fantasy – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 442 pages
Author: Renee Dugan
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Middle Kingdom of Talheim has enjoyed peace for decades. But with the threat of war rising from the ruthless South, the dream of a quiet life is fading. And for the noble but naïve Princess Cistine, that means embarking on a dangerous quest to the Northern Kingdom, where she hopes to forge an alliance against their southern foes and save her people.

But when Cistine is captured by an outlaw and his band of cutthroat warriors, she finds a more deadly adventure than she bargained for – and a greater power within herself than she ever knew.

Swept up in the unpredictable tide of a tenuous and shadowy political climate, a ruthless land governed by the stars, and the unexpected revelations that come from her mysterious new companions, Cistine must learn how to fight, how to lead…and above all, how to trust herself.

If the young princess can’t be forged into a fighter, then her kingdom will fall.

HI, THIS IS MY NEW PERSONALITY.

Y’all. New fantasy obsession alert. I LOVED this!! Another Kindle Unlimited gem that has its hooks in me.

This is a slow build. And at times you do feel that slowness, but it has a necessity. I hate when things are slow and aren’t truly moving. In this case, we got to see some major character growth from Cistine and I looooved that. I enjoy seeing the development of skills rather than overnight they are fantastic at everything.

The plot is satisfying too. The world building is easy to follow and I like how the magic system is involved. I also absolutely loved that this had FOUND FAMILY. One of my favorite non-romantic tropes. This group grew on me and I am hopeful that we get to see there stories as the series progresses.

I can see that the romance will be a super slow burn. And I love those so doesn’t bother me one bit. I even like how it’s set-up right now (I don’t want to mention more because of spoilers). It’s just a true to life way of romance and I think this slow development will be EVERYTHING.

I can’t wait for more of this one. It was just what I was looking for when I picked it up and I’m genuinely excited to keep reading. Highly recommend for my fantasy friends!

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: very little
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild
Trigger/Content Warnings: small battle scenes, torture, loss of loved ones, domestic abuse (recounted)

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Book Review: A Duet of Sword and Song (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #4) by Lisa Cassidy

November 27, 2022August 23, 2022 GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 568 pages
Author: Lisa Cassidy
Publisher: Tate House
Release Date: April 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The time of the Shadowhawk was gone. Now he needed to be more.

In the space of a night Cuinn Acondor lost his crown and almost his life. Devastated by Talyn’s disappearance, he’s on the run, fleeing from Armun and Shadow hunters who want to destroy everything he stands for. But he won’t give up. Together with the resurgent Wolves, he begins preparing to take back what Azrilan stole from them.

After killing their Shadow betrayer, Talyn is captured and thrown in a Montagni labour camp. With no way of knowing what happened to Cuinn or her Wolves, she fights desperately to find a way out, to return home to them. Like Cuinn, she refuses to give up, no matter what… even if escaping means allying with her greatest enemy.

In the Twin Thrones, the Dumnorix are banding together and marshalling their forces. Firthland has brought war to their shores.

And they intend on fighting back.

EPIC CONCLUSION.

This series owned me for a month and I am not upset one bit. I devoured all of these audiobooks and they were absolutely amazing.

EVERYONE GO READ THEM NOW PLEASE.

For a book with low romance to wrap me up this much, you know it’s gotta be good. I LOVE these characters!!! Talyn and Cuinn are both wonderful in their own right, and add them together, and the world is in good hands. I love how bada** Talyn is. She takes on thing after thing and I want to be her when I grow up. This is the kind of fierce heroines I want to read about when I pick up a fantasy book. Cuinn goes through the biggest character arc here and I adored him for it. Coming off a wild ending in the previous book he handled a crappy situation beautifully and found a new place for his focus.

Alongside the amazingness of the main characters, the found family is still here and still the best. I love this group of wolves and all they mean to the plot. Everyone is well created and truly adds to the story.

The plot is intense and it’s hard to take a breath. But within those breathes are the perfect little tender moments that help me love this book even more.

Basically I want to beg everyone to get this book in their hands and give it a chance.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: a little mild
Romance: fade to black
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle scenes

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Book Review

Book Review: A Prince of Song and Shade (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #2) by Lisa Cassidy

October 29, 2022August 12, 2022 GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 536 pages
Author: Lisa Cassidy
Publisher: Tate House
Release Date: April 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The darker the night…

Emboldened by the effect Talyn Dynan had on the humans of Mithranar, the Shadowhawk is working harder than ever to make a difference for those struggling to survive on the streets of Dock City. But when violence spreads to the citadel in a horrific murder, he finds himself torn between protecting the humans and keeping his identity secret from the increasingly determined prince of night and his Falcon hunters.

Meanwhile, Talyn has returned home to the Twin Thrones ready to begin rebuilding her life. Yet there are more secrets shrouding the Dumnorix family’s past than she realised, and when the Callanan ask her to undertake a highly dangerous mission, Talyn is faced with a difficult choice—between duty to her family and country and trusting the shadowy criminal she met in Mithranar.

And after their failed assassination attempt on Prince Cuinn, Vengeance are far from done. Their reach is deeper than either Talyn or the Shadowhawk could ever have imagined, and now they’ve got a new target in their sights.

LOVED.

Another book in this series down and another five star read. THEY ARE SO GOOD.

I loved that the dual POV really was in the forefront. The back and forth chapters between Talyn and the Shadowhawk made for great pacing and an inability to put this book down at all. Both of their stories are so powerful and seeing both sides of everything really helped round out the plot.

The found family dynamics once again warmed my soul. I love this group of friends who have clearly turned more to each other. The loyalty to protect and the bravery each exhibit is the kind of stuff I love in my fantasy books.

I can’t really say much more due to spoilers that you’ll just have to read to know. BUT I am absolutely loving this series. I LOVE these characters, I LOVE the story and can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: a little
Romance: THE HINTS ARE KILLING ME
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: battle scenes, physical and magical altercations, near death experiences

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Book Review

Book Review: First Rider’s Call (Green Rider #2) by Kristen Britain

August 10, 2022August 30, 2021 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 596 pages
Author: Kristen Britain
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: August 3rd, 2004
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

GHOSTLY RIDERS

Karigan G’ladheon had been a Green Rider, one of the king of Sacoridia’s elite magical messengers. Being a Green Rider was more perilous than Karigan had ever imagined, for a rogue Eletians had cracked the magical D’Yer Wall which had protected Sacoridia for a thousand years from the evil influence of Blackveil Forest–the arboreal prison of Sacoridia’s ancient enemy Mornhaven the Black–and had brought the threat of dark magic into the land. In the messenger service she had been caught up in a world of deadly danger, and though she had defeated the Eletian, she had nonetheless been tainted by his wild magic.

Exhausted in body and spirit, and determined to be the mistress of her own destiny, Karigan has returned to her home in Corsa. But Karigan’s determination was no match for the Rider’s call. Ghostly hoofbeats echoed in the deep regions of her mind, and when she awoke to find herself on horseback halfway to Sacor City–in her nightgown–she finally gave in.

Back at court Karigan found the Green Riders weakened and diminished. Rider magic was becoming unreliable, and she herself was having ghostly visions–visions of a strong woman with wild flowing hair and a blue and green tartan draped across her shoulder, pinned with a golden brooch. This woman was no stranger to Karigan nor would she have been to any Green Rider, for she was Lil Ambriodhe, First Rider, and founder of the Green Rider corps. But why was she appearing to Karigan? And would Karigan be able to seek the help of a woman who had been dead for a thousand years?

I’M INVESTED.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up. I decided to try the audio (highly recommend) to make it through this tome to really decide if I wanted to invest in this series. Ohhhh did the audio convince me! I really liked this epic fantasy and I feel excited to read book three.

After about 100 pages I started to settle [and remember] who was who and what was happening. By the end I found myself intrigued by the storylines and characters. I wanted to know more about everyone and I am HOOKED on the bit of romance this book is finally adding in. Some books need a dash of romance and this is the case for the series. There’s so much action and politics and things of that nature happening that a bit heavier addition of some soft, tender moments would send this into 5 star land for me.

There’s many maaaany different lines weaving together. I liked the change of POV’s and I was able to keep up with what was happening. They’re journal chapters that gratefully do lead to a HUGE reveal that I think is going to have some great threads for the next book.

I’m excited to continue this high fantasy. It’s nice to have a thick series to work my way through and will definitely be continuing with the audio books.

Overall audience notes: