Tag: book reviews

Book Review: Fearful (The Powerless Trilogy #3.5) by Lauren Roberts

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 224 pages
Author: Lauren Roberts
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: September 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Set during the time of Fearless, a mysterious figure arrives in the kingdom of Ilya to witness the fight for the throne and the price it costs those sworn to defend the land in this beautiful and heart-wrenching story in the #1 New York Times bestselling Powerless trilogy.

Love too grand, it kills.

Mara never intended to set foot in Ilya again. But when the king makes a life-altering decision, her interest is piqued, and Death is determined to understand Kitt Azer’s mind if he is destined to join her in the Mors.

Spending time with the king while observing the castle’s inhabitants reminds Mara that there is more to life than just death. There is love. But even the purest of intentions spur revenge and the pursuit of power. And fate will have its way with all of them—to live, to rule, to love, and most certainly, to die…

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted copy and Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I was going to give this three stars and move on with my life. I don’t think it added to the trilogy, it’s just sad, and honestly boring.

And then the ending??? Well that just made me rage like I haven’t at a book in a long time. I hate open ended moments that could lead to spin offs of series THAT DON’T NEED IT. Oh my gosh just let the MC’s be happy and move on.

Having this from the POV of death made little sense to me. Once again, not adding anything to the story and opening up more questions rather than giving me any answers.

This came off as a money grab with another unnecessary novella and has soured my feelings to the original trilogy (of which I love).

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Novella
  • Language: low
  • Romance: flirting (?)
  • Violence: mild

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Book Review: The Floating World (The Floating World #1) by Axie Oh

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Author: Axie Oh
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: April 29th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.

Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.

Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light—a power she has kept hidden since childhood—and kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded.

Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from—and from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn’t realize she’s the girl that he—and a hundred other swords-for-hire—is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts—and destinies—are far more entwined than either of them could have imagined…

WAS IT JUST ME?

I don’t know if it was just me & my mood or if other’s kind of struggled with this one? I’ve read many Axie Oh books and this one fell a bit flat for me. It mostly felt like it went in one ear and out the other. Nothing was compelling enough to glue me to the story. I think that having dual POV but not two narrators made the audiobook hard too because I had a hard time knowing who’s POV I was in sometimes. I might need to eyeball read for the next book.

The whole concept of a floating city was cool and I did like the world building. It kind of reminded me of Our Violent Delights (of which I loooove) with the medical/demon moments. The romance is more on the subtle side but I did like both of the main characters.

I will read book two because I do want to see where things will go. I’m hopeful for the sequel.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: blood/gore depiction, human medical experimentation

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: January 2025

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We made it through 3438753 days of January. Here’s what I read!

  • [Reread] A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC] Beyond the Crescent Sky (The Balkan Legends #2) by A.L. Sowards
  • [ALC] The Favorites by Layne Fargo
  • Our Deadly Designs (This Dark Descent #2) by Kalyn Josephson
  • [ARC/ALC] Gate to Kagoshima (Ancestor Memories #1) by Poppy Kuroki
  • [ARC] Of Flames and Fallacies (The Arterian Series #1) by Courtney Whims
  • Let You Love Me (Boys of Riverside #5) by Gracie Graham
  • Morbidly Yours (Love in Galway #1) by Ivy Fairbanks
  • Familiar Stranger by Caitlin Moss
  • [ARC/ALC] The Rival by Emma Lord
  • All to Pieces (The Seddledowne #3) by Susan Henshaw
  • [ARC/ALC] The Beasts We Bury (The Broken Citadel #1) by D.L. Taylor
  • A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson
  • A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young
  • Where the Black Line Ends by Meagan Williamson
  • [ARC] A Heart Devoted (The Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir #5) by Nichole Van
  • [Reread] Iron Flame (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros
  • [ARC/ALC] Rebel Witch (The Crimson Moth #2) by Kristen Ciccarelli
  • Seeing Miss Heartstone by Nichole Van
  • Know Your Newlywed by Elena Armas
  • Metal Slinger (Fire & Metal #1) by Rachel Schneider
  • The Heart of the Rebellion by Sian Ann Bessey
  • Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
  • A Tribute of Fire (The Eye of the Goddess #1) by Sariah Wilson
  • When Alec Met Evie (The Appies #6) by Jenny Proctor
  • Onyx Storm (The Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros
  • Class Clown (The Thornback Society #4) by Aspen Hadley
  • The Legend of Meneka (The Divine Dancers Duology #1) by Kritika H. Rao
  • Better Than Revenge by Kasie West
  • [ARC] Guarding the Mountain Man’s Secret (Brothers of Sapphire Ranch #7) by Misty M. Beller
  • [Short Story] The Situationship by Abby Jimenez
  • [ARC] Book Boyfriend by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
  • Unromance by Erin Connor
  • A Forbidden Fate (A Forbidden Fate #1) by Kaven Hirning
  • [Novella] Spirit of the Wood (Green Rider #7.5) by Kristen Britain
  • Smoke and Mirrors (Silver and Bone #2) by Claudia Cain
  • [Reread] The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
  • The Check Down (Lacey Bros #1) by Brandy Pelletier

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ARC Book Review: When Alec Met Evie (The Appies #5) by Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 331 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Jenny Proctor Creative
Release Date: January 23rd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Evie told herself not to fall for her pro-hockey crush. But when she sees him holding her baby girl, all bets are off.

When Evie moves South to the same mountain town where her childhood crush plays pro-hockey, she arms herself with all the reasons why she can’t fall for him again.

Number Alec is her best friend’s much older brother.
Number She’s recently divorced and does not need another man in her life. At least not anytime soon.
Number With a four-month-old daughter, she has zero time for dating.

Trouble is, Evie doesn’t know another soul in North Carolina, so when her rental floods before she’s even moved in, her only option is to crash with Alec for a few weeks. When she protests, he insists it’s what he’d do for his sister, and that’s basically what she is to him.

But all these years later, the unexpected chemistry between them definitely says otherwise.

A new relationship is risky when Evie is still licking her wounds from her divorce, and she has no idea if Alec has any desire to be a dad. His sister already warned he isn’t the type to settle down.

But she can’t make herself care about any of that. Not until she’s already fallen, and it might be too late to save herself from another heartbreak.

When Alec Met Evie is a closed-door, best friend’s brother hockey romcom with heart and humor, sizzle but no spice. Perfect for fans of sports romance who want a little less heat.

Books in the Appies Hockey Romance series are connected and chronological but still stand alone and can be read in any order.

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH YOU DON’T EVEN UNDERSTAND.

The end of an era. AN ERA. Oh how I adored this sweet and tender romance y’all. It’s not high angst or tension, it’s this incredible slow build of two people who knew each other when they were younger reconnecting in a different area of life and falling head over heels in love. It is romantic and subtle and tender. It’s ALL THE THINGS.

I loved Alec’s journey with hockey too. As a former athlete, I felt like this hit a lot of those emotional points and the questions and concerns and what do I do now’s. It was impactful to see his trajectory and let me tell y’all, there’s one scene in this book that will have you crying. I am still a wreck just thinking about it.

And I adored Evie. She’s bright and optimistic without being unrealistic. I loved the raw looks into motherhood (especially during that first year of life) and learning who was actually standing in her corner. Side note: I also loved her ex-MIL??? Like for real??? That was an amazing, it was only a small moment that stood out so much for me. The baby content will melt your heart and this entire book will bring you joy.

I love the Appies.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: absent father, mentions of divorce

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