Tag: fantasy books

Cait’s Greats 2023: Fantasy Favorites

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Y’all know this is my favorite genre. I live and breath fantasy books. Below you’ll find my five stars from 2023. I hope you find some good books for your TBR! Find me on Instagram (@goodeyreads) if you have any questions about any of them!

It’s interesting to me that this is smaller than my contemporary category, though I read twice as many fantasies. It’s a coveted spot to make it on this list.

And I know some of these might lean towards dystopian or paranormal/urban, I did my what I could in putting them in the category I thought would work best.

A few things to note:

  • I don’t include rereads on this list! But I did read Divine Rivals and Fourth Wing twice this year.
  • Scroll down to see which books are open, closed or sweet romances!

Open Door:

  • Six Scorched Roses
  • Lady of Darkness
  • The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King
  • Fourth Wing
  • Jade Shards
  • The Endless War
  • Celestial
  • Spark of the Everflame
  • The Shards of Ophelia
  • The Bones of Benevolence
  • Glow of the Everflame
  • A Fate Inked in Blood
  • Heat of the Everflame
  • Two Twisted Crowns
  • The Hurricane Wars
  • Iron Flame
  • Bride

Closed Door / Fade to Black:

  • Dragonfire
  • Wildheart
  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
  • To Poison a King
  • Light Bringer
  • Assistant to the Villain
  • The Goddess Eye
  • The Fragile Threads of Power
  • The Unmaking of June Farrow
  • An Heir of Frost
  • Divine Rivals
  • What the River Knows
  • Bring Me Your Midnight
  • Foxglove
  • Silence & Shadow
  • Blade Breaker
  • Reign
  • The Scarlet Veil

Sweet (kisses/make-outs):

  • Tress of the Emerald Sea
  • The Jasad Heir
  • Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
  • Babel
  • The Sunlit Man
  • The Binding Season
  • Into the Churn
  • A Tournament of Crowns
  • Last Violent Call
  • The Isle of the Gods
  • Foul Heart Huntsman
  • Realm Breaker
  • Face the Night
  • Her Radiant Curse
  • Vengeance of the Pirate Queen
  • Drift
  • Sinner’s Isle
  • Lost Kingdom
  • This Dark Descent
  • Well of Dreams
  • Powerless

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Book Review: The Rebels of Gold (Loom Saga #3) by Elise Kova

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: NA Fantasy
Length: 452 pages
Author: Elise Kova
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Release Date: October 25th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Loom burns. Nova bleeds. The war for the fate of both rages.

A new rebellion has risen from the still-smoldering remnants of the Five Guilds of Loom to stand against Dragon tyranny.

Meanwhile, on Nova, those same Dragons fight amongst themselves, as age-old power struggles shift the political landscape in fateful and unexpected ways.

Unlikely leaders vie for the opportunity to shape a new world order from the creations of one temperamental and lethal engineer.

The fates of the beloved characters of the Loom Saga are revealed in this epic and explosive conclusion to a dark fantasy certain to delight readers looking for sweeping adventure, heart-pounding action, and a world that will live on long after the last page.

I FINISHED IT.

I read the first two books in this series a few years ago and finally swung around to finishing the series. Was it worth it? Eh I suppose to. I liked a lot of this, but it really isn’t my favorite of Kova’s (That would be Air Awakens and I beg of y’all to read it).

Anywho, I DID enjoy this characters. Florence, Ari and Cvareh all play solid roles. I liked the character progression and where they ended up when the war was over. What I struggled with was the relationship between Ari and Cvareh. When books are like HERE’S THE ROMANCE, then take it away for a long time it makes things feel unbalanced.

That’s mostly what I thought of the entire book. Unbalanced. Between the politicking, action and relationship building I was looking for something a bit different.

The magic system is suuuper cool. I do the love dragons, and chimera and steampunk vibes of the world. It’s unique and fresh and what really held the story together for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle themes, magical and physical altercations

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Book Review: The Queen of Days by Greta Kelly

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Author: Greta Kelly
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: October 24th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

For Balthazar and his family of thieves, stealing a statue during the annual celebration of the god Karanis was just a good bit of fun…or a way to stick it to the governor who murdered his parents. And yeah, the small fortune in reward doesn’t hurt—even if his boss also hired the mysterious Queen of Days to join the crew as “the weapon of last resort…”

Whatever that means.

But Bal doesn’t know the ceremony isn’t simply empty words and dusty tradition; it’s true magic. The kind of magic that rips open a portal for the god himself. Only the idol that Karanis planned on using for a body now lies broken at the Queen of Days’ feet. And half of it is missing.

With the aid of a lovable brawler, a society lady turned bomb maker, a disgraced soldier, and a time-eating demon, Bal must hunt down the missing half of the statue if he has any hope of earning his money, keeping his crew alive…and perhaps even saving all of humanity. But as his journey sends him racing through the city—and across realities—he discovers that doing all this might just doom the city.

The city be damned. It’s time to kill a god.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy.

GREAT STANDALONE.

I looooved how fast paced this was. It really added to the intensity of the heist and I had a hard time putting this down because I just wanted to know what would happen next. This is my first book by this author and I am very much intrigued to read more now!

What helped me too was knowing that there isn’t any romance. It’s focused on the found family and finding a way to survive when meddling gods start to cause chaos and threaten where the crew lives. I loved the push and pull and highs and lows this group went through to find a way to end things.

I loved that it was dual POV and we got to see Tass and Balthazar’s views. They both gave great insight into thoughts and maneuvers from opposite angles. I loved the growth in Tass and seeing her find a new place to land.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: one closed door
  • Violence: moderate-high

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Book Review: A Vision in Smoke (Until the Stars Are Dead #2) by Allyson S. Barkley

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 522 pages
Author: Allyson S. Barkley
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Release Date: January 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After weeks of travel and several narrow brushes with death and capture, Ari and Ely are finally nearing the end of their unwanted adventure. But Ari let her secret slip to save them and suddenly the stakes of their journey are so much higher. Thrown into the middle of the war Ari has tried to avoid for so long, they are forced to confront long-forgotten ghosts, painful betrayals, and dangerous truths. Will Ari and Ely’s unsteady bond be enough to brave these oncoming battles, or will the past and its secrets tear everything apart?

A Vision in Smoke draws us back into the world of Until the Stars Are Dead with a host of new characters, exciting twists, and gripping action.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

WELL.

This didn’t go as I hoped. I had mixed thoughts on book and it kind of spiraled in book two.

Once again Ari and Ely are traveling and traveling, and traveling. After getting to a war camp, most of the book is spent there without anything really happening. Some war councils, a few practice sessions, etc. Aaaand that was mostly it until at the end there was at last, some true action.

There was a dash of romance in here but it came from a different angle than I was expecting and I wasn’t wholly invested. And with how some of those last scenes shook out I am very much disappointed.

I think there was a lot of potential and the core ideas are there. I’m missing the connection to it I need to love it, but I’m sure others will.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical altercations, battle themes, loss of loved ones

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