Tag: laura sebastian

Book Review: Poison in Their Hearts (Castles in Their Bones #3) by Laura Sebastian

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 544 pages
Author: Laura Sebastian
Publisher: Hodderscape
Release Date: June 18th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Follow three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction, conquest, and the crown.

Promised for marriage, now destined to die.

Since Sophronia’s murder, princesses Daphne and Beatriz have discovered the truth: they are pawns in their mother’s bid for the throne of Vesteria.

Separated with enemies on all sides, Beatriz and Daphne’s only hope are the few allies who stretch across the borders of Vesteria: Sophronia’s husband, the deposed King Leopold; Violie, a former spy for Empress Margaraux; and Beatriz’s missing husband, Pasquale, and his lover, Ambrose. But whispers of an ancient prophecy and secrets from their past follow every move they make.

With the magic of the stars, the princesses are ready to make their final stand.

SHOULD HAVE BEEN A DUOLOGY.

Mehhhhh. I admit to never feeling FULLY invested in this series, but I did feel it enough to want to finish it out. But for 600 pages I think this really should have been a duology. Many of the story lines seemed dragged out and you’d think with all of that page time the romances would have been more developed but I kept waiting for more and never found it.

There were some good scenes and I did love how fiercely loyal all of these sisters were to each other. I love good sister relationships like this. I enjoyed the characters and thought there were some good character arcs written in too. I just think the length really kept me from feeling these books.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Stardust in Their Veins (Castles in Their Bones #2) by Laura Sebastian

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 576 pages
Author: Laura Sebastian
Publisher: Delacorte
Release Date: February 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Princesses Beatriz and Daphne have lost their older sister, but their mother’s grand scheme of taking the continent of Vesteria is far from complete. With the country of Temarin now under the Empress’s control, only the nations of Cellaria and Friv remain free from her rule. What’s worse, an ominous prophecy has begun to shine through the constellations: the blood of stars and majesty spilled.

Usurped by conniving cousins Nico and Gigi, Beatriz fears for her life, while in icy Friv, Daphne continues her shaky alliance with the rebels even as she struggles to stay a step ahead of them. But when an unlikely ally offers Beatriz a deal, she finds herself back in her mother’s sights.

With enemies around every corner and the stars whispering of betrayal, Daphne and Beatriz can’t trust anyone–least of all each other. If they’ve learned anything, though, it’s that the Empress’s game is constantly changing. And the arrival of surprise visitors from Temarin just might tip the scales in the princesses’ favor… if they manage to avoid meeting their sister’s fate before they can make their next move.

LONG.

I’m mostly enjoying this series, but even at 3x audio speed I was feeling the drag of some of the story. I felt the same about book one which means I’m really hoping for the last book to bring this home.

I do like the multi-POV setup. There’s so much happening in many different parts of this world that multi works best to get an understanding of everything across the kingdoms. There’s plenty of politicking, and a lack of action. As a rebellion group I kept thinking the sisters would end up in more scuffles and that there wouldn’t be as much hanging out.

Beatriz is still my favorite of the bunch and I like how morally gray she became throughout. Daphne definitely makes you want to shake her to knock some understanding into her brain, but I didn’t find it annoying. It fit with the story and how each of the sisters are taking their own journey to seeing the evil around them.

I’ll still read the next book, but I will be going the library/audio route again.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, murder, near death experiences, weapons violence, poisoning, physical altercations

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Book Review: Castles in Their Bones (Castles in Their Bones #1) by Laura Sebastian

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 514 pages
Author: Laura Sebastian
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: February 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A spellbinding story of three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction, conquest, and the crown. Immerse yourself in the first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the author of the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess series.

Empress Margaraux has had plans for her daughters since the day they were born. Princesses Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz will be queens. And now, age sixteen, they each must leave their homeland and marry their princes.

Beautiful, smart, and demure, the triplets appear to be the perfect brides—because Margaraux knows there is one common truth: everyone underestimates a girl. Which is a grave mistake. Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz are no innocents. They have been trained since birth in the arts of deception, seduction, and violence with a singular goal—to bring down monarchies— and their marriages are merely the first stage of their mother’s grand vision: to one day reign over the entire continent of Vesteria.

The princesses have spent their lives preparing, and now they are ready, each with her own secret skill, and each with a single wish, pulled from the stars. Only, the stars have their own plans—and their mother hasn’t told them all of hers.

Life abroad is a test. Will their loyalties stay true? Or will they learn that they can’t trust anyone—not even each other? 

THAT ENDING SAVED THIS.

Let me start off with some audio comments. This is one of those few times where I’m going to say: skip the audio. All of the main characters (and their love interests around the same age) sounded closer to 10-12 year-olds than 17/18. I struggled with that (didn’t affect my overall rating though).

A lot of this was intriguing! The magic system is kind of cool with the stardust components and how stars actually fall from the sky?? Wild and I love it. I also love a good sister story and these three push and pull each other, but they clearly care for one another. It’s a heavy political fantasy and at times that did drag the plot.

I definitely needed some better world building initially. I was very much confused as to who was where and what that separate nation was like for almost half the book. A friend sent me the map/family tree and that helped tremendously.

The ending saved this book for me. It was fast paced, full of action, and I am still SHOCKED at some of the final scenes. Was it true?! I have questions and I will be seeking answers in book two.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: mild blood/gore
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: sexual harassment, poison, loss of loved ones, executions

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