Tag: romantasy

Book Review: Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2) by Melissa K. Roehrich

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 560 pages
Author: Melissa K. Roehrich
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: December 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

ANOTHER PRETTY CAGE.
Whisked away to the Fire Court, Scarlett Monrhoe finds herself in the hands of the man who killed her mother. The Prince of Fire. Thrust amongst the Fae court she loathes, she is at their mercy. She doesn’t know what plans he has for her, but she has plans of her own. She just hasn’t decided how thoroughly she wants to break him yet. If only he didn’t tempt her with every breath, every touch, every kiss. It’s another dangerous game that has her wondering if she will be the one irreparably broken in the end.

ANOTHER DANGEROUS GAME.
The Fae Queen has plans of her own. She’s determined to get to Scarlett in any way she can, and that includes using a mortal prince that followed the lost Fae princess across the border. Crown Prince Callan is desperate to get Scarlett back from the Fire Prince and return to Baylorin. The question is, what is he willing to sacrifice for the Wraith he loves who’s trailed by shadows?

ANOTHER RACE AGAINST TIME.
Every day that passes, Lord Tyndell and Mikale get closer to finding where she is hidden in the Fire Court. Every day that passes puts those Scarlett left behind in more danger. Every day that passes, more secrets are revealed. Truth has been buried in history that has long-since been rewritten, but in order to separate facts from lies, they will be forced to cross other borders and seek answers from kingdoms far more terrifying than the Fire Court.

BOOK TWO SYNDROME.

This started off really strong for me. It did. BUT THEN. Somewhere near the middle I started to notice the cyclical, repetitive nature of a lot of the conversations, arguments and ideas that led me to speed reading to the last little bit to reconnect back to this story.

I am still waiting for Scarlett to really DO something. It’s a lot of wallowing and waiting. For a 550 page fantasy book the lack of action was outstanding. There was plenty of arguing and make-up kissing which worked for the first 3 times it happened. I’ll concede I did like that the romance got some major development (which makes me curious how it’ll play out over another three books). Scarlett has a lot of work to do to actually be a good character that isn’t hella frustrating.

The found family aspects were great. I enjoyed the side characters and getting to know more about them. I really liked having more points of view too. It balanced the plot and seeing multiple sides to what was happening from other perspectives. I hope those continue!!

An intense plot is there, I just need some more execution. I loved book one, but did listen to it and I wonder if that had some bearing on my rating. I noticed little things here and there that I didn’t pick up on in the audio version. I am still invested though and want to see where this goes. There’s definitely an ACOTAR/TOG vibe that’s undeniable. Luckily I’ve seen enough differences that I’m fine continuing [for now].

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: multiple open; moderate explicit
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, PTSD, mentions of sexual assault, kidnapping, physical and magical altercationsv

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ARC Book Review: King’s Bride (The Chronicles of Urn #1) by Beck Michaels

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 500 pages
Author: Beck Michaels
Publisher: Pluma Press
Release Date: May 23rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He’s the God of Death. She’s the bride sent to kill him. Their union may be the end of them both.

The Everfrost is ruled by the King in his castle of ice. Some call him the Ice Phoenix, others the God of Death. The clans survive by one law alone: pay the King the homage he is due and never take what belongs to him. But when Sunnëva Morkhàn’s brother falls gravely ill, she will have to do exactly that.
Against every warning, she sneaks into the castle to steal the one thing that would save him—a magical rose. But you don’t steal from the King and live to tell the tale. When the Ice Phoenix discovers her theft and demands payment, the cost is too steep. Mourning and enraged, she challenges him, only to lose. To spare her clan from the King’s wrath, her father offers her as a bride, and for a reason she cannot fathom, the King agrees.
Revenge is a delicate game Sunnëva is determined to play, even if killing the God of Death is no easy feat. But as secrets unfold around the alluring King, and dark threats emerge from the shadows, Sunnëva struggles to hold on to her hatred—and her heart.

Inspired by Beauty and the Beast, King’s Bride is the first book in Beck Michaels’ companion prequel series, the Chronicles of Urn—dark fables founded in forbidden love and strong-willed women who bring kings to their knees.

Thank you Storygram Tours and Beck Michaels for an eARC.

HOOKED.

This book took me on a journey. I realllllly enjoyed it. It’s a captivating beauty and the beast retelling and I loved that it was in the same world of Michaels other series and I noticed a few world building and magic system themes that carried over. I love connections like that.

I was worried the romance would have been off to the races and I was happy to see that it did keep to a slower paced burn. I thought the chemistry between Sunnëva and Jökull was fiery and very well heated. There were a lot of moments I highlighted because I love a swoony death god with words. Spice wise, it went over my line of plot vs. spice. There was an extra scene or two that didn’t fit with the plot and took away from the story for me. Otherwise, I truly was rooting for this relationship and loved all of the development throughout. For a standalone I thought this covered a lot of bases well and wrapped up things too.

There’s a few small plot/writing quirks that I noticed that brought me to a four star. I thought pieces of the ending felt rushed (though I will say I still loved the very end, it’s a HEA don’t worry!!). I’m curious now to make more connections between the two series and seeing how this story intertwines (this do NOT spoil anything for the Guardians of the Maiden series and can be read as a standalone).

Overall audience notes;

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language; some strong
  • Romance: 4+ open; high explicit
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of past sexual assault trauma (the act is not show but given to understand), loss of life, battle themes, blood/gore depiction

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Book Review: A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones #1) by Kate Golden

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 456 pages
Author: Kate Golden
Publisher: The Daisy Press
Release Date: December 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Captured by a king of darkness. Forced to find the light within.

Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.

Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning—and seems to take twisted
pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.

But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

To make it out of enemy territory, she’ll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and dangerous beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life—and hopefully, her heart.

COLOR ME SURPRISED.

I did not expect to love this the way I did. I put it off for a bit because it seemed too hyped and I wanted to see more reviews. Then on a whim, HERE WE ARE. 4.5 stars of romantasy goodness.

This had a much more true slow burn that worked better for me than a few recent books. I loooove hidden identity plots so dang much. Even when I know it’s coming, still makes my day. And this kept slowly revealing Kane’s history and nature and I loved every second of it. I thought Kane and Arwen had some actual chemistry and I enjoyed the banter between them. I liked seeing them get to know each other and have some soft moments amidst the action.

And plenty of action was had! I loved that it kept a pretty fast pace with enough things going on that I rarely felt a drag. Within that though is my one small complaint. A lack of world building. More of it made sense towards the end, but I have MANY questions about the dynamics of everything.

I think the FMC could use a bit more work, but as far as character arcs go, I am very much on board with the sequence. I am soooo excited to see how book two continues the development of characters and storyline.

It was a good read y’all.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 1 open; + some innuendo
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, physical and magical altercations, near death experiences, loss of a mother, weapons violence, kidnapping, attempted sexual assault

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ARC Book Review: The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia #2) by Carissa Broadbent

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 600 pages
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 14th, 20223
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.

In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.

The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.

When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom–and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.

But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power – and the devastating love that could be her downfall.

Thank you to Book of Matches Media and Carissa Broadbent for an eARC.

INCREDIBLE.

I went in to this with some VERY high levels of hype and I was NOT DISAPPOINTED. I can NOT handle when the MMC is absolutely gone for the FMC. And Raihn WAS GONE. There’s even dual POV SO WE GET BOTH SIDES.

I CAN’T STOP THE CAPS I’M SORRY (but not really).

There was this beautiful slow build to the plot and romance that kept me wholly engaged. And about the 45% mark I was GLUED to my screen. I devoured the rest of the book needing to know all the answers and finding that amazing ending. I loooove how Raihn and Oraya both worked on their relationship. There was plenty to apologize for and concessions to be made and these two found love in a hopeless place AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

And the Vincent story line?? That about made me cry. It was EMOTIONAL. I am in absolute awe of how Carissa Broadbent took this character’s story line and gave it such an impactful and raw telling. That was not easy to do and she absolutely nailed it.

The high levels of action will have you fearing for everyone’s lives and desperately flying through pages to see who comes out on the other side. I loved all of the reveals, betrayals, big moments, little moments, and 100+ things I highlighted and bookmarked.

YOU MUST READ THIS SERIES.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open; high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: discussion of rape and sexual assault (off screen), blood play, violence against children, complicated father/daughter relationship

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