Tag: indie author

Book Review: Where Oceans Burn (Where Oceans Burn #1) by Casey L. Bond

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 467 pages
Author: Casey L. Bond
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: October 13th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

With these three virtues, we shall rise. With these three, we shall conquer.

Truth. Honor. Blood.

To my people, the sky-reigning Empyreans, Intention Day is sacred…

Truth…
To me, it’s the day my carefully crafted lie crumbles and my truth gives way to my ruin. The intense power surging through my veins is revealed, immediately coveted by those eager to exploit me for what they deem a greater good. If they have their way, the future I long for will be ripped away. But I am a warrior born to fly. To fight. Not to be caged and controlled.

The great scale of the goddess Neera has tipped out of my favor. The pans teeter between weighty punishment and deadly opportunity. My choices? Capture my most formidable enemy before next Intention Day, or forfeit my wings.

Honor…
But life’s loftiest plans are often a breath away from disaster, and tragedy strikes as unpredictably as a bolt of lightning. When I find myself at the mercy of my greatest enemy, the terror known as the Shark of the Sea, the monster who killed the person I loved most, I accept my fate. My death. But the Shark does not lash out in revenge for all I’ve done. He tells me his true name is Crest. And while he calls me a Scourge, he honors his orders to guard me.

Blood…
Forced together, Crest reveals that the truth only exists in the place between our perspectives and shares his hope to garner peace before the land is further soaked with the blood of sky and sea. The longer I am among his kind, the more I wonder if he might be right. Could an alliance be the salvation of both our peoples?

I am Elira, great Scourge of the Sky.
He is Crest, cunning Shark of the Sea.
Together… we could be unstoppable.

I HAVE THOUGHTS.

I feel really mixed on this one.

On one hand, the writing is excellent. But on the other, every scene was extended or explained just a touch too long making this book about 100 pages more than absolutely necessary. I liked the premise and set-up a lot. A good dose of enemies to lovers and righting wrongs and this is filled with plenty of reasons I pick up fantasy books like this.

I did think the Oracle/Seer angle took away from the story. It was causing a lot of telegraphing because of how often they were popping up. The gods then felt distant and not quite clicking with the main plot. There was little to no action for what should have been more interactive scenes between the two warring groups. I hope there’s a bit more intensity in the next read.

Elira and Crest have a nice super slow build happening. I appreciated a lot of the aspects of their relationship dynamic because of the way the story was put together. It’s realistic and not rushed so that alone makes me want to give book two a go.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: med-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, war themes, loss of life, attempted murder, near drowning

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Play Your Part by Kathryn Kincaid

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 312 pages
Author: Kathryn Kincaid
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 3rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Three months. Two enemies. One goal. Zero time for distractions.

Kennedy Cole’s life stalled one year ago after she tragically lost her mom. She abandoned her plans to finish college and quit working for her family’s professional hockey team, the Palmer City Wolves. She’s finally ready to move forward with Wolves star player Justin Ward at her side, but when he’s traded to another team, he hightails it out of town, leaving Kennedy behind.

Alexei Volkov is known for his hotheaded reputation, on-ice antics, and rivalry with Justin. After being fired by his last team, the Wolves offer Alexei a one-year contract to prove he can stay out of trouble. When a misleading photo of Kennedy and Alexei in a compromising position goes viral, his career is in jeopardy, along with the team’s public image.

Alexei wants nothing to do with the sassy brunette who got him into this mess. Kennedy would rather avoid the arrogant hockey player. But pretending to date each other can fix the negative press. The agreement was simple: three months together, with clearly outlined rules. But the more time Kennedy and Alexei spend together, the harder it becomes to fight the sizzling chemistry between them, making it difficult to know where pretense ends and reality begins.

Fans of Elle Kennedy, Mariana Zapata, and C.W. Farnsworth will enjoy this dual-POV steamy contemporary romance featuring enemies-to-lovers and fake-dating tropes.

AWESOME DEBUT.

I admit, I am easily influenced by one well created reel that shows up when I’m mindlessly scrolling. This one was an absolute winner.

The fake dating was a lot of fun and I liked the enemies to lovers vibes banter that happened between Alexei and Kennedy. I continually smirked at my screen because I just KNEW THEY WERE FALLING IN LOVE. And that’s the best feeling.

I looooved that this was a slow burn. Really getting to see that build before the spice came into play. Better yet, it happened to be in my spice comfort level and worked well into the story. I loved both of these characters. Battling pasts, finding common ground, and realizing that they may have met their match.

The only thing I didn’t love was that Kennedy’s ex came back into the picture when I didn’t think he was needed to bring in any more conflict. He can get gone.

Fantastic writing and story telling. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Highly recommend for my hockey romance lovers.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: two brief open; low explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: brief hockey fights, loss of a mother (recounted)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: House of Beating Wings (The Kingdom of Crows #1) by Olivia Wildenstein

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: 490 pages
Author: Olivia Wildenstein
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 27th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Free the crows, Fallon, and they will make you queen.

Until an oracle predicted my regal future, I’d never imagined myself rising above the curve of my round ears. After all, I was the magicless halfling loved by beasts but loathed by every pure-blooded faerie at court. Well . . . by all but one.

Dante Regio, prince of Luce, had owned my heart since he gave me my first kiss. If gathering a slew of iron relics could help me overthrow the current monarch and crown his brother to rule at my side, then treasure hunting I’d go.

If only the oracle had warned me what winged demon I was releasing into the world.

And that I’d become this demon’s obsession.

I’M SOLD.

Well hi there new fantasy romance indie book. I LIKED YOU A LOT.

This was a pretty good start. I liked the beginning but there was a particular scene I’m still thinking really didn’t need to be added. And after that point things slowed down a bit so I was in limbo wondering how I would feel about the book overall.

The second half showed up big time. It had many things I always turn back to in fantasy romance reads. I love hidden identities, a FMC who’s realizing her own worth and power, changing alliances and allllll of those secrets revealed. I do think Fallon was a bit on the naïve and super oblivious side, but I’ll cut her some slack to make it up in the next book.

I enjoyed the plot too. It’s a good mix of warring kingdoms, with new people rising to the throne and even kingdoms you didn’t see coming. I can’t wait to further explore those politics and dynamics in the series too. This was just a really nice beginning and my first book by this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: one open door; innuendo throughout
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction, loss of life, loss of loved ones, physical and magical altercations

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Thief of Sorrows by Kristen M. Long

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 445 pages
Author: Kristen M. Long
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 17th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What if Robin Hood was a female assassin, with deadly powers, who not only steals from the rich and corrupt…she kills them too. Isolde Cotheran is anything but a damsel in need of saving. By day, she is the heir to Thornwood manor and all its lands. By night, she masquerades as the Hood, a brutal outlaw who leads a cadre of thieves and assassins whose mission is simple, fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. When Isolde brutally kills a lord, it forces two men back into her life. Liam, the handsome Captain of the Guard, who was shunned from Thornwood for joining the evil king’s army. And Gage, the Right Hand of the king and murderer of Isolde’s first love.  After a successful heist leaves Gage humiliated and in danger of the king’s wrath for failure to capture the Hood, Isolde’s world is thrown into chaos. Struggling to protect those she loves not only from the dangers of the kingdom but from her own deadly power, Isolde is forced to take action when one of her own is caught in the crosshairs. Choices are made and blood is spilled, forcing the Hood to face her past. A past that is far more dangerous than even she realizes.

Thank you to the author for a gifted audiobook.

I’LL READ THE SECOND.

Audio notes: I loved the audio! The narrator was great. And I think that really helped my overall enjoyment of the book.

I was very intrigued by the gender bend on Robin Hood and liked how it played out. There’s some great action, lots of politicking and some dark evil. Isolde was a FMC you wanted to root for and I liked seeing her strength and determination to right wrongs.

The romance didn’t really set me swooning. It was a relationship already formed and that left me in the dust for catching up on the chemistry. I am genuinely curious where it’ll go in book two now that events have occurred. There’s room for a solid build.

I felt like the plot meandered and in the middle especially. I kept waiting for different aspects of the story to move, or for even sub-plots to get a little more shine. I still have plans to read book two and see the progression. I do think the writing was wonderful and the potential is here.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2-3 open; low-moderate explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of sexual assault and rape, kidnapping children, assault, murder, near death experiences, weapons violence

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph || TikTok