Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: May 2023

June 1, 2023 GoodeyReads2 Comments

My reading went out of control this month when I went on a Sanderson graphic novel/novella binge. I am DETERMINED to get caught up on all of his major works.

Pretty great reading month all around. Check it out and let me know if you spy any of your favorites!

Favorite Books this Month!

The Isles of the Gods
A Class of Her Own
If Only You
Crown of Midnight
How to Kiss Your Enemy
The Bridge Kingdom
Jade Shards
Hello Stranger
Heir of Fire
The Traitor Queen
Properly Kissed
The Inadequate Heir
Pier Pressure
From Lukov With Love
Appointment in Bath
Heir of Fire
The Endless War
When Kingdoms Fall
One Last Play
Celestial

Least Favorites…

To Hunt a Demon King
Friendshipped
A Sea of Blood and Sapphire
Winter’s Heart
The Last Word

[ALC] The Isles of the Gods (The Isles of the Gods #1) by Amie Kaufman
A Class of Her Own (The Thornback Society #1) by Aspen Hadley
[Novella] Defending Elysium (Skyward #0.5) by Brandon Sanderson
If Only You (Bergman Brothers #6) by Chloe Liese
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason (Dangerous Damsels #3) by India Holton
To Hunt a Demon King (King and Coven #1) by Madeleine Eliot
[Reread] Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
[ARC] How to Kiss Your Enemy (Hawthorne Brothers #3) by Jenny Proctor
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) by Heather Fawcett
[Reread] The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
[ARC] Jade Shards (The Green Bone Saga #0.75) by Fonda Lee
Feather (Angels of Elysium #1) by Olivia Wildenstein
[ARC/ALC] Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
[Reread] Heir of Fire (Throne Of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas
Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown
[ARC] King’s Bride (The Chronicles of Urn #1) by Beck Michaels
[Reread] The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen
[Novella] The Original by Brandon Sanderson
Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
Cursed Crowns (Twin Crowns #2) by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber
[Short Story] The Hope of Elantris (Elantris #1.5) by Brandon Sanderson
[Novella] Properly Kissed (Bradwell Brothers #0.5) by Kasey Stockton
Friendshipped (Getting Shipped #1) by Savannah Scott
[Short Story] The Eleventh Metal (The Mistborn Saga #0.5) by Brandon Sanderson
[Short Story] Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania (The Cosmere) by Brandon Sanderson
A Sea of Blood and Sapphire by Florence Gray
[ARC] A Lady’s Promise by Ranee S. Clark
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
[Reread] The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom #3) by Danielle L. Jensen
The Blameless (The Blameless #1) by E.S. Christison
[Novella] Mistborn: Secret History (Mistborn #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson
[ARC] The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley
[Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson
[Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 2 by Brandon Sanderson
[Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 3 by Brandon Sanderson
Winter’s Heart (The Wheel of Time #9) by Robert Jordan
Pier Pressure (Deadlights Cove #4) by Aimee Vance and B. Perkins
[Reread] From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
[Novella] Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
[Novella] Sixth of the Dusk by Brandon Sanderson
One Night Only by Catherine Walsh
Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake #1) by Catherine Cowles
[ARC] Appointment in Bath (Somerset Stories #4) by Mimi Matthews
Dust (Heirs of Neverland #1) by Kara Swanson
The Endless War (The Bridge Kingdom #4) by Danielle L. Jensen
[Reread] Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) by Pierce Brown
When Kingdoms Fall by Callie Dahl
The Stolen Throne (Dominions #2) by Abigail Owen
Love on Camera (The Wonder Boys #1) by Dana LeCheminant
One Last Play (Sweet Peach #4) by Annah Conwell
Celestial (Angels of Elysium #2) by Olivia Wildenstein
The Last Word by Katy Birchall

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Book Review: Winterlight (Green Rider #7) by Kristen Britain

May 22, 2023June 15, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 848 pages
Author: Kristen Britain
Publisher: DAW Books
Release Date: September 14th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This seventh novel of the Green Rider series follows the adventures of messenger, magic wielder, and knight Karigan G’ladheon as she fights to save king and country from dark magic and a looming war.

After her capture at the hands of Grandmother and the Second Empire, Karigan G’ladheon is making halting progress towards recovery. Karigan takes on increasingly dangerous missions, haunted by the specter of her torturer, Nyssa, and sinking ever further into the mire of her recollections of the past and the losses she’s sustained.

Meanwhile, the forces of the Second Empire are moving on Sacoridia and their primary target is a vulnerable garrison that guards a crucial mountain pass. Faced with new fatherhood and a country on the verge of war, King Zachary sends a contingent of soldiers and Green Riders to the pass–but his own recovery from the events of the north is not yet complete either.

Reunited with her fellow Riders at the pass, Karigan takes on a leadership role, but quickly finds that the Riders are not as she last left them. As tension mounts and war draws ever closer to the heart of Sacoridia, Karigan must discover what it truly means to be a Rider and a hero of the realm–and what sacrifices must be made to truly heal from her past.

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW.

Fair warning: this series does not have an end date.

AND I AM IN TURMOIL.

There’s not even news on the next book?!

Anyways, actual book review information.

Another enjoyable installment. I liked most of the direction for the characters here and how the plot continually thickened around many aspects. My mind is pulled in so many directions while reading this series and yet, I am easily able to move through each segment and remember what’s happening and who’s doing what. I love the readability of these books and how much the audio is a game changer for them as well.

Karigan kind of at least, caught a few breaks this go around. I love seeing her continual development as a character and I am here to follow her wherever she goes. I don’t know how I feel about the romance sub plot though?! I’m more conflicted than I was after reading Mirrorsight. It’s a very tangled web that fits the nature of the book, but leaves me wanting a bit more.

I have truly enjoyed reading this hidden nook series in the fantasy genre. I highly recommend if you’re looking for something off the beaten path with multi-POV, high action and intense situations.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: very little
Romance: kisses
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: PTSD (for torture), loss of life, war themes and battles, poisoning, near death experiences, emotional infidelity

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Book Review: Twin Crowns (Twin Crowns #1) by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

May 10, 2023June 10, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 480 pages
Author: Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Publisher: Baizer & Bray
Release Date: May 17th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A high-stakes fantasy rom-com about twin princesses separated at birth—one raised as the crown princess, and the other taken as an infant and raised to kidnap her sister, steal the crown, and avenge the parents’ murders.

Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister’s place in the palace. Trained from birth to return to the place of her parents’ murder and usurp the only survivor, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Or she would, if only a certain palace guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic didn’t have a habit of causing trouble…

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility. Marriage into a brutal kingdom awaits, and she will not let a small matter like waking up in the middle of the desert in the company of an extremely impertinent (and handsome) kidnapper get in the way of her royal duty. But life outside the palace walls is wilder and more beautiful than she ever imagined, and the witches she has long feared might turn out to be the family she never knew she was missing.

Two sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other’s lives a whole lot better. But as coronation day looms closer and they each strive to claim their birthright, the sinister Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne, becomes increasingly determined that neither will succeed. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?

AS EXEPCTED.

Admittedly I went into this kind of knowing where I would land and was not swayed to love it more than I did.

This is a younger YA fantasy. Which is usually not a problem, I just didn’t love some of the dialogue and general dynamics and how they were written. The main characters (especially Rose) irked me and took a lot for me to even kind of like the sisters by the end.

The romances are cute. A bit too fast paced and whatnot. I did like them though and think there’s potential for better progress in book two (I think it’s a duology?).

Plot wise, SUPER predictable. And not in that way I generally don’t mind. More so in a way where absolutely nothing was a surprise. Left me with a lot of underwhelming feelings. I do have kind of want to see how book two goes? I’m curious enough to give it a try.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance
Language: none
Romance: make-outs
Violence: mild
Trigger/Content Warnings: weapons violence, physical altercations, kidnapping, loss of parents, murder

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Book Review: One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1) by Rachel Gillig

May 6, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Gothic Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
Author: Rachel Gillig
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: September 27th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.

But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.

Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.

GREAT READ.

This wasn’t on my radar until a few friends gave it glowing reviews and I’m here to add mine to the bunch. I thought everything got progressively better over the course of the book and now I’m definitely wanting the sequel.

I loved the fairytale vibes with a good dash of darkness (always here for some darkness). There was a magical quality to the writing that created a well formed story that I understood with ease. I loved the magic system with the cards!! It worked really well and was intriguing.

The romance grew on me. I thought the fake dating and tension worked well between them and I’m excited to see where that continues. It’s more of a well place sub-plot and the chemistry and dynamic is certainly there.

There’s some quirky demons who think they know best and a magical king missing from the game board. I thought the ending was WILD and can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes: