Book Review: The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #30 by Mary E. Pearson

January 22, 2024January 26, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 684 pages
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: August 2nd, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lia has survived Venda—but so has a great evil bent on the destruction of Morrighan. And only Lia can stop it.

With war on the horizon, Lia has no choice but to assume her role as First Daughter, as soldier—as leader. While she struggles to reach Morrighan and warn them, she finds herself at cross-purposes with Rafe and suspicious of Kaden, who has hunted her down.

In this conclusion to the Remnant Chronicles trilogy, traitors must be rooted out, sacrifices must be made, and impossible odds must be overcome as the future of every kingdom hangs in the balance.

IT’S JUST SO GOOD.

This is a reread review.

Good heavens. Mary E. Pearson is a brilliant author and I love all of her books and I have loved rereading her entire set. THEY ARE ALL AMAZING.

I forgot how absolutely intense this entire book is. I felt like it rarely let up and just kept hammering home the nature of everything daunting the cast was facing.

And the romance??? THE ANGST, THE WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY. I also found myself freaking out trying to remember how it all specifically worked out because Pearson does not hold back on creating the drama and the hope that Lia ends up with her best match.

I liked how the other side romance went too. Such a sweet and tender romance that was built between them (vague because spoilers) and seeing both of these couples again in DoT & VoT is an even bigger highlight.

There’s so much action, politicking, betrayals and twists. It has all the feels, and all you need in a fantastic YA fantasy trilogy.

READ THEM.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance
Language: some mild
Romance: closed door
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: battle and war themes, loss of loved ones, physical violence, weapons violence, childbirth

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Book Review: The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles #2) by Mary E. Pearson

January 15, 2024January 24, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 473 pages
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: July 7th, 2015
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape . . . and even less of being together.

Desperate to save her life, Lia’s erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komisar that she has a magical gift, and the Komisar’s interest in Lia is greater than either Kaden or Lia foresaw.

Meanwhile, the foundations of Lia’s deeply-held beliefs are crumbling beneath her. Nothing is straightforward: there’s Rafe, who lied to her, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom she always believed to be barbarians but whom she now realizes are people who have been terribly brutalized by the kingdoms of Dalbreck and Morrighan. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her very sense of self, Lia will have to make powerful choices that affect her country, her people . . . and her own destiny.

THE TENSION.

This is a reread review.

Y’all, I forgot just how many people Lia kissed in this book and how much tension there is between all of the parties. What a ride. Here I am, with one of the few love triangle books I can get behind, loving every minute of this reread.

Another fast paced action filled book. I like the change of location and really getting to know both Kaden and Rafe on a deeper level. There’s a lot of great character building and you really start to see the cast grow up and take on the bigger life altering challenges in front of them. I LOVE the growth in Lia and she is continually a formidable FMC who stands in her truth each time.

For a middle book, I have zero complaints. Things keep moving, the intensity will leave you breathless, and all of those kisses will have you shouting at the pages. The world building is unique with the interweaving of the lore and past stories of the lands. I love how everything comes together. If you haven’t read this series it’s a must for backlists!!

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance
Language: a little light
Romance: kisses
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of child abuse and whipping, kidnapping, physical altercations, weapons violence, battle themes

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ARC Book Review: Morrighan: The Beginnings of the Remnant Universe (The Remnant Chronicles #0.5) by Mary E. Pearson

December 7, 2022November 28, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 256 pages
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: November 29th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A richly illustrated and romantic origin story of Mary E. Pearson’s Remnant universe, the world of the BookTok sensations Dance of Thieves and Vow of Thieves and the New York Times-bestselling Remnant Chronicles.

Before borders were drawn, before treaties were signed, before wars were waged anew, before the great kingdoms of the Remnant were even born and the world of old was only a hazy slate of memory told in story and legend, a girl and her family fought to survive.

And that girl’s name was Morrighan.

Discover the origin story of the Remnant universe, penned by the New York Times–bestselling master storyteller Mary E. Pearson, in this lush collector’s edition prequel with lavish illustrations, a romance for the ages, and a magic that stirs the heart.

Thank you to PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook.

AS EXPECTED, STUNNING.

I have been a Pearson fan from the get-go and I know this novella has been around for a little bit and I am kicking myself for not giving it a go sooner. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Even with a condensed storyline, I felt all the swoon, all the romance and tension and heartbreak that came from these pages.

It’s been a few years since I read The Remnant Chronicles so unfortunately I don’t remember some of the nuanced details of the Morrighan influence in that trilogy. I didn’t have a problem loving this book even with that fact because this story stands really well on its own. I think you could read before or after the series and it would be just fine either way.

I loved these characters and the emphatic passion they had for protecting each other. Faced against some unlikely odds Morrighan and Jafir rose above. I love the writing style, world building and everything in between.

This is a must read for TRC fans!

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance Novella
Language: very little
Romance: closed-door
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, physical abuse, small battle themes, weapons violence

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Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite [Completed] Trilogies

July 30, 2019July 29, 2019 GoodeyReads10 Comments

I struggled all week trying to come up with a Freebie option for Top Ten Tuesday. After some brain-storming with my sister we came up with…

Top Ten Trilogies [I don’t know if this has been done before since I haven’t been blogging that long, so if it has, oh well]! I think that trilogies are a great length. Enough to add some intrigue, but not so long they start to drag on.

I’m only including series that have been completed and are reading for you to binge NOW (And I’m not counting any novella-based books). That way you don’t have to wait years like I did to finish them. There’s a couple trilogies finishing this year that I am so excited to read and think they might crack this list eventually.

In no particular order…