Tag: fantasy romance

Book Review: The Ever King (The Ever Seas #1) by L.J. Andrews

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 408 pages
Author: L.J. Andrews
Publisher: Victorious
Release Date: September 16th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

They stole his crown, so he stole their daughter…

For years Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm.

Until his enemy’s daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge.

She’s innocent. He’s vicious. But he will take back what he lost, no matter the price.

Unless she steals his heart first.

Welcome to the passionate world of the Ever Kingdom where pirates, sirens, and fae collide with Vikings in a dark fantasy romance between a villain and the innocent princess who holds his heart.

*Please note: This series is set in the same world as the bestselling Broken Kingdoms series, but can be read independently, and readers are encouraged to read the list of triggers inside*

MY NEW OBESSION.

Holy cow. I LOVED THIS BOOK Y’ALL. It was dark and gruesome and full of all the things that make me love dark fantasy romances. This is the one to pick up.

I looooved how the romance was written. The fated sense, the enemies banter, the I just can’t stop coming near you, AH. ALL OF IT. I was a puddle of a person highlighting just about everything Erik said to Livia. Both were compelling characters that really set that opposites attract to flame.

The world building and magic system was fantastic and I was obsessed with the whole pirate theme. And the whole crew?? Loved them. Loved them all. There were just enough secrets being held and plenty uncovered and some of those closing scenes had me gasping.

NEED BOOK TWO LIKE AIR.

Overall audience notes:

  • Dark fantasy romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 3-4 open door
  • Violence: high

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: February 2024

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The month of love! Wow, this month knocked it out of the park with the five stars y’all. So many dang good books and I finally got my hands on House of Flame and Shadow!!

Favorites this month:

  • House of Flame and Shadow
  • Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
  • Emma M. Lion No. 5
  • The Ever Queen
  • The Will of the Many
  • Wild About You
  • The Scrivener’s Bones
  • The Outlaw Noble Salt
  • The Knights of Crystallia
  • Girl Meets Grump
  • Tales of the Celestial Kingdom
  • The Shattered Lens
  • The Dark Talent
  • The Trials of Ophelia
  • Heartless Hunter
  • A Groom of One’s Own
  • The Warm Hands of Ghosts
  • House of Bane and Blood
  • Where the Dark Stands Still

Least favorites this month:

  • Night for Day
  • Liar’s Test
  • Valley Verified
  • [ARC] Night for Day by Roselle Lim
  • House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ALC] A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea #1) by Hafsah Faizal
  • [ARC] Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley
  • [ARC] Happily Never After by Lynn Painter
  • Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday
  • [ARC] Liar’s Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina
  • Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians #1) by Brandon Sanderson
  • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Emma M. Lion #5) by Beth Brower
  • The Ever Queen (The Ever Seas #2) by L.J. Andrews
  • The Will of the Many (Hierarchy #1) by James Islington
  • [ARC] Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill
  • The Scrivener’s Bones (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians #2) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [ARC] A Noble Scheme (The Imposters #2) by Roseanna M. White
  • No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
  • [ARC] The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon
  • I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang
  • The Knights of Crystallia (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians #3) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [ARC] Girl Meets Grump by Hailey Gardiner
  • Tales of the Celestial Kingdom (The Celestial Kingdom #2.5) by Sue Lynn Tan
  • Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde #2) by Heather Fawcett
  • Valley Verified by Kyla Zhao
  • Mortal Queens (Fae Dynasty #1) by Victoria McCombs
  • [ARC] An Unlikely Proposition (Unexpected Seasons #2) by Rosalyn Eves
  • The Shattered Lens (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians #4) by Brandon Sanderson
  • The Dark Talent (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians #5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • The Trials of Ophelia (The Curse of Ophelia #3) by Nicole Platania
  • [ARC] An Inconvenient Letter by Julie Wright
  • Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians #6) by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
  • Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli
  • Nightweaver by RM Gray
  • [ARC] A Groom of One’s Own (Appies Series) by Emma St. Clair
  • Love Interest by Clare Gilmore
  • The Warm Hands of Ghosts of Katherine Arden
  • [ARC/Novella] After the Crescent Strike (The Balkan Legends #0.5) by A.L. Sowards
  • [ARC] Wedding Issues by Elle Evans
  • ASAP by Axie Oh
  • House of Bane and Blood (Order and Chaos #1) by Alexis L. Menard
  • Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek
  • [Novella] Hyperthief (Skyward #3.6) by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson

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ARC Book Review: A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 432 pages
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.

Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.

Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.

Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

FORBIDDEN.

There was no chance I wasn’t reading this immediately upon my Netgalley approval. And I loved so much of it!! I love seeing a new DLJ world and all of the Viking content had me soaring. It was brutal and intense and I loved the fast paced nature of it all.

And the ROMANCE. It was quintessential forbidden and I am here for it all. And I loved how frustrating Freya was to me as a character. She simultaneously made me cranky and yet I also understood her decisions. I really see a great character arc for her coming and I can’t wait. And I absolutely adored Bjorn. He must be protected at all costs.

The plot is filled with some politicking, plenty of raids, lots of battles, and yes, plenty of spice (I will say this is DLJ’s spiciest book and that did bug me a little, buuuut I love her soooo I skipped over). Anyways, there’s also MEDDLING GODS which are my current fantasy weakness. There’s something about the chaos they cause that has me gripped to my kindle needing to know what happens next.

As always, DLJ crafts a beautifully soul shattering cliffhanger that has me begging for more. I love the direction it’s going though and can’t wait to see more of Freya’s world unravel.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 4+ open; moderate-high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle/war themes, blood/gore depiction

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Book Review: This Cursed Light (The Last Finestra #2) by Emily Thiede

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Emily Thiede
Publisher: Wednesday
Release Date: December 5th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When the gods make the rules, the players must choose: Sacrifice their love to save the world, or choose love and let it burn?

Six months after saving their island from destruction and almost losing Dante, Alessa is ready to live happily ever after with her former bodyguard. But Dante can’t rest, haunted by a conviction that the gods aren’t finished with them yet. And without his powers, the next kiss from Alessa could kill him.

Desperate for answers, Dante enlists Alessa and their friends to find the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring his powers and combining forces with them to create the only army powerful enough to save them all. But Alessa is hiding a deadly consequence of their last fight–a growing darkness that’s consuming her mind–and their destination holds more dangers than anyone bargained for. In the mysterious city of the banished, Dante will uncover secrets, lies, and ghosts from his past that force him to ask himself: Which side is he on?

When the gods reveal their final test, Dante and Alessa will be the world’s last defense. But if they are the keys to saving the world, will their love be the price of victory?

In This Cursed Light, Dante and Alessa face their most daunting challenge yet when the Gods demand they prove their worth by choosing the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity, once and for all.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the gifted copy.

*sigh*

I hoped for more y’all. Did I have too high of expectations? I don’t know, but this didn’t hold everything I wanted.

Once of my biggest issues was lack of plot. It’s very meandering and didn’t feel like a lot of thought was given to it. And the world building and magic system still felt out of my grasp. As if I was missing some bigger explanation that would have made everything make sense.

There was some good banter (like book one) between Alessa and Dante. I do think they’re a great match even if I thought things were up and down. They eventually made some strides and the ending does put you through an emotional ringer (regardless of the fact I wasn’t too emotionally rung because of my other issues).

Not the conclusion I was totally after, but I felt like it did wrap things up well enough to give a solid ending.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some moderate
  • Romance: 1-2 closed door
  • Violence: moderate

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