Tag: victoria mccombs

Book Review: Mortal Queens (The Fae Dynasty #1) by Victoria McCombs

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A dark red background with a black crown and gold crown over the background. The book title Mortal Queens by Victoria McCombs is written in gold.

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 320 pages
Author: Victoria McCombs
Publisher: Enclave Publishing
Release Date: February 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“They vanish without a trace, disappear into the night . . .

Each year on the center island, one girl is chosen to be the next Mortal Queen of the idolized fae. The mortals praise these lucky girls, but their daughters are never seen again.

The fae realm is eternal night, where disputes are settled by chess matches, power is acquired through the most devious kinds of trickery, and seven illusive kings roam. The fae hide their faces behind masks and guard their glass hearts to keep them from shattering. But beyond the veil of this luxurious paradise, a dark secret simmers, for their Queens have disappeared.

When aspiring artist Althea is selected, she is desperate to avoid the same mysterious fate. With no one to trust, she conceals messages in paintings and receives anonymous replies from a stranger who slowly reveals the tale of a girl who outwitted the fae. Only if she is clever enough will Althea survive the fate of the Mortal Queens. As long as the king who cannot love does not claim her first.”

PRETTY GOOD.

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting take on fae and their world. I liked seeing how the magic system was working and how the curse was put into place. It’s an intriguing idea that helped keep the pace going. There’s a decent amount of world building, though I’d hope for more as the series continues because I

Althea was a good FMC. I liked that she was unlikeable and had a buuunch to learn. Occasionally she was a bit too immature for me, and by the end I’m still not actually quite sure how I feel. There’s definitely room for growth in book two.

I liked the romance, its sweet and a nice slow burn. I think this book is more geared towards a younger YA (which is completely fine, just mentioning). I’m curious how the series will progress.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Savage Bred (The Royal Rose Chronicles #3) by Victoria McCombs

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 256 pages
Author: Victoria McCombs
Publisher: Enclave Publishing
Release Date: August 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s dangerous to be a pirate.

The seas have become more threatening than ever, with enemies closing in on all sides. War isn’t just brewing—it’s here, knocking on their doorsteps, threatening to devour them all. And just as she was warned, Emme might have been the one to create the chaos.

In her desperate attempt to keep the fight away, Emme hatches a plan that involves trapping the only one who can put an end to the battles. But as plans go awry, she discovers she’s not the only one scheming. Eventually she’ll have to accept that she’s no longer playing a role: She’s a pirate now. A pirate who will do what it takes to save her crew, even if it means oathbinding herself one final time.

A SIMPLE CONCLUSION.

With how short this book was I am almost leaning towards it working better if it had been a duology. I enjoyed it, but just needed more.

I do like these characters and it’s a great TRUE young adult series and that’s always a big bonus. The romance is sweet and I wish they had some more page time together as they fought their way back to each other. I am intrigued by how some of the story lines felt a little open and if there’s some kind of spin off coming?

It’s a quick audio book (7 hours) and if you’ve been enjoying the series so far I think you’ll like this conclusion too. This wasn’t initially on my radar and I am happy that I picked them up! Another solid seafaring adventure read.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, weapons violence, near death experiences

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Book Review: Silver Bounty (The Royal Rose Chronicles #2) by Victoria McCombs

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 320 pages
Author: Victoria McCombs
Publisher: Enclave Publishing
Release Date: January 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

NEVER TRUST A PIRATE

Emme is tasked with getting rid of the king, but kings are not an easy target, and this one is bent on purging his lands of pirates. As Emme’s job becomes increasingly dangerous, she learns to survive the pirate way—cunning and merciless—while consoling herself with one fact: she’s just doing what it takes to get home.

But when Emme mistakenly takes out the wrong man, not even the protective pirate captain can save her from the consequences. In a string of betrayals, one thing is certain. You can never trust a pirate.

SOFTEST PIRATES.

Don’t ask me how I’m smitten with the softest pirates ever, but apparently I’m trying to balance all of the dark and bloody fantasies I’m usually reading.

This was a good middle book that carried the plot well. I liked the direction of the story and that it was multi-POV. The romance is still the sweetest and just makes you smile. There’s some good twists and I was genuinely curious where things were going to go.

I’m definitely interested in the next book and want to know how things conclude. I enjoy these characters and the high seas adventures. You never know quite who’s good and who’s bad.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical altercations, loss of life

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Book Review: Oathbound (The Royal Rose Chronicles #1) by Victoria McCombs

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: Victoria McCombs
Publisher: Enclave Publishing
Release Date: January 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Beware the waters. The dangerous deep brings ruin to all.

Emme has spent her life avoiding anything to do with pirates. But the fates are cruel, and now a hidden sickness leads her to partner with pirates for the one thing that can save her—a cure on an island none are certain exists.

The pirate captain’s secrets are darker than the deep and threaten to kill them all. His obligations are tinged with betrayal, for his oathbind must be fulfilled. To ignore it is to invite peril of unimaginable destruction.

As the adventure unfolds, the sea takes more than she expects and the sea gives more than he wants.

A BIT SOFT.

I don’t know that I’ve ever called a pirate, high seas adventure fantasy, soft. But that’s the only word that keeps triggering in my mind after finishing. I don’t fully think it was a bad thing for me, just different. Nobody wanted to unalive anybody and I had a hard time grasping that ideal with the way the story is set up.

The romance is super soft, minimal angst, added in with some drama. Once I got that vibe I thought it was cute. Emme and Arn were clearly into each other and they learned to work together and solve problems with the rest of the crew.

For the plot, it’s a typical pirate adventure with mysterious sea creatures, ship battles and hidden treasure. I still had a good time reading it and didn’t have any noticeable issues. It’s a solid younger YA read and I do have plans to continue the series and see some other points of view.

Audiobook note: I thought the narrators voice overall was great. BUT this is dual POV between Arn and Emme and the voice did not change enough between the chapters that I felt confused at times as to whose POV I was listeing to.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, loss of a parent, creature attacks, murder, alcohol consumption

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