Tag: urban fantasy

Book Review: Winds of Change (The Descended Trilogy #1) by Bailey Estep

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Paranormal
Length: 502 pages
Author: Bailey Estep
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: December 15th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Human “Magic, and witches, and terrible people who lived here in Rollingwood a long time ago.”One phrase is all it takes for Devyn to become embroiled in a centuries-old war that might not be as over as everyone thought. She moved to Rollingwood looking for a fresh start, but what she found might be more than she bargained for.Witch Amelia knows something evil is coming to Rollingwood. Or coming back. Long-standing rivalries must shift to make room for new alliances, but her coven doesn’t believe her, and she can’t fight it alone.Protector Eric’s friend disappeared from Rollingwood after sending him a cryptic message. It’s his duty as a Protector to uncover what happened and keep the town safe. He’s expecting a challenge, but nothing could have prepared him for Devyn. He knows he can’t be distracted, but the question does she need to be protected, or is she a threat he never saw coming?Protector. Witch. Human?

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

NOT QUITE.

Well, I was hopeful, but unfortunately this book didn’t work for me. Things started off fine, that typical oh no I have unknown powers in a small town mood, and I rolled with it. I liked having the multiple POV and getting a feel for the town and the history that is currently causing chaos.

The struggles came apparent fairly quickly after that though. There were odd timeline jumps that disrupted the flow of the story which kept throwing me off. The romance was FAST and I wish there had been more exploration of their relationship and connection rather than racing to kisses and confessions. I also didn’t feel that deeply for anyone and the plot itself was incredibly predictable to any supernatural show I’ve seen.

Bummed this one didn’t work out.

Overall audience notes:

  • New adult paranormal
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Oathbound (The Legendborn Cycle #3) by Tracy Deonn

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: YA Urban Fantasy
Length: 656 pages
Author: Tracy Deonn
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: March 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook and Simon Teen for the gifted copy.

I’M STILL PROCESSING.

Bless an incredible audiobook that helped me move through this quicker because this era of life calls for audio reads and I have been waiting for this one for so long!!! And it delivered!!! DELIVERED.

I’ll start with my one small hiccup. The first 30% was rather slow with some key people being separated and on these side quests that I was waiting to wrap up and move along. But when they moved along? GOODNESS. I was glued to my headphones.

I loved the addition of more POV’s. I really liked seeing more angles of the story and thoughts from other characters. It expanded the world and politics and magic system too.

There was one character (trying to stay vague to prevent spoilers if you’re catching this review before reading the books) that I missed and wanted more of. I think that will definitely be happening in the next book but this had a middle book vibe that was hard to ignore.

STILL. Incredible writing, an amazing journey that touches on so many relevant and important topics. I love that these characters are strong AND also show weakness and growth. I am here for it all and can’t wait for book four!!

OH AND DON’T FORGET THE ROMANCE HAS ME IN A CHOKEHOLD. That is all.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Urban Fantasy
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: emotion based fade to black
  • Violence: moderate – high

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Book Review: Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Magical Realism
Length: 416 pages
Author: Emma Törzs
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: May 30th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family’s library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection–a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.

For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements–books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.

All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries.

SOLID STANDALONE.

Y’all know I’m always after a great standalone because I’m a notorious series reader. And this worked really well within one book. I was surprised that it wasn’t actually a fantasy, definitely a magical realism read (everything is in the real world). FYI.

I loved the sister relationship and even though they’ve been separated that they found ways to work together and truly wanted to reconnect when the chance came. There’s three POV’s, the two sisters and Nicholas. All three points of view were necessary and I liked the flow between them. There was truly a different angle from each character and seeing the how’s and why’s.

The magic system was bloody and interesting. I thought it was cool to have the blood writing and the magical libraries and everything in between. The magic system building was there and easy to follow. The plot is a solid mystery and kept me guessing. There’s twists I didn’t see coming and honestly I just genuinely enjoyed this so much.

Overall audience notes:

  • Magical Realism
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: cutting (blood is used to make the books), loss of life

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ARC Book Review: Silver and Bone (Silver and Bone #1) by Claudia Cain

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy Mystery
Length: 334 pages
Author: Claudia Cain
Publisher: Black Sheep Books
Release Date: October 31st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Jennifer Jones is trying to be a better person. As a vampire with a history of serial killing, she probably can’t get any worse.

For seventy years, things have gone well. She has a job, she’s in a steady relationship, and she hasn’t killed a single human. As far as she’s concerned, she’s turned over a new leaf.

Then a body turns up in an alley. A Necromancer warns of an approaching menace. And as more bodies appear, repeating a very familiar pattern, Jennifer finds herself being framed for murder.

You might be able to ignore your past, but you can’t outrun it, and Jennifer’s has just caught up to her. The life she has built is beginning to unravel, and if she doesn’t prove her innocence, she will lose everything.

And maybe she deserves it.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

WHAT A START.

OH my gosh I loved this book y’all. I need book two ASAP. I LOVE Jennifer Jones. Her whole character is immaculately crafted and I am obsessed with her snarky personality that is also filled with love and loyalty to those around her. This book kind of reads like one of those NCIS types of shows but throw in a whole bunch of paranormal characters.

I loved the entire cast. I just don’t have one negative to say about the entire book. I was hooked from the get go and the slow reveals were fantastic. It’s fast paced and full of action. I loved the flashback chapters and the world set-up. As someone who’s generally not an urban fantasy lover, this one HIT ALL THE MARKS.

But excuse me, THE ENDING. I am shooketh. And I’m so curious how this story will continue and where things will lead to next.

Claudia Cain is a hidden gem and you absolutely need to take a chance on her books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban Fantasy Mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction involving deaths from vampires, murder, kidnapping, torture, werewolf attacks

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