Tag: fantasy romance

Book Review: A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones #1) by Kate Golden

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 456 pages
Author: Kate Golden
Publisher: The Daisy Press
Release Date: December 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Captured by a king of darkness. Forced to find the light within.

Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.

Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning—and seems to take twisted
pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.

But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

To make it out of enemy territory, she’ll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and dangerous beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life—and hopefully, her heart.

COLOR ME SURPRISED.

I did not expect to love this the way I did. I put it off for a bit because it seemed too hyped and I wanted to see more reviews. Then on a whim, HERE WE ARE. 4.5 stars of romantasy goodness.

This had a much more true slow burn that worked better for me than a few recent books. I loooove hidden identity plots so dang much. Even when I know it’s coming, still makes my day. And this kept slowly revealing Kane’s history and nature and I loved every second of it. I thought Kane and Arwen had some actual chemistry and I enjoyed the banter between them. I liked seeing them get to know each other and have some soft moments amidst the action.

And plenty of action was had! I loved that it kept a pretty fast pace with enough things going on that I rarely felt a drag. Within that though is my one small complaint. A lack of world building. More of it made sense towards the end, but I have MANY questions about the dynamics of everything.

I think the FMC could use a bit more work, but as far as character arcs go, I am very much on board with the sequence. I am soooo excited to see how book two continues the development of characters and storyline.

It was a good read y’all.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 1 open; + some innuendo
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, physical and magical altercations, near death experiences, loss of a mother, weapons violence, kidnapping, attempted sexual assault

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Book Review: Winterlight (Green Rider #7) by Kristen Britain

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 848 pages
Author: Kristen Britain
Publisher: DAW Books
Release Date: September 14th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This seventh novel of the Green Rider series follows the adventures of messenger, magic wielder, and knight Karigan G’ladheon as she fights to save king and country from dark magic and a looming war.

After her capture at the hands of Grandmother and the Second Empire, Karigan G’ladheon is making halting progress towards recovery. Karigan takes on increasingly dangerous missions, haunted by the specter of her torturer, Nyssa, and sinking ever further into the mire of her recollections of the past and the losses she’s sustained.

Meanwhile, the forces of the Second Empire are moving on Sacoridia and their primary target is a vulnerable garrison that guards a crucial mountain pass. Faced with new fatherhood and a country on the verge of war, King Zachary sends a contingent of soldiers and Green Riders to the pass–but his own recovery from the events of the north is not yet complete either.

Reunited with her fellow Riders at the pass, Karigan takes on a leadership role, but quickly finds that the Riders are not as she last left them. As tension mounts and war draws ever closer to the heart of Sacoridia, Karigan must discover what it truly means to be a Rider and a hero of the realm–and what sacrifices must be made to truly heal from her past.

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW.

Fair warning: this series does not have an end date.

AND I AM IN TURMOIL.

There’s not even news on the next book?!

Anyways, actual book review information.

Another enjoyable installment. I liked most of the direction for the characters here and how the plot continually thickened around many aspects. My mind is pulled in so many directions while reading this series and yet, I am easily able to move through each segment and remember what’s happening and who’s doing what. I love the readability of these books and how much the audio is a game changer for them as well.

Karigan kind of at least, caught a few breaks this go around. I love seeing her continual development as a character and I am here to follow her wherever she goes. I don’t know how I feel about the romance sub plot though?! I’m more conflicted than I was after reading Mirrorsight. It’s a very tangled web that fits the nature of the book, but leaves me wanting a bit more.

I have truly enjoyed reading this hidden nook series in the fantasy genre. I highly recommend if you’re looking for something off the beaten path with multi-POV, high action and intense situations.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: PTSD (for torture), loss of life, war themes and battles, poisoning, near death experiences, emotional infidelity

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ARC Book Review: Beauty Reborn by Elizabeth Lowham

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 208 pages
Author: Elizabeth Lowham
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: May 9th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Fantasy and reality collide in this retelling of Beauty and the Beast about a young woman’s heroic quest to save herself.

Yes, I went to the woods to save my father. But I also went hoping I would be eaten by the Beast. Because I didn’t think anything else could save me.

Beauty’s life is the stuff of fairy tales. The youngest in her family, Beauty isn’t trying to catch Stephan’s eye. He is the lord baron’s heir, well above her family’s modest station, but when he kisses her hand at a party, Beauty is swept away by his charm, his wit, and his passionate declarations of love.

Hearts can be untamable creatures, especially when touched by the fires of first love, and Beauty doesn’t see the truth of Stephan’s intentions until it is too late. Until he stops asking for Beauty’s love—and simply takes it from her one night despite her refusal.

Beauty locks away the secret of what happened to her, and when her father emerges from the enchanted forest with a stolen rose in his hand and the tale of a vicious beast on his breath, Beauty seizes the chance to run as far from Stephan as possible.

She has some experience with beasts, after all. Certainly the one in the forest couldn’t be any worse than the one she’s already encountered.

Breaking the Beast’s curse might be the key to discovering her own path to healing—and finding the courage to allow herself to feel reborn.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain for an ARC.

NOPE.

I want to be able to come here and tell y’all I enjoyed this, but I just flat out did not.

This wasn’t a retelling so much as a direct copycat of the original movie. I don’t feel like I got anything new out of this story and instead wished I was just watching the movie.

At barely 200 pages there isn’t enough context or story to get the full sense of Beauty, her family, or her relationship with Beast. Beauty and Beast play make believe games while in the castle and hardly talk to one another for most of the book.

There’s some small good moments about finding light in the dark and such. That’s about all I can pull out that I liked.

No world building (once again I feel like it was leaning on the hope that I had seen the movie), random flashbacks to two different time points that didn’t flow, and multiple other things.

I unfortunately cannot recommend this one.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Retelling
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of sexual assault and potential rape (on page, but extremely vague)

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2023

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Another great month of reading! A small slow down from last month but that is completely okay. I loved how many rereads I got to and found some absolute new favorites.

Favorite Books:

  • To Poison a King
  • A Girl Called Samson
  • The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King
  • In This Moment
  • The Assassin’s Blade
  • Before the Fortress Fals
  • Echoes of You
  • Desire or Defense
  • Throne of Glass
  • Fourth Wing
  • Finding Gene Kelly
  • Practice Makes Perfect
  • The Weight of Air

Least Favorites:

  • Two Wars and a Wedding
  • A Shadow Crown
  • The Path of Daggers
  • The Heart’s Choice
  • Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
  • Objection to Love (Greenbank Romances #3) by Karen Thornell
  • Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig
  • [ARC] To Poison a King (The Heirs of Isla #1) by S.G. Prince
  • Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden #3) by Beck Michaels
  • A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon
  • Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree
  • Love at First Psych by Cara Bastone
  • Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell
  • [ARC] The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia #2) by Carissa Broadbent
  • Haley and the Yeti (Love Tucson #1) by Laura Langa
  • [ARC] In this Moment (Timeless #2) by Gabrielle Meyer
  • [Reread] Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass #0.5) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ALC] A Shadow Crown (The Halfling Saga #2) by Melissa Blair
  • [ARC] Why Trey Let Me Get Away (Famously in Love #1) by Kortney Keisel
  • Before the Fortress Falls by A.L. Sowards
  • Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata
  • [ARC/ALC] Echoes of You (Lost & Found #2) by Catherine Cowles
  • [Novella] Kill Joy (A Good Girls’ Guide to Murder #0.5) by Holly Jackson
  • [ARC] Desire or Defense (Hooked on a Feeling #1) by Leah Brunner
  • [Reread] Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time #8) by Robert Jordan
  • [ARC] Bonesmith (House of the Dead #1) by Nicki Pau Preto
  • [ARC] The Never Heir (The Otherworlds #1) by Courtney Millecam
  • [ALC] Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros
  • [Gifted] To Swoon and to Spar (The Regency Vows #4) by Martha Waters
  • Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean
  • A Sinister Revenge (Veronica Speedwell #8) by Deanna Raybourn
  • Captured by Chaos by Kathryn Marie
  • [ARC/ALC] Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
  • An Amiable Foe (Castles and Courtship #1) by Jennie Goutet
  • [ARC] The Heart’s Choice (The Jewels of Kalispell #1) by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse
  • Silver in the Bone (Silver in the Bone #1) by Alexandra Bracken
  • The Darkest Sunrise (The Darkest Sunrise #1) by Aly Martinez
  • The Brightest Sunset (The Darkest Sunrise #2) by Aly Martinez
  • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. #2) by Beth Brower
  • [Novella] The Managing Miss (Promise of Forever After #5) by Heidi Kimball
  • The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy
  • Slaying the Vampire Conqueror (Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers) by Carissa Broadbent
  • [ARC] The Art of Love and Lies by Rebecca Anderson

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