Tag: fantasy romance

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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Book Review: Blood & Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr #1) by Helen Scheuerer

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 504 pages
Author: Helen Scheuerer
Publisher: Alchemy
Release Date: February 13th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.

Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.

All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?

If you like fierce sword-wielding heroines and brooding, tortured heroes, you will devour this sexy, addictive fantasy adventure.

Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, From Blood and Ash and The Witcher, BLOOD & STEEL is an epic romantic fantasy with enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn spice, found family, and a sprawling world of magic and monsters. Blood & Steel is the gripping first book in the heart-pounding, epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr.

WANTED TO LOVE.

My thoughts kept waffling back and forth. This is NOT a bad book, and I still have plans to read the second one. There’s just some things in here that didn’t quite work for me.

I love a slow burn, and at times this romance felt forced. The innuendo didn’t hit well and it took me longer that I wanted to feel connected to them. It’s enemies to lovers adjacent but true enemies actually have some conflict for a bit before they’re already lusting for each other. It’s a series, bring the angst. By the end I was feeling their whole vibe enough and that’s probably the main reason I want to continue.

There’s a good building of found family and sibling dynamics. I love strong sister bonds and I love the way Thea and Wren took care of each other. I also absolutely adored Thea’s new friends and how they formed a connection to look after one another.

Occasionally I skimmed some stuff that seemed repetitive. There was a LOT of training and mock battles, etc. And while I love seeing a character actually work for improving skills I think it could have still been condensed more and then there would have been more time for world building and some magic explanations.

Overall audiece notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: innuendo + 1-2 open

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