This was a great introduction to the Cosmere (Sanderson’s world; there’s a handful of series you can start from, but this is most often cited as the best option). The world building is intense and fulfilling. He’s known for his lengthy books, and I can see why. There is such an effort to how he portrays the universe and I loved it all.

First off, the sass level of Kelsier had me in giggles. While he definitely has some fatal flaws, he was a great character POV. Caring, sensitive, and loyal he took care of his thieving crew the best that he could.

Vin took some warming up for me. By the end I was totally all for her. It takes a while for her to open and come out of her shell, but the moment she clapped back at Kel I had my hands in the air. YES GIRL.

Can I just say, I died when Elend and Vin met? I’m sorry, total goals to find a man reading books and then throw some witty banter in there and I swooned. I definitely laughed out loud listening to them. I could not even handle their cute, soft, amusing interactions. If they aren’t endgame, you won’t be seeing another Sanderson book in by TBR.

Also, y’all, these magic laws are intricate. What’s great is the author really spends time explaining them (not in a boring, skim the paragraphs way either). I can sit here and still remember what most of the metals are AND what they do. This is truly an epic fantasy with a lot of pieces to hold the Final Empire together.

Note: I listened to this on Audible (Michael Kramer is the narrator) and it was really easy to listen too! Occasionally I had issues figuring out what names were said, but once I got that it was fine. He does voices for each character and it is a smooth sound. Definitely recommend.

Overall audience notes: