Book Review: Two Dark Reigns (One Dark Throne #3) by Kendare Blake

May 4, 2020January 30, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Release Date: September 4th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.

Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.

Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.

This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed—or expected.

OKAY.

That’s how I felt the entire time I was reading this book. I was hoping after really enjoying book two that this was going to keep going on an uphill trajectory. Instead I’m left a little confused and a little like, should I even bother with the finale?

One of my main issues was the addition of more characters. I thought it was unnecessary in the way it was done (through dreams/visions) and took up a lot of page time. It did have a point at least and made sense to understand part of the island. But since these characters haven’t really been discussed and the flashback method not really used until now it was bothersome.

Somehow I still found myself listening [most of the time]. There’s something about the writing style that has been really good as an audio book. While enjoyable to listen to, the middle book syndrome of nothing really happening was clearly present until the last 50 pages of the book. There was a lot of ho-humming, running around and nonsense political meetings until FINALLY I got some sort of battle scene/skirmish ensued. I was actually hoping for more drama.

The queens did grow and I can actually see some character changes from them going through these trials and having to deal with the magic of the island. It has made them easier to cheer for and curious as to where their fate lies. Everything is dark and even kinda creepy. The mystery of the island is AT LAST unwinding.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: none
Romance: some kisses and not even there love scenes
Violence: swords, poison, physical, magic, ship wrecks, deadly mist
Trigger warning: brief sexual assault (unwanted touching)

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: March 2020

March 31, 2020March 30, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Does March feel like it’s been going on forever? Even more than January? While practicing social distancing for the last 2+ weeks, I honestly haven’t seen the inside of anything but my house. Hence, a lot of reading happened.

A lot.

I broke my monthly record and it 26 books in never-ending March. Unfortunately, I also dolled out more 2 stars than I ever have too. But you win some, you lose some! Still plenty of good reads.

My favorites this month: House of Earth and Blood (NO SURPRISE), Undercover Bromance, Dragonfly in Amber, Until it Fades, The Giver of Stars, A Voice in the Wind, and Aurora Rising.

My least favorites this month: Five Dark Fates, Lucky Caller, Of Curses and Kisses and The Stars We Steal

Reviews will be out in the coming months!

[ARC] A Temporary Boyfriend (The Fake Love Series #2) by Summer Dowell – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
Windwitch (The Witchlands #2) by Susan Dennard – (☆☆☆☆)
Heart of Flames (Crown of Feathers #2) by Nicki Pau Preto – (☆☆☆☆)
The Harvest (Call of the Sirens #1) by K.B. Benson – (☆☆☆)
House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas – (☆☆☆☆☆)
[ARC] Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2) by Lyssa Kay Adams – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake – (☆☆ 1/2)
On the Fence by Kasie West – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
[ARC] More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn – (☆☆☆☆)
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Bloodwitch (The Witchlands #3) by Susan Dennard – (☆☆☆☆)
Until it Fades by K.A. Tucker – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Maybe This Time by Kasie West – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion #1) by Francine Rivers – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
Lucky Caller by Emma Mills – (☆☆)
Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare – (☆☆☆☆)
Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta’s Academy #1) by Sandhya Menon – (☆☆)
More Than We Can Tell (Letters to the Lost #2) by Brigid Kemmerer – (☆☆☆☆)
[ARC] Don’t Go Stealing My Heart by Kelly Siskind – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
[Re-read] Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Neighbors Like That (A Love Like This #1) by Carina Taylor – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
When You Ask Me Where I’m Going by Jasmin Kaur – (☆☆☆)
The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co. #4) by Jonathan Stroud – (☆☆☆☆)
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen – (☆☆☆☆)

How did your month of reading go? Did we read any of the same books? Lets talk in the comments!

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ARC Book Review: Ruthless Gods (Something Dark and Holy #2) by Emily A. Duncan

March 30, 2020January 30, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 544 pages
Author: Emily A. Duncan
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Expected Release Date: April 7th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Darkness never works alone…

Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who–and what–he’s become.

As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone… or something. The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness, the ones that Nadya believes are her gods, the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world, and they refuse to stay quiet any longer.

In her dramatic follow-up to Wicked Saints, the first book in her Something Dark and Holy trilogy, Emily A. Duncan paints a Gothic, icy world where shadows whisper, and no one is who they seem, with a shocking ending that will leave you breathless.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

TRUE TO ITS NATURE.

I should first acknowledge, will I read this third book? YES. While Ruthless Gods let me down a bit (and was way too long), there is still enough in here for me to need a conclusion to this wicked tale.

The desperation and darkness that leaked from these pages was astounding. This isn’t some cute fairytale y’all. This will hurt your soul most of the time and leave you questioning if a happy ending is ever possible. And honestly, I’M NOT SURE THAT IT IS. The scope of what someone is willing to do for love of country, and person pushed boundaries that left me reeling by the end. I was pulled in from the beginning, the middle definitely dragged on way too long, and then the ending gave me a interesting enough conclusion that I know I want more. This was a big case of book two syndrome.

This was reallllll creepy and realllll bloody. Every time Malachiasz showed his truly monstrous self I cringed because the mental picture is WEIRD Y’ALL. My boy Malachiasz was *almost* everything I needed him to be. I felt we were missing a chunk of his personality that didn’t come out until the very end. I wanted more heavily wicked banter and more intriguing moments with Nadya. I love this wicked cinnamon roll though and wonder what he’s planning next, because I know it’ll destroy my soul.

Serefin and Kacper. Saw it coming. LOVE IT. And that is about the only tiny moment of happiness Serefin saw this entire book (I told y’all, nothing good happens in Ruthless Gods). His continual battle with a god was intriguing, but here is my real gripe from the whole book; There were way too many visions and flashbacks. They often confused me because the segue into them was abrupt to the story.

My complaint from Wicked Saints was that Nadya wasn’t nefarious enough. She did up her ante in this installment!! YAY. I loved seeing her wield some dark magic and fight her demons. What I didn’t love was how wishy-washy she was about her relationship with Malachiasz. I get that it’s supposed to be this push and pull because he’s wicked, cool. BUT FOR REAL. I had a hard time getting on board with how often Nadya was flip-flopping and using pages to be a bit melodramatic about it all. I think some COMMUNICATION would solve most of these issues, it’s not even a matter of who’s wicked enough, it’s a matter of flat out talking to someone.

While I did enjoy the writing, some scene changes and chapter turnover was not in any sort of flow. It felt like small scenes were being jumped over and I was being tossed into the *next big thing* when I would have liked a bit more movement between scenes. I really loved the last 100 pages and am very curious about the last book. How the gods will play a role, what will happen between the countries, who is going to betray who last, SO MANY QUESTIONS. It’ll be a showstopper I’m sure.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: very little, in the second half of the book
Romance: a few kisses/make-outs, one almost scene that has a little heat
Violence: everything is bloody and gory y’all; murder, knives, magic, monsters, it’s all here
Trigger warnings: alcoholism, self-mutilation through cutting (for use of blood magic), self-mutilation through removing an eye

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Book Review: Bid My Soul Farewell (Give the Dark My Love #2) by Beth Revis

February 26, 2020January 30, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: September 24th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The stunning finale of the epic fantasy duology from New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis.

Alchemy student turned necromancer Nedra Brysstain has made a life-changing decision to embrace the darkness–but can the boy who loves her bring her back to the light before she pays the ultimate price?

Lunar Island is trying to heal. The necromantic plague that ravaged the land has been eradicated, and Emperor Auguste, the young and charming leader of the Allyrian Empire, has a plan: rid the island of necromancy once and for all. Though Greggori “Grey” Astor wants what’s best for his people, he knows that allying himself with Auguste threatens the one person he loves most: necromancer Nedra Brysstain. Feeling like he already failed to save Nedra once, Grey becomes determined to help the Emperor rebuild Lunar Island while still keeping Nedra safe from harm.

Back at the quarantine hospital, Nedra’s army of revenants are growing increasingly inhuman by the day. Wracked with guilt for imprisoning their souls, Nedra vows to discover a way to free the dead while still keeping her sister by her side.

But, still reeling from the trauma of the plague, the people of Lunar Island are looking for someone to blame, and Grey can only protect Nedra for so long. And when Nedra and Grey are thrust into a battle with an even more terrifying adversary, Nedra will be pushed to the darkest depths of her necromantic powers. But can Grey let her go that far?

A GOOD DUOLOGY.

A good conclusion! I liked that this duology was darker and heavier than most. It was a change a pace from the normal young adult fantasy books I happen to read. The beginning and ending were solid, it was the middle that dragged this book down.

I’m not even sure what the point of the middle was? Gray was doing his own thing trying to help his land. Then we have Nedra totally focused on helping her sister. Yet, in all of that, it didn’t strengthen the plot like I think it was supposed to. Instead I felt it dragged. So much so that I had a hard time keeping focused on the audio book waiting for something more interesting to happen.

The relationship between Nedra and Gray had me happy sometimes, and flustered at others. I enjoyed seeing them actually talk their problems out and discuss deeper intentions and fears. It was nice to see that in a YA relationship (frankly any for that matter). This was good. What was bad was that I felt Nedra didn’t treat Gray all that well. She was SO DANG FOCUSED ON ONE TASK that it became too much. We saw a side of someone being wholly consumed by grief and it was hard to watch. Gray’s focus was Nedra. Nedra’s focus was death.

I was never sure the romantic aspect was necessary. The second book helped highlight why it was there. I think Nedra had to figure out on her own that there was hope and love in letting go of the past.

There were still some twists in this book that I should have seen coming but am content that I was surprised. The ending wrapped up well and things actually had a conclusion. Even better there was a bit of an epilogue to let the story ride off into the sunset.

Overall audience notes: