Book Review: The Fire in the Glass (The Charismatics #1) by Jacquelyn Benson

January 2, 2024March 13, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Historical Fantasy Romance
Length: 498 pages
Author: Jacquelyn Benson
Publisher: Vaughn Woods Publishing
Release Date: February 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

London, 1914. Lily’s visions could stop a killer… if she’ll trust a reclusive aristocrat with her darkest secret.

A monster stalks the gaslit streets of Edwardian London, draining the blood of the city’s mediums. Lily Albright knows who’s next.

Lily is plagued by visions of the future she can never change. When a mysterious fiend threatens someone she loves, she’s determined this time will be different.

But she can’t do it alone. To save a life, Lily must reveal her darkest secrets to someone she has little reason to trust—the reclusive Lord Strangford, a man haunted by his own unusual powers.

From the glittering galleries of Bond Street to the rookeries of Southwark, Lily and Strangford plunge into a dark conspiracy that lies at the heart of England’s rising eugenics movement. To thwart it, Lily must face a past rife with betrayal—and embrace the power she has spent her entire life trying to escape.

TOO LONG.

I found a lot of this really interesting and somewhat in the veins of Stalking Jack the Ripper. I am coming to realize I really enjoy historical fantasy books. I like the old world vibes with a bit of magic thrown in.

I enjoyed both Lily and Strangford as our main duo. It’s very much a slow burn romance between them as they both learn to release some of their long held secrets and hurts to each other. I was looking for a bit more romantic build up/interactions with them, but as I see this is a series I think there’s plenty of room to continue the romance.

This book is easily 100+ pages too long. Even listening as an audiobook (at 3x speed) I noticed that things weren’t happening. When the action scenes came up, they were good. When soft moments came up, also good. It was some of the in-between that felt dragged out along the plot lines.

I do have plans to read the next book because I’m curious if it upticks from here. It’s got a concept I like seeing and good themes too.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Fantasy + Romance
Language: a little
Romance: kisses
Violence: moderate-high
Trigger/Content Warnings: human experimentation, loss of life, murder, near death experiences, alcohol and drug use, absent parent, blood/gore, anti-Semitic remarks, sexist remarks, physical altercations, sexual assault

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ARC Book Review: What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez

October 26, 2023August 1, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Historical Fantasy
Length: 416 pages
Author: Isabel Ibanez
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: October 31st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the eARC.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

This has got to be one of the best cliffhangers I’ve read in recent memory. When I tell you my jaw DROPPED and I frantically read the last page multiple times trying to figure out what happened, ohhhhh boy. That right there deserves a lot of praise. I love a good blindside. BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN.

The tension in this romance will send you to space. Whit and Inez are two planets orbiting each other but not quite close enough. AND I LIVED FOR IT ALL. Give me all of the build moments. I am a sucker. I loved both of them as separate characters too. Complicated backgrounds and trauma, learning to be open and lean on each other, just all the goodness I love seeing in main characters.

I thought the plot was fantastic and it sent me on multiple internet dives to read more about Cleopatra and Egypt. I loved the way that history was blending in with the fantasy and how lush and beautiful the words built the world. Immersive and daring and WILD twists and turns. I may have caught one, but in no way caught them all.

I NEED BOOK TWO NOW.

Overall audience notes:

YA Historical Fantasy Romance
Language: a little strong
Romance: heated make-out
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, murder, kidnapping, loss of loved ones, near death experiences

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Book Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

April 30, 2023March 9, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Historical Fiction
Length: 483 pages
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Publisher: Harper Voyager US
Release Date: February 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power… and the price might be your very soul.

Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy.

PLEASANT SURPRISE.

I loooove Chakraborty’s debut trilogy (The City of Brass) but you never know what’s going to happen when you pick up a new book. And here I am, happily throwing five stars at this one because it was SO GOOD.

It felt like a big classic fantasy read. I absolutely am enthralled by Amina. I love that she’s an older bada** mother who takes on trials and adventure to keep her loved ones safe. The set-up for this was perfect and I love that it was from the angle of Amina telling her story, her legend.

There’s a big found family vibe here too and y’all know that’s about an auto-read scenario for me. I loved the whole crew, getting some of their backgrounds and the funny banter and caring souls everyone was. I loooved all of the sea travels and how even with a travel plot (not usually my thing) the pace kept things going. And there was enough happening each time that I kept wanting to know more. The audiobook is INCREDIBLE and highly recommend that option.

Super complex religious, political, and more dynamics intersect throughout. I loved that this had the historical elements woven in with the fantasy. It’s complex without being overwhelming. The writing style is fluid and easily holds your attention. It’s just a great book. I can’t wait for Amina’s next adventure.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: some strong
Romance: closed-door
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, creature attacks, blood/gore depiction

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ARC Book Review: Divine Rivals (Iris at the Front #1) by Rebecca Ross

March 31, 2023January 10, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Upper YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Rebecca Ross
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: April 4th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish―into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever. Shadow and Bone meets Lore in this epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ALC.

OMG READ IT.

Audiobook review: LOVED. I love that dual narration. And since this book had a letter writing element to it I was so excited that it was voiced by the two main characters for each reading of the letter experience. I thought the narrators did great and made this book even more incredible.

Consider this my new favorite Rebecca Ross book. From the first few chapters I knew it was going to be a winner. It had one of my favorite subtle romantic set-ups that I LOVE SO MUCH. The tension and chemistry between Iris and Roman was astronomical. I was smitten from the get-go.

The setting is one of those unique facets I can’t get enough of. It’s fantasy BUT with a historical elements that are an undeniable hit when combined. The warfare + meddling gods + humans just trying to survive are the kind of fantasy books I love to read. I liked the intensity factors and wondering who’s going to survive the next chapter and where the next shoe may drop. It’s all here and I’ll say it again, READ IT.

I was perfectly shocked by the ending. One of those, I see you coming, but now the HOW’S. And the OMG WHAT HAPPENS NEXT ya know? I am devastated 100 different ways and yet it was all so beautiful?! The quiet moments slayed me and the passion was magnetic.

Rebecca Ross’s best book. I said it.

Overall audience notes: