Tag: fantasy romance

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: June 2022

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Another month of some great reads! Reviews will be out in the coming months. Feel free to comment if you have any questions about the books you see!

Favorites this month: The Stardust Thief, The Inadequate Heir, Daughter of No Worlds, It’s All in How You Fall, The Blood Traitor, Furysong, Empire of Storms, Fire Falling, and Children of Fallen Gods

  • A Lily in Disguise (Wycliffe Family #1) by Jessica Scarlet
  • Song of the Forever Rains (Mousai #1) by E.J. Mellow
  • Unlikely Match by Laura Bradbury
  • Rivals (American Royals #3) by Katharine McGee
  • See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon
  • Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
  • [ARC] Beasts of Ruin (Beasts of Prey #2) by Ayanna Gray
  • The Changeup (The Vegas Kings #1) by Emily C. Childs
  • West Side Love Story by Priscilla Oliveras
  • The Stardust Thief (The Sandsea Trilogy #1) by Chelsea Abdullah
  • The Serpent’s Curse (The Last Magician #3) by Lisa Maxwell
  • [Reread] The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom #3) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • Twin Crowns (Twin Crowns #1) by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
  • The Truth about Miss Ashbourne by Joanna Barker
  • All Fired Up by Dylan Newton
  • The Sunken City (The Sunken City #1) by Emma V.R. Noyes
  • Winterlight (Green Rider #7) by Kristen Britain
  • Daughter of No Worlds (The War of Lost Hearts #1) by Carissa Broadbent
  • It’s All in How You Fall by Sarah Henning
  • The Art of Victory (The Donovans #1) by Martha Keyes
  • Together We Burn by Isabel Ibanez
  • [Novella] Maybe Not (Maybe #1.5) by Colleen Hoover
  • Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West
  • The Blood Traitor (The Prison Healer #3) by Lynette Noni
  • [Novella] The Sweetest Connection (Airport Novellas #3) by Denise Williams
  • Nightfall (Keeper of the Lost Cities #6) by Shannon Messenger
  • [Reread] Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas
  • On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi
  • [ARC] Furysong (The Aurelian Cycle #3) by Rosaria Munda
  • [ARC] Check Mate (Under Kansas Skies #3) by Leah Brunner
  • [Reread] Fire Falling (Air Awakens #2) by Elise Kova
  • Cover Story by Susan Rigetti
  • Blood Scion (Blood Scion #1) by Deborah Falaye
  • Children of Fallen Gods (The War of Lost Hearts #2) by Carissa Broadbent
  • [ARC] Stealing Infinity (Stolen Beauty #1) by Alyson Noel

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Book Review: Daughter of No Worlds (The War of Lost Hearts #1) by Carissa Broadbent

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 520 pages
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: January 7th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Her life for freedom. Her blood for love. Her soul for vengeance.

Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.

Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organization of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.

The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. Even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.

But Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games. Even if it means sacrificing her heart.

Even if it means wielding death itself.

I WANT MORE.

OH yes, I have found a new fantasy series to read!!!!!

This was so good y’all. I have been struggling to find a good book that kept my attention the whole way through and this was that breakthrough. I was into it from the start and loved the path it took.

My only small tidbit is the first part could have been shortened just a bit. I did love that there was actual time for Tisaanah to learn the language, more about her power, and the area she was in. It just felt a little too long initially. But yay for a character who didn’t wake up one day and master everything. We love progression!

MAX. I will protect that man at ALL COSTS. Oh my goodness. He was easily my favorite character and I was stoked when his POV showed up. I am smitten with this multi-layered man who desperately needs a hug. The romance plot between Max and Tisaanah was the perfect kind of slow burn. I loved getting to watch a true connection build between them and it was the SWEETEST. Which was much needed with the themes of the rest of the plot.

It’s a hard read with tough subjects and the pain kept coming. I appreciate that it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. Though I easily was thinking, GIVE ME THE NEXT BOOK. Stay tuned.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: one open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, slavery, torture, possession, loss of loved ones, battle themes, physical and magical altercations, whipping, near death experiences

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Book Review: The Second Blind Son (The Chronicles of Saylok) by Amy Harmon

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Amy Harmon
Publisher: 47North
Release Date: July 20th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An insidious curse is weakening the Norse kingdom of Saylok, where no daughters have been born in years. Washing up on these plagued shores is Ghisla, an orphaned stowaway nursed back to health by a blind cave dweller. Named for a mysterious god, the boy, Hod, is surrounded by prophecy. To Ghisla, he’s a cherished new friend. To Hod, the girl is even more so. For when Ghisla sings, Hod can see.

Unable to offer safe shelter, Hod urges Ghisla onward to become a daughter of the temple, where all the kingdom’s girl children have been gathered. But because of a magical rune, the two cannot be separated, no matter the time or the distance.

Now, subject to a ruthless king, Ghisla enters a desperate world of warring clan chieftains and catastrophic power struggles. Who among them can be trusted is unknowable. So are the sacrifices Ghisla and Hod must make to defeat the cursed forces that could destroy a kingdom and the fated bond between two souls.

A lost girl and a blind boy discover their greatest strength is their bond with each other in a beguiling fantasy by the New York Times bestselling author of The First Girl Child.

THE TENSION.

I’m sure I mention this every time, but it needs to be said. Amy Harmon is eternally one of my all time favorite authors and I auto-buy everything she writes. I was giddy to get more stories from Saylok and I devoured this book. It’s fantastic on audio if you’re interested in that format!!

I LOVED the story between Hod and Ghisla. Young teens who met and then their story took off in all sorts of new directions. The pacing of the aging is great. I didn’t feel too much time was spent in any one age group as they got older and the tension between them only became thicker. It was all so incredibly romantic and tender. I’m still swooning over Hod. It’s one of those epic love stories.

One minor aspect I didn’t love was how much of the first book, The First Girl Child, was written alongside. There’s a LOT of Bayr and Alba’s love story too. It wasn’t bad, I was just hoping for more of an entire focus on Hod and Ghisla. I didn’t love moving back and forth between the stories (Even though the narrators are always Hod or Ghisla).

The mythology and Viking aspects make the setting come alive. Along with Harmon’s writing that is always gorgeous and enchanting you forget the characters aren’t real. Being transported back to Saylok is the exact kind of escape I look for in a fantasy.

Absolutely another win for Harmon and I will be waiting for her next book!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses to brief open door, and some closed door scenes
  • Violence: war scenes, physical altercations, murder
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: sexual assault, loss of parents, ableism, bullying

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ARC Book Review: This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra #1) by Emily Thiede

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Emily Thiede
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: June 28th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.

Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.

Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?

Emily Thiede’s exciting fantasy debut, This Vicious Grace, will keep readers turning the pages until the devastating conclusion and leave them primed for more!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an eARC.

THAT WAS SOMETHING.

I feel perplexed by my thoughts on this one.

We’ll start here. On one hand, I had a hard time putting this down. The writing was great and captivating. Easy to follow and fly through. I LOVED the banter between the love interests Alessa and Dante. And hello, a bodyguard romance? YUP. You read that right. The build-up was sweet and I liked how they got to know each other and connected on multiple levels.

I also did liked this cast of characters. Everyone had different personalities and nobody blended into the background. I would have loved even more background on Alessa’s new group of friends to solidify those relationships even more.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t call this a strong fantasy. It leans heavily to the romance (which is fine for me), but not hard enough into the world building and magic system. Things were laid out well, yet as I was finishing the book I realized some aspects just didn’t make sense? It’s hard to explain, but as a devout fantasy lover there were things missing for me.

Definitely still interested in the second book. I think that has a lot of potential and I would looooove to see where this romance can go. Can’t wait!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA/NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: vague open door
  • Violence: physical and magical altercations, creature attacks
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: attempted murder, near death experiences, kidnapping, imprisonment, mentions of past child abuse, thoughts of suicide (and others trying to convince the MC to commit suicide)

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