Tag: romantasy

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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Book Review: Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden #3) by Beck Michaels

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 763 pages
Author: Beck Michaels
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 27th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Survival demands more than blood. It demands souls.

Alone and afraid, the time has come for Dyna to be her own savior. She will use every skill and spell her Guardians taught her to survive. Because the damsel is dead. This time, she fights.

Cassiel and the Guardians are desperate to find their Maiden. Except they cannot do it alone. The journey to cross Troll Bridge proves harder than ever as they race against the impending winter. When the High King summons him to answer for his crimes, Cassiel will sacrifice everything in order to save the one person he can’t live without. Even if it means his fate will end in exile—or a throne.

Dyna and her Guardians will all face a trial by fire as they confront their greatest threat yet. Themselves. And when ice meets flame, will they pay the price?

The hunt for Mount Ida reaches new heights and dark lows as the Guardians of the Maiden continues in this heart gripping tale about the bounds of love, duty, and power.

Thank you to the author for a gifted audiobook.

IT WAS GOOD, BUT IT WAS LONG.

I have had an up and down ride with this series, and this installment overall made me want to continue. I still feel invested in the overall plot and storylines for this cast. Towards the end there were multiple villain era-esque lines popping up and I AM HERE FOR IT ALL. Let’s make some of these characters a bit more gray because I have been waiting books to see this happen.

But 750 pages? Nooooo. Way too long. The amount of time spent on Dyna and Cassiel’s romantic relationship was, good heavens, expounded upon past the point of true enjoyment. I enjoyed some of the scenes that we did get (and that spice is kept on the more minimal side!), but I just needed less. I’m really interested in a new potential romance that’s brewing and some of the other character arcs almost more at this point. I did think it was interesting to get the villain’s back story because a lot more things make sense in regards to his dynamic now too.

The plot stalled here and there (as previously mentioned). There was some movement and I liked seeing where things are going. I truly did enjoy the audiobook a lot. It’s how I’ve read all of these books and I will continue to do so. The narrators do an amazing job and I continually found myself wanting to listen to this book.

Curious where the ending will take us next!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some mild
  • Romance: vague open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, murder, kidnapping, torture, battle and war themes

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ARC Book Review: To Poison a King (The Heirs of Isla #1) by S.G. Prince

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 427 pages
Author: S.G. Prince
Publisher: Summerhold Publishing
Release Date: April 4th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

S.G. Prince’s new standalone is a breathtaking fantasy about sacrifice, self-discovery, and a girl tasked with saving the very man she aimed to kill.

Selene is the youngest daughter in a gifted line of healers, born to serve as the king’s royal physician. Yet when Selene’s mother Persaphe embroils her in a plot to kill the king, Selene finds herself poisoning the very man she is sworn to protect.

Things seem bleak, but there is another problem—the poison doesn’t work, and the king doesn’t die. Rather, he awakes from his coma paralyzed, aware of the attempt on his life, and furious.

With the palace in a state of upheaval and everyone hunting the king’s poisoner, Persaphe flees, leaving Selene the task of rehabilitating the man she aimed to kill, all while hiding her true role in his demise. What follows is a journey spanning years and continents, as a king and his servant develop into unlikely friends…and more. Yet the closer Selene grows to the king, the more her secret weighs on her, as does her growing fear that Persaphe—having failed to kill him once—might return to try again.

Author’s Note: To Poison a King is an adult standalone fantasy romance featuring a brooding hero and a gifted yet self-conscious healer. The story is written for readers who want to know a character from the inside out, who are in it for the build, who like to watch a transformation take place over time, because that’s how you really feel it. I wrote this book from the heart, as true as I could make it. I think it changed me to write it. I hope it changes you, too. – S.G.

Content Warning: This book contains reference to attempted suicide, attempted sexual assault, violence, gore, death of an infant, and sex.

Thank you to the author for an ecopy!

SWEPT AWAY.

Oh my goodness. I really took a chance on this one with knowing nothing about it besides the summary (and I SUPER appreciate the way the author describes it too because it gave me great insight into the book and helped me want to read it). Don’t expect a fantasy world with heavy world building and a complicated magic system. This is heavily character driven and you’ll easily be attached to the main characters.

This is a SLOWW build. In the best way. Goodness. I LOVED watching Selene’s story develop over the course of years. By the time she’s aged a bit (it starts around age 14) I found myself completely attached to her whole life. I wanted to see it all and I just loved her as a character. She makes mistakes, works hard to fix them, truly is trying to do the best she can to move forward and make a little slice of life that she can be happy with.

And then the romance??? Oh gosh. It is subtle and dang sweet. It’s tender and loving and watching these two develop from acquaintances, to friends, to maybe lovers? Every single moment between Elias and Selene felt important. I hung on every word and scene clutching my book, waiting to see what would happen next.

Even when the inevitable conflict arose it was magnetic. I HAD TO SEE EVERYTHING RIGHTED. I couldn’t put the book down. I can’t come up with any better words than saying to READ THIS.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: mild
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: attempted suicide, attempted sexual assault, violence, blood/gore depiction, death of an infant, loss of life

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