Tag: olivia wildenstein

Book Review: Starlight (Angels of Elysium #3) by Olivia Wildenstein

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Urban/Paranormal Romance
Length: 488 pages
Author: Olivia Wildenstein
Publisher: WildStone Publishing
Release Date: December 28th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

ANGELIC FACT NUMBER 100: Having wings doesn’t make one noble; it simply makes one fly.

Naya and Adam have nothing in common. Besides black wings. The same birthday. And fathers who are as close as brothers.

But nothing else.

Sweet, diligent Naya has always abided by the rules. Arrogant, uncivil Adam has made it his life’s mission to break each one.

She is the beloved daughter of an archangel. He is the guilds’ resident bad boy . . . well, bad fletching.

When Naya thrusts herself in Adam’s life to request a place on his clandestine team of guardians, he turns her away. The last thing his unsanctioned squad needs is an archangel’s attention, and the last thing he needs is a bubbly, blonde distraction with a sinful voice and soulful eyes.

Problem is, Naya suddenly, and inexplicably, becomes the only thing he wants.

SATISFYING CONCLUSION.

I have really enjoyed this series. I read it over a month which is unusually fast for me to binge a completed trilogy. While there are some magical system gaps and I still have questions about world building, I had SUCH A GOOD TIME with the stories. It’s intense, and romantic and swoony and all the things.

Naya and Adam’s story has been a long time coming and I love the slow burn edge this book took. There’s a really good build up and I loooove Adam’s alpha side. I can’t help myself. Naya is a strong FMC and if you’re looking for a darker vibe, this book has it. The plot is dark and full of shocking things and it often kept me on the edge of my seat.

This feels like an underrated paranormal romance series. I am so happy I took the chance on it and for someone who’s not usually a paranormal fan this checked off many of my boxes. And they’re fantastic on audio!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 3-4 open door; high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, kidnapping, medical experimentation, murder, high blood/gore depiction, physical and weapons violence

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Book Review: House of Pounding Hearts (The Kingdom of Crows #2) by Olivia Wildenstein

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Rating: ★★★★.25
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 521 pages
Author: Olivia Wildenstein
Publisher: Self Publish
Release Date: January 29th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I MEANT TO CAPTURE THE PRINCE’S HEART . . . AND ENDED UP WITH A KING’S.

My desire to sit upon the Lucin throne led me to revive an ancient, winged monarch; one I deemed a friend until that friend duped and imprisoned me.

Lorcan claims he’s holding me captive for my own safety, but then he also claims I belong to him. Slumbering for five centuries has evidently given the Crow King severe delusions.

We may share an unfortunate mind-link, but we are still masters of our own destiny, and I intend to steer mine away from the Sky Kingdom and its prophecies . . . away from him.

I quickly find out there is no escaping the possessive male. In all honesty, I’m no longer certain I want to.

Get swept away in the second installment of a slow-burn shifter fantasy series full of heartbreaking deceit, wicked supernaturals, and alpha males.

POUNDING HEARTS INDEED.

I had seen a review before I started this that mentioned the FMC is a bit of a punk (more or less) for the first half of the book. I can agree with that sentiment and am glad I knew that going in because it allowed me to give her space to grow (even when I was frustrated). Here’s your sign to push through!

BECAUSE IT GETS SO GOOD.

There’s something really magnetic about Wildenstein’s writing that kept me enthralled. I usually like to juggle multiple books at once and you won’t find that here because I kept wanting to see this story progress.

I loooove Lore. He’s the perfect dark, broody lead that I know we all love. I thought there was great banter between him and Fallon and there was some solid relationship development too. I appreciated the slow burn aspect that let the characters shine first before steam was added in.

For a plot surrounding war I thought there would be a little more action (seems like it’s coming though!). I adore all of the friendships and tight knit group that has been formed over the first two books. This is of course a romance, but the other scenes play in so well that it helps surround the story with even more fullness.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2-3 open; high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, kidnapping, weapons violence, physical and magical altercations, battle themes

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