Tag: fantasy romance

Book Review: Crave (Crave #1) by Tracy Wolff

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Rating: ☆☆ 1/2
Audience: YA Paranormal Romance
Length: 592 pages
Author: Tracy Wolff
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: April 7th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

YIKES.

I’ll start off on a positive note. I’m not mad I read this. I had been curious for a long time what my thoughts would be on this popular series and after a few friends pushing it on me, I gave it a shot. It was entertaining. I’ll give it that much. And now my curiosity has been sated and I can put this series behind me.

Grace was a bit all over the place. Trying to claim she didn’t let a guy dictate her life then practically begging him to talk to her? Uhm, okay. Not to mention her inability to acknowledge the danger around her and still go running off towards it.

Jaxon waved so many red flags he should just carry a banner. I think it was supposed to play into some vampire book stereotypes? Alpha-ish and all that? It came off possessive. I think there’s a love triangle in the next book? My money is on whoever that soul is.

It was cool having more than just vampires running around. The addition of werewolves, witches and dragons was a nice touch. This never read as a Twilight knock-off. It is it’s own YA vampire book and that’s a positive too.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Paranormal romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: heated make-outs
  • Violence: physical altercations, attempted murder, poisoning, magic weaponry
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents (car accident), Nonconsensual drugging, graphic blood & gore depiction, Blood-drinking, gun violence, murder

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Book Review: The Ex Hex (Ex Hex #1) by Erin Sterling

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Rating: ☆☆☆1/2
Audience: Paranormal Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Erin Sterling
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: September 28th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

PERFECT FOR THE SEASON.

If you’re looking for something that’ll give you spooky vibes, but not be overwhelming + a cute rom-com, this would be a good pick. It’s a short, quick read that gives a sweet HEA.

I liked the set-up and the withy/paranormal aspects. The hexing of the ex made me laugh (and think of that one episode of Friends..). A second-chance romance nine years later? Here for it. The characters were all good and fine, but I felt they were very shallow. I remember thinking the side characters didn’t have any layers and even with the main characters not so much. I’m sitting here now trying to think of nuanced personalities and coming up mostly blank.

There’s quite a bit more spice than I expected, which wasn’t for me (I know others love this though so take note!!). Things get heating pretty quickly and there’s a lot of innuendo throughout. That was the bigger focus rather than the more of everything I needed. More background, more build-up, etc.

The banter was fantastic and I liked the larger plot of fixing the ley lines and the moving curse. It’s a light-hearted story with perfect witchy goodness and I love how it fit the autumn season well.

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong throughout
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Violence: car accident (no one w/life threatening injuries), death of a parent recounted

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Book Review: Heart’s Blood by Julie Marillier

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance / Retelling
Length: 402 pages
Author: Julie Marillier
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: November 3rd, 2009
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Whistling Tor is a place of secrets, a mysterious wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress of a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the region in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies of Anluan’s family and his people. The woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom. And Anluan himself has been crippled by a childhood illness.

Then the young scribe Caitrin appears in Anluan’s garden, admiring the rare plant known as heart’s blood. Retained to sort through entangled family documents, Caitrin brings about the unexpected changes in the household, casting a hopeful light against the despairing shadows.

But even as Caitrin brings solace to Anluan, and the promise of something more between them, he remains in thrall to the darkness surrounding Whistling Tor. To free Anluan’s burdened soul, Caitrin must unravel the web of sorcery woven by his ancestors before it claims his life and their love.

BACKLIST B&tB.

This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

It was okay.

Honestly, got kind of bored about halfway through.

It was an interesting story [mostly]. It’s background was an Irish setting with all the things you’ve seen in B&tB. A small town with a mysterious ruler, magic, a woman who comes in to save the day (running from her own Gaston). For a retelling I thought it did line up on point for the original story. There were some additional tidbits to make it older, but that was mostly it.

I didn’t feel the chemistry between Caitrin and Anluan. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t know. Wasn’t working for me. I was also really confused by the magic. There were these magic mirrors that kept showing flashbacks? And then I would forget I was in a flashback, and things got convoluted at that point.

It’s a slow ride. I found myself forcing myself to finish, but was too far in to stop. The story wasn’t bad and I know others will probably really enjoy it. It was a not for me book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy romance, retelling
  • Language: little
  • Romance: kisses to some mild love scenes (mostly closed door)
  • Violence: war, skirmishes, physical
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: sexual assault, domestic abuse, ableism, loss of loved ones, suicide, suicide ideation, murder

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Book Review: Defy the Night (Defy the Night #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 496 pages
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Release Date: September 14th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A fantasy series about a kingdom divided by corruption, the prince desperately holding it together, and the girl who will risk everything to bring it crashing down.

The kingdom of Kandala is on the brink of disaster. Rifts between sectors have only worsened since a sickness began ravaging the land, and within the Royal Palace, the king holds a tenuous peace with a ruthless hand.

King Harristan was thrust into power after his parents’ shocking assassination, leaving the younger Prince Corrick to take on the brutal role of the King’s Justice. The brothers have learned to react mercilessly to any sign of rebellion–it’s the only way to maintain order when the sickness can strike anywhere, and the only known cure, an elixir made from delicate Moonflower petals, is severely limited.

Out in the Wilds, apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade is tired of seeing her neighbors die, their suffering ignored by the unyielding royals. Every night, she and her best friend Wes risk their lives to steal Moonflower petals and distribute the elixir to those who need it most–but it’s still not enough.

As rumors spread that the cure no longer works and sparks of rebellion begin to flare, a particularly cruel act from the King’s Justice makes Tessa desperate enough to try the impossible: sneaking into the palace. But what she finds upon her arrival makes her wonder if it’s even possible to fix Kandala without destroying it first.

Y’ALL, I LIKED THIS ONE.

I feel it should be said first, I didn’t finish this author’s previous series (A Curse So Dark and Lonely). After book two, I shrugged my shoulders and didn’t want to read the last one and I left it at that.

THEN. Many of my bookstagram friends raved about this book. RAVED. So I found myself downloading my library’s copy and here we are. I am much more thoroughly invested in this initial read and wow I can’t wait for more!!

What helped sell me on this was the romance. It moved beautifully. I loved the connection Tessa had with him and how things were unraveled and explained. The conflict worked itself out just the way it should and I want mooooore of them desperately.

A lot of this is predictable, but the plot is solid enough to still feel like it’s giving me new things to love. I liked the set-up for the next book and that this didn’t end on some massive cliffhanger. This is a fantasy I found myself not wanting to put down. One of those, shirk your duties, reads and I’m so glad it turned out that way. Can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: battles, physical altercations, weaponry
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents (and other loved ones), executions, rape and sexual assault discussed, epidemic, torture

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