Tag: fantasy romance

Book Review: Gleam (The Plated Prisoner #3) by Raven Kennedy

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 681 pages
Author: Raven Kennedy
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: May 31st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

King Midas made me the woman I am today. Notorious. Unattainable. His.

The thing about being confined is that you believe it’s to keep the bad out… Until you realize it’s about keeping you in.

I’m now in a strange kingdom surrounded by liars, with no allies of my own, but I won’t sit idly by and let myself wither. No, there’s something that’s bloomed from the pit of my repression. Something dark. Something angry.

But the last thing I expected was for my anger to call out to him. King Ravinger.

He’s sinister and powerful and entirely too seductive. I’ve learned my lesson with trusting manipulative kings, so why does my chest constrict every time he’s near? I need to tread carefully, or I’m at risk of losing much more than just my freedom.

Regret and revenge war inside of me, and I need to figure out a plan fast before I get tangled up in the schemes of kings and queens.

Because I won’t be caught in a cage again. No, this time, It’ll be me setting the trap… I just hope my heart comes out of this unscathed.

I GUESS I’LL READ BOOK FOUR?

I held off on picking this one up as long as I could. Unpopular opinions flying out ya, you’ve been warned.

Nothing happens in this entire series for 90% of these books. The last 10% gets a bit wild, you feel called to pick up the next, but it’s the same dang cycle. Auren spent most of this particular installment wandering around a castle looking for an old guard who I didn’t know she cared so much about?? I must be feeling cold-hearted, but I needed way more than that. Castle wandering is BORING. BO-RING.

I did like some stuff; namely Rip. The romantic development was good. Plenty of swoony conversations when Rip shows his feelings and his alpha nature is *chef’s kiss*. The steam was wayyy past my limits, but there wasn’t much of it (considering 700 pages) and is easy to skip by. If there had been even more just general interaction between Rip and Auren that would have raised this book.

At last, Auren finally used her power. So the ending was interesting and expected. I wasn’t flipping out (as I was told would happen) but I am genuinely curious how there’s supposed to be a book four? I’m sure there’s more wandering to be had. One can hope that Auren really does something next round.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: two open door; high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: domestic abuse, rape (off page but alluded to), sexual assault, drug use, torture, weapons violence

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Book Review: The North Wind (The Four Winds #1) by Alexandria Warwick

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 551 pages
Author: Alexandria Warwick
Publisher: Andromeda Press
Release Date: January 13th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lush. Dark. Romantic. Introducing a newly reimagined tale written in the vein of Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone.

Long before civilization, there were the gods. And before the gods, there was the earth, the celestial bodies, and air given flesh. They are the Anemoi—the Four Winds—and they have been banished to the four corners of the world.

Wren of Edgewood is no stranger to suffering. Her parents are gone. Survival is all she knows. For three hundred years, the land known as the Gray has been encased in ice, surrounded by a great barrier called the Shade, which protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond.

But day by day, the Shade weakens.

Only one thing can stop the Shade’s fall: a mortal woman taken captive across the barrier, bound in wedlock to the dark god who reigns over the Deadlands. He is the North Wind, the Frost King, an immortal whose heart is said to be as frigid as the land he rules.

And the time has come for the Frost King to choose his bride.

The North Wind is a standalone, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance, the first in a series sprinkled with Greek lore. Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Laura Thalassa, and Scarlett St. Clair.

DISAPPOINTED.

This was not all I hope it to be folks. Just wasn’t.

I LOVED the initial premise. The Frost King comes to get a bride? Gimme that. I would say I was into the first 40% or so. The plot moved well and I did like the writing throughout. There’s definitely a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance that I know others will love.

BUT.

Where it fell flat for me was some of the world building that became glaringly confusing. Even by the end I still had unanswered questions that would alter the entire story. There wasn’t a deep enough explanation into the main conflict (and reasoning why the King needed a bride). Holes here left holes in the entire plot that I couldn’t look past. If you’re reading this purely for the romance, you’ll probably like it, but if you’re looking for more fantasy built around it you might be disappointed like me.

The main character did have some growth. Naive and immature to start yet found her footing by the end. I liked most of the development for her and the relationship with the Frost King. Too much spice for me personally that didn’t further the plot and felt added to increase the steam but not the substance.

I’m thinking about trying the next book in this series. Hopefully it’s at least 100 pages shorter than this one. Not all I hoped for, but not all bad either.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: multiple open door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical and magical altercations, alcoholism, creature attacks, near death experiences, blood and gore, battle scenes

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Book Review: For the Wolf (Wilderwood #1) by Hannah F. Whitten

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Rating: ★★★☆ (3.5)
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 437 pages
Author: Hannah F. Whitten
Publisher: Orbit Books
Release Date: June 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.

For fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale comes a dark fantasy novel about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn’t the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose-to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he’ll return the world’s captured gods.

Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can’t control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can’t hurt those she loves. Again.

But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn’t learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood-and her world-whole.

BUT WHY?

The entire first half (and honestly, most of the second) had me asking but why, for almost everything thing regarding the world building and magic system. That had to be my biggest gripe here. Why is the wood attacking everyone? Who are all of the kings? Why do we have to bleed on it? Why is he turning into a monster?

SOMEONE TELL ME.

The second half did a little better job with these explanations, or maybe I had been listening for so long that something finally started to click. I wish this had been better and I would have loved the book even more.

I did enjoy the romance. It’s paced well and has a nice slow burn to it. I think Red and Eammon got along well and I could see the chemistry between them. If I didn’t focus too hard on the world building issues I could focus more on the relationships that were a positive for the novel.

The combination of Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast mash-ups was an amazing feature. I could see the parallels and I loved the darker differences. Those two factors also played well into my reading enjoyment.

Jury is still out on whether or not I’ll pick up book two. I’ll probably wait for reviews and won’t go the audio route for it either. The narrator and everything is just fine! But with my previous issues i think reading it might help that overall.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Retelling / Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: brief open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental emotional abuse and neglect, anxiety and panic attacks, audio/visual hallucinations, self harm (cutting), death of a parent

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: May 2022

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A mixed bag of a month, most of five star reads came from rereads. But now I am ready for all of the summer reads!

Favorite Reads This Month: Some Mistakes Were Made, The Phoenix Priest, TBK/TTQ, QOS, Love & Olives, All the Feels, Love in Bloom, Roaring, The Bluff

  • [Graphic Novel] Heartstopper Vol. 4 by Alice Oseman
  • Obsidian Throne (The Lochlann Feuds #4) by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison
  • [ARC] Exactly Where You Need to Be by Amelia Diane Coombs
  • Just Go With It (Just Us #1) by Madison Wright
  • Bonded Fate (Guardians of the Maiden #2) by Beck Michaels
  • The Do-Over by Bethany Turner
  • Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer
  • Book of Night by Holly Black
  • Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
  • Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  • The Phoenix Priest (The Blood and Water Saga #2) by Cassidy Clarke
  • [Reread] The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [ARC] Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
  • [Reread] Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC] Edward and Amelia by Karen Thornell
  • Love & Olives (Love & Gelato #3) by Jenna Evans Welch
  • Last Chance Summer by Shannon Klare
  • The Queen’s Rising (The Queen’s Rising #1) by Rebecca Ross
  • The Witch Collector (Witch Walker #1) by Charissa Weaks
  • [Bonus Chapters] The Calm Before the Storm (The Bridge Kingdom #3.5) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • All the Feels (Spoiler Alert #2) by Olivia Dade
  • [Novella] The Missed Connection (Airport Novellas #2) by Denise Williams
  • [Graphic] Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Julia Quinn
  • [Reread] The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [ARC] For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa
  • Complex (The Sweet Rom”Com”s #2) by Kortney Keisel
  • An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan
  • Love in Bloom (Some Kind of Love #4) by Jenny Proctor
  • Firebrand (Green Rider #6) by Kristen Britain
  • Maybe Now (Maybe #2) by Colleen Hoover
  • Reign & Ruin (Mages of the Wheel #1) by J.D. Evans
  • [Novella] Unrequited (The Donovans #0.5) by Martha Keyes
  • How to Kiss Your Best Friend by Jenny Proctor
  • Roaring by Lindsey Duga
  • [Novella] A Wilderness of Glass (Wraith Kings #2.7) by Grace Draven
  • The Queen of Blood (The Queens of Renthia #1) by Sarah Beth Durst
  • Gleam (The Plated Prisoner #3) by Raven Kennedy
  • A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan
  • [ARC] The Bluff (Graham Brothers #2) by Emma St. Clair
  • [Novella] Love Beginning (Some Kind of Love #0.5) by Jenny Proctor

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