Tag: urban fantasy

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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Book Review: The Secret of the Book Keeper by J.A. Hemingway

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Length: 300 pages
Author: J.A. Hemingway
Publisher: Glenthorne Press
Release Date: October 15th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Theo, a 17-year-old American backpacker exploring Europe, tries to brush off the odd behavior of the townspeople of Bridgingdale, an obscure English village—until a suspicious fire in the town square reveals the first of the town’s many secrets.
At the center of it all is the mysterious and daring 17-year-old Leyna, a Book Keeper with an ancient calling to mend tears between the literary world and reality.
When fantastical monsters and villains start escaping their stories, Leyna insists it is someone else’s nefarious doing, but the townspeople refuse to accept this as possible. Only Theo believes her. Together they must work to discover and stop the saboteur before it’s too late . . . for both worlds.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

GREAT FOR YA.

What I loved most about this was that it’s a book you can easily hand to a teenager without any glaring content warnings for a category that’s hard to describe.

I thought the story was great. It’s a fun concept with the hidden town and all of the monsters jumping out of classic books. I liked the action it brought and seeing how the characters worked together each time.

Theo, I adored. He was a wonderful MMC. Easy to root for, open to rolling with new information and a loyal person. I liked his friendship with Leyna (and maybe a little bit of romance too?) and am excited to see that continue in book two.

This is an urban/portal fantasy and not a full fledged new world or anything. Diving into different books was fun and y’all know I love a Pride and Prejudice moment. I thought the magic system worked well inside the confines of the magical realism. The ending was solid and left a good opening for the next book that I definitely will be reading.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Urban/Portal fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: flirting
  • Violence: low – moderate

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Book Review: The Wren in the Holly Library (The Oak and the Holly Cycle #1) by K.A. Linde

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: K.A. Linde
Publisher: Entangled
Release Date: June 4th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can you love the dark when you know what it hides?

Some things aren’t supposed to exist outside of our imagination.

Thirteen years ago, monsters emerged from the shadows and plunged Kierse’s world into a cataclysmic war of near-total destruction. The New York City she knew so well collapsed practically overnight.

In the wake of that carnage, the Monster Treaty was created. A truce…of sorts.

But tonight, Kierse—a gifted and fearless thief—will break that treaty. She’ll enter the Holly Library…not knowing it’s the home of a monster.

He’s charming. Quietly alluring. Terrifying. But he knows talent when he sees it; it’s just a matter of finding her price.

Now she’s locked into a dangerous bargain with a creature unlike any other. She’ll sacrifice her freedom. She’ll offer her skills. Together, they’ll put their own futures at risk.

But he’s been playing a game across centuries—and once she joins in, there will be no escape…

NOT A BAD START.

I thought this got off to a really good beginning. I was intrigued, and surprised to find that this was actually an urban fantasy (which now that I’ve gone back to read the summary, I can see that, but I’m a go in blind type). ANYWAYS. As someone who usually doesn’t like urban settings, I thought this worked pretty well. I liked the dystopian dynamics of a world post monsters and how things were divided with all of the political machinations.

Kierse was a good FMC. I liked her personality and her watching her figure out where she wanted to place her loyalties. The romance kind of grew on me? I thought it went a bit fast for the plot and that we didn’t get much of Graves character until later in the story. There’s still some world building and magic system aspects that I would love to have a deeper explanations of. The middle lost me for a bit, and the last quarter things picked up again. There were some good twists that had me side eying the sequel.

I loved the audiobook and definitely have plans to continue the series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban fantasy romance
  • Language: moderate-high
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: abusive ex-mentor (recounted, abusive father (recounted), non-consenual drugging, blood/gore depiction (mild)

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