ALC Book Review: Ghostsmith (House of the Dead #2) by Nicki Pau Preto

August 13, 2024August 9, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Author: Nicki Pau Preto
Publisher: McElderry Books
Release Date: August 13th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this action-packed finale to the House of the Dead Duology, Wren and her friends put everything they know to the test as they battle the living and the undead to save their world.

Wren is still reeling from the revelation that the mother she thought was dead is actually the Corpse Queen, a ghostsmith with the terrifying power to control the undead. It was Wren’s own mother who created the iron revenants—an army of near unbeatable undead soldiers. When the iron revenants attack, no one in the Dominions will have the strength to stand in their way.

Now Wren, Leo, and Julian find themselves once more in the Breach, this time on the run from Wren’s father, who is determined to secure more power for himself and the House of Bone. The three are desperate to stop the upcoming war, but working together is easier said than done with Julian still furious about Wren double-crossing him. And to make matters worse, Wren is plagued by powerful new abilities that force her to reassess everything she knows about being a bonesmith.

When Wren’s long-lost twin brother shows up and vows to help her destroy the well of magic that feeds the iron revenants, she must decide if trusting him is worth potentially playing right into their mother’s hands.

After all, the dead might be dangerous, but it’s the living who can betray you.

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

YES.

I will not stop shouting about how much love Nicki Pau Preto deserves. Her fantasy books are criminally underrated and I need y’all to READ THEM ALL.

This was an epic conclusion that brought everything I needed (though I secretly wish for more kissing but I promise it is still worth the read!!). I love this found family. It was such a great cast of characters. The multi-POV did a fantastic job of giving all the angles to the plot and I loved reading each one of them. There is not a weak link.

I love how high action Ghostsmith was. Every time I tried to take a breath, BAM. More chaos. I loved it. I loved the final battle scenes and the betrayals and watching all of the last pieces come together. The intensity of reading this had me wanting to pick up to find out what would happen next.

I adore Wren and Julian. Both amazing characters that stand so well on their own, but the sub-plot romance between them is beautiful too. I loved seeing them trust again and work together and being able to have those soft moments too.

The audiobook is WONDERFUL. Highly recommend. The narrator did an amazing job and it’s such an easy listen.

GOSH I LOVED THIS. READ IT OKAY.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy
Language: a little scattered throughout
Romance: one closed door
Violence: high

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ARC Book Review: Bonesmith (House of the Dead #1) by Nicki Pau Preto

July 20, 2023April 20, 2023 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Nicki Pau Preto
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: July 25th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Gideon the Ninth meets the Game of Thrones White Walkers in this dark young adult fantasy about a disgraced ghost-fighting warrior who must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince.

Ready your blade. Defeat the undead.

In the Dominions, the dead linger, violent and unpredictable, unless a bonesmith severs the ghost from its earthly remains. For bonesmith Wren, becoming a valkyr—a ghost-fighting warrior—is a chance to solidify her place in the noble House of Bone and impress her frequently absent father. But when sabotage causes Wren to fail her qualifying trial, she is banished to the Border Wall, the last line of defense against a wasteland called the Breach where the vicious dead roam unchecked.

Determined to reclaim her family’s respect, Wren gets her chance when a House of Gold prince is kidnapped and taken beyond the Wall. To prove she has what it takes to be a valkyr, Wren vows to cross the Breach and rescue the prince. But to do so, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with one of the kidnappers—a fierce ironsmith called Julian from the exiled House of Iron, the very people who caused the Breach in the first place…and the House of Bone’s sworn enemy.

As they travel, Wren and Julian spend as much time fighting each other as they do the undead, but when they discover there’s more behind the kidnapping than either of them knew, they’ll need to work together to combat the real danger: a dark alliance that is brewing between the living and the undead.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

LOVED THE MAGIC SYSTEM.

This book was a great young adult fantasy series starter. I love Nicki Pau Preto’s previous series (Crown of Feathers) and I can see how Bonesmith will be setting up for its own epic tale.

I loved Wren as the FMC. She’s filled with strengths and flaws that we get to see play out over the book. I like when characters don’t always make the right choice and you get to see the repercussions and reparations made. There were a lot of good reveals as the ending pages concluded and it makes me all the more excited to see what book two holds.

The romance with Julian was a lot less angsty than I was thinking it would be, BUT it really grew on me and I thought it was sweet. There’s so much more to their dynamic and relationship in general that had me enjoying them from start to finish.

For the plot, consider me INTRIGUED. I love this magic system with all of the different smith’s and how those actions have played into the present situation. I think it’ll be really cool to see more of the smith’s in book two and how could I forget? ALL OF THE GHOSTS. The ghosts were their own compelling little side plot that was super interesting.

Really looking forward to the next book.

Overall audience notes:

Young Adult Fantasy
Language: a little strong
Romance: kisses
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: physical and magical altercations, blood depiction, near death experiences, loss of parents, war themes

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Book Review: Wings of Shadow (Crown of Feathers #3) by Nicki Pau Preto

September 11, 2021August 21, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 704 pages
Author: Nicki Pau Preto
Publisher: McElderry Books
Release Date: July 13th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the heart-stopping finale to the Crown of Feathers trilogy, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake calls “absolutely unforgettable,” Veronyka must face her most devastating enemy yet: her own sister.

I had a sister, once…

Veronyka is no longer an orphaned stable boy or a nameless Phoenix Rider apprentice: she is the daughter of Pheronia Ashfire, the last queen of the Golden Empire…and the niece of Avalkyra Ashfire, the resurrected rebel queen who tore the empire apart.

We shone brightly, burned fiercely.

Now that the secret is out, everyone at the Eyrie treats Veronyka differently, and with Tristan still a hostage of the scheming Lord Rolan—and Sev with him as a spy—Veronyka feels very much alone. Except for her beloved phoenix, Xephyra, of course, and her new friend, Kade, who has his own reasons for wanting to save Tristan.

Was it always going to come down to this? Sister against sister? Darkness against light?

Veronyka is determined to do whatever it takes to get Tristan back, even if that means revealing her identity to the world and inheriting a throne she’s not sure she wants. But when she discovers that Avalkyra has bonded with a strix—a legendary creature of darkness that feeds off the life force of others—Veronyka realizes she has more to deal with than an encroaching war with the empire. Val is willing to destroy everything to get her revenge on a world that rejected her, and if Veronyka wants to bring peace to the empire and Pyra alike, she must face down her sister once and for all.

The world began with Ashfire queens…perhaps they will also be its destruction.

SPECTACULAR FINALE.

I have been reading series ender duds over and over and FINALLY, hit a closing book that brought it home. This was incredible and fully solidifies my recommendation that get this on your TBR!

For over 600 pages, I hardly felt it was exhaustingly long. The pages were used well and kept the story moving and involved. I love Veronyka as the ultimate main heroine. She is incredibly strong, full of love, and uses her strengths to lift and care for others. I adored the side romance with Tristan and how supportive they were of each other. No ridiculous miscommunications here.

Sev was all things I love too. He had some personal crises that had me wishing I could lift him up. I was so excited seeing his character arc and learning to love who he is and the power he brings to the table. Kade was also insanely supportive and those two melted my heart. All of these ships melted my heart. [Honorable mention the sweetness of Elliot and Sparrow too!!]

Along with the fantastic friendships, family relationships, were insane amounts of action. Wild tension that had me gasping so much my husband stopped and asked me what was wrong ~whoops~. Each time things started to pick up, I never knew quite what would happen and I loved that.

I loved even more how the final scenes with the main villainess went. It wasn’t typical and became profound as Veronyka and Val had a last clashing. The scene was memorable and full of emotion. I love that it gave Val more than just the antagonist role, but this whole other set of layers. She was one of the main POV’s throughout the series too and I loved being in her mind too.

I could keep gushing. This series has a great set of the three books. I don’t remember being let down by any of them. One of the last things I’ll mentioned I couldn’t get enough of were all of the phoenixes. They all had personalities and quirks and cared deeply for their riders. Definitely one of the best parts of the entire trilogy.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy
Language: very little
Romance: kisses to closed door scenes
Violence: war themes, weaponry, loss of life, physical and magical altercations, fire

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Book Review: Heart of Flames (Crown of Feathers #2) by Nicki Pau Preto

September 18, 2020June 3, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 640 pages
Author: Nicki Pau Preto
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 11th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Veronyka, Tristan, and Sev must stop the advancing empire from destroying the Phoenix Riders in this fiery sequel to Crown of Feathers, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake calls “absolutely unforgettable!”

You are a daughter of queens.

The world is balanced on the edge of a knife, and war is almost certain between the empire and the Phoenix Riders.

Like Nefyra before you, your life will be a trial by fire.

Veronyka finally got her wish to join the Riders, but while she’s supposed to be in training, all she really wants to do is fly out to defend the villages of Pyra from the advancing empire. Tristan has been promoted to Master Rider, but he has very different ideas about the best way to protect their people than his father, the commander. Sev has been sent to spy on the empire, but maintaining his cover may force him to fight on the wrong side of the war. And Veronyka’s sister, Val, is determined to regain the empire she lost—even if it means inciting the war herself.

Such is your inheritance. A name. A legacy. An empire in ruin.

As tensions reach a boiling point, the characters all find themselves drawn together into a fight that will shape the course of the empire—and determine the future of the Phoenix Riders. Each must decide how far they’re willing to go—and what they’re willing to lose in the process.

I pray you are able to pass through the flames.

I LOVE MY SHIPS.

What a good book.

I’ll get the iffy stuff out of the way, this was way too long. Some chapters and POVs really didn’t feel that necessary for most of the story. I found the beginning to drag a lot and was concerned when things would start to pick up. I’m sooooo glad they did, because that ending has me looking for the third book’s release date.

I am loving the relationships in here. Tristan and Veronyka have me feeling ALL THE THINGS. I like how slow and steady they’ve moved and how honest they have been with each other. Their bond is solid and I hope the author is a fan of happy endings or I will be gutted by the time this trilogy wraps up. Sev and Kade are super cute too. Their relationship has also developed at a perfect speed and I adored the little flirtations and shy interactions between them as the story moved. I’ll say it again, I better get happy endings for these four.

One of my favorite pieces of this series is that one of the chapter points-of-view is from the antagonist. Knowing Val’s thoughts and choices is disturbing and fascinating. I hate to love her and love to hate her. Val’s warped sense of self and what she thinks she is owed is a great aspect and counter-balance to Veronyka.

I like the way this story is moving. The way that the politics are starting to play out, there’s been some more skirmishes in the lands and things are starting to pick up. Yes, this definitely had some middle-book syndrome, but if you push through a bit the ending has set up for a fiery conclusion (look, I made a pun).

The magic system in this world is marvelous. I love that there’s bonds between animals and humans. Everything makes sense and as Veronyka learns more about her shadow magic, the more I am understanding everything as well. Veronyka’s character got a lovely arc learning about her magic (and herself) that made me fall in love with her more. I love her fierce and bold nature, but that she also really wants to love and be loved. It’s a good combo (not to mention, I’m totally smitten with Tristan, so for the third time, please give me a happy ending).

Overall audience notes: