Tag: new adult romance

Book Review: The Witch Collector (Witch Walker #1) by Charissa Weaks

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 343 pages
Author: Charissa Weaks
Publisher: City Owl Press
Release Date: November 2nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Every harvest moon, the Witch Collector rides into our valley and leads one of us to the home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever.

Today is that day—Collecting Day.

But he will not come for me. I, Raina Bloodgood, have lived in this village for twenty-four years, and for twenty-four years he has passed me by.

His mistake.

Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the ashes is the Collector, Alexus Thibault, the man she vowed to slay and the only person who can help save her sister.

Thrust into an age-old story of ice, fire, and ancient gods, Raina must abandon vengeance and aid the Witch Collector in saving the Frost King or let their empire—and her sister—fall into enemy hands. But the lines between good and evil blur, and Raina has more to lose than she imagined. What is she to do when the Witch Collector is no longer the villain who stole her sister, but the hero who’s stealing her heart?

SECOND HALF SAVE.

Oh blessed be that the second half was better. The initial start was good, but then it fell of steeply in pacing (and going around and around and around in the woods) that I almost lost faith in all of the good reviews I’ve seen.

I liked the development of Raina’s character. A bit jaded and bent on revenge at first she slowly comes around to listening and seeing how things are more different than she would have thought. Character growth is one of the biggest things I look for in a read and I appreciated seeing that here.

The romance grew on me. I liked the banter and enemies to lovers vibes. I think it took off quicker than expected (I thought it would be more slow burn to the second book), BUT there’s lots of options on how book two, plot wise, plays out. I do like Raina and Alexus together and all of the reveals about Alexus’s path have me waiting more!

There’s a pretty good plot here that I do think for the magic and world building was developed well. My issues lied in the pacing. I thought for a first book in a series I got enough information (without info dumping) to want to continue this series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: open door
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, loss of life, loss of loved ones, near death experiences

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Book Review: Esperance (Esperance Trilogy #1) by Heather Frost

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Heather Frost
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 18th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Twelve strangers. Six marriages. One year in Esperance.

Amryn has many reasons to hate the empire. Her latest is her forced marriage to General Carver Vincetti, better known as the Butcher. If he learns even one of her secrets, he will kill her. And Amryn has many secrets. Not only is she an empath with forbidden magic, she’s also a newly recruited rebel intent on destroying the empire—starting at Esperance.

Carver knows the rebels have infiltrated the remote temple of Esperance. His job is to hunt them down before they can wreck the emperor’s new peace. Despite the demons that haunt him, Carver is intent on his mission—but he’s not prepared for Amryn. From her fiery red hair to her surprising wit, his new wife has captured his attention. The attraction that flares between them is undeniable. Now he just has to determine if she’s the enemy.

When the newly married couples become targets in a violent game, Esperance becomes more dangerous than anyone anticipated. Carver and Amryn are about to discover that no one is exactly who they appear to be—especially each other.

INVESTED.

This book and I had a journey.

We started off super strong. I loved the premise for the plot and I am ALWAYS here for a arraigned marriage situation. There was good action to get the blood pumping and many mysteries afoot.

Then in the middle we lost me for a bit. The magic system and world building still needs some help. I think the confinement in one location caused a lack of understanding for the outside world and why there’s magic in the first place. I’m hopeful this is further explained in the next book since there’s going to be many new locations. I did struggle with the romance too, there was a bit more tell vs. show. Buuut I will say, once I got pass the 60% mark things progressively picked up.

And the ending. The whole last quarter was a wild ride. I loved having reveal after reveal after reveal. Some twists I saw coming, others, totally surprised by. And even better? NO THIRD ACT CONFLICT between the main couple. There’s plenty of other things happening around them and the fact they actually decide to TRUST one another was amazing. I love that kind of hope and communication.

I official consider myself invested in continuing this trilogy. I’m excited and hopeful about the next book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses; mentions of closed-door between other couples
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, kidnapping, loss of loved ones, weapons violence, poisoning

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ARC Book Review: Begin Again by Emma Lord

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Emma Lord
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: January 24th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hyper competitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite the nerves that have recently thrown her for a loop. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it all together.

But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out of Blue Ridge to her community college. Her roommate Shay needs a major, and despite Andie’s impressive track record of being The Fixer, she’s stumped on how to help. And Milo, her coffee-guzzling grump of an R.A. with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack at a time.

But sometimes, when all your plans are in rubble at your feet, you find out what you’re made of. And when Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away–Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.

Filled with a friend group that feels like family, an empowering journey of finding your own way, and a Just Kiss Already! romance, Begin Again is an unforgettable novel of love and starting again.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the eARC!

LOVED, AS ALWAYS.

Emma Lord books just hit different. They are everything I wish I could have read at the young adult age. Filled with promising outlooks, taking on new challenges and letting go of things holding you back, Begin Again was yet another beautifully crafted read.

I adored Andie. Yes, she definitely was making some poor decisions, but character arcs are my jam and I LOVED her self revelations and discoveries about how she had been handling many facets of her life. I found myself teary every time these books come to a close because they’re just so GOOD. I love the parent discussions, the formation of life length friendships, and falling in love (with the right guy).

College plots need more books. I thought it was a lot of fun with the broadcasting segments, finding ribbons, work/study jobs and more. There were all of these little aspects of the setting that I know contributed to my love of this book.

And the romance was so sweet!! It was a slowwww burn. But the development from friendship to relationship was wonderful. Filled with the tender moments and then (when the time was right) realizing that those feelings had become more. Milo was an absolute gruff sweetheart and I LOVED IT.

I’ll just be sitting here waiting for the next book from one of my favorite auto-read authors.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a mother from cancer (off page, mentioned), cheating, loss of a father from a car wreck (off page, mentioned)

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Book Review: Daughter of the Deep (The Children of Lyr #1) by Lina C. Amarego

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 364 pages
Author: Lina C. Amarego
Publisher: Silver Wheel Press
Release Date: August 15th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A wedding to end a war.

It’s been four years since the blood feud between the Branwens and Mathonwys started. Four years of sunken ships and loved ones lost, four years of wounds both seen and unseen. Keira Branwen is no stranger to duty. As the first mate of a legendary pirate ship, blessed by the sea-god Lyr, and heir apparent to her clan, she would sail to the Otherworld and back to keep her family safe.

But when the Council threatens banishment for her people, Keira is faced with a choice; she must either marry her father’s alleged killer, the sea-snake Ronan Mathowny, or curse her family to the deep.

But in the Seven Isles of the Deyrnas, secrets sleep just beneath the surface of the water. Her father’s death is still shrouded in mystery, and Ronan–her childhood friend, the man she once loved — is hell-bent on proving his innocence. As enemies become friends and friends become suspects, Keira must wade through the waters of doubt to expose the truth, save her family, and restore her father’s legacy.

But Keira soon learns that there are ties thicker than blood, and there is more than one way to sacrifice a life.

STAR FOR POTENTIAL.

I probably could have rated this somewhere in the 2 star zone, buuuut I think for those who really prefer ROMANCE over FANTASY there’s a lot of potential here. I love fantasy romances, but within a fantasy book I expect and hope for world building. I crave and need it to enjoy the story. There was very little of that here.

There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason as to why the main character has some kind of magic ability involving the ocean but nobody else does? And there’s shifters too? But why? Where did they come from? Why does the ocean speak sometimes? PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME. I spent so much of my time frustrated without these answers that I could barely see the aspects I did like.

One of the things I did like was the romance. Got off on a rough foot (because yet again, needed back ground world building), but once I kind of figured out what was happening, things moved at a sweet pace. I liked Ronan and Keira together. A bit of a second chance, enemies to lovers dynamic that played well for these two. I liked that they both fought for each other and found some common ground to build a new foundation between them.

I won’t be continuing this series (I think there’s one more book?). Didn’t mesh with enough of it to be worth figuring out what happens next.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: little
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: mild
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: weapons violence, shipwrecks, death of a parent, near death experiences

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