Book Review: Voice of the Ocean by Kelsey Impicciche

May 10, 2025April 24, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Kelsey Impicciche
Publisher: Blackstone
Release Date: April 22nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From popular content creator Kelsey Impicciche, Voice of the Ocean follows a daring young siren who defies her people to save a human prince, unearthing ancient magic and igniting a dangerous romance amidst treacherous waters.

As the youngest daughter of the Siren queen, Celeste’s life is tightly controlled. Desperate to prove her worth, she intends to join the Chorus – an elite group of siren warriors. With her final test on the horizon, Celeste must finally gain control over her temperamental Song. But when Celeste encounters a seemingly harmless ship, helmed by the intriguing Prince Raiden Sharp, her path veers towards forbidden waters.

Believing the handsome sailor to be innocent of any wrongdoing, Celeste defies Siren law to save Raiden’s life – despite knowing he is the son of a king who has murdered many of her kindred. The penalty for Celeste’s betrayal should be death, but the queen offers her an alternative: right her wrong by assassinating the prince. Determined to first discover the truth behind the prince’s clandestine mission, Celeste agrees to become human.

The human world is nothing like she expected, nor is the prince the charming and noble man she assumed him to be. But as Celeste finds her place aboard the ship, friendships – and attraction – begin to grow. Will Celeste be able to save herself? Or will her choices unravel a kingdom, devastating sirens and humans alike?

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Bibliolifestyle Tours for the gifted copy.

I LIKED IT!

I enjoyed reading this one! I have been looking forward to this story and the audiobook was fantastic. And I loved the FMC. She cries a lot (relatable) and goes through a great coming of age process that I look forward to seeing even more of in the next book. I loved seeing the growth and strengths and weaknesses.

Found family was a bit aspect of this book and I loved seeing those bonds form. A ragtag group of rascals from different spots in life and with a whole host of personalities. I loved getting to know everyone.

The romance is not at the forefront but I am intrigued by it. I loved the trope movement (of which I won’t go into detail to save from spoilers). I definitely need more of these two (and hooray for calling this book YA and actually having it be kisses only).

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Retelling
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2025

May 1, 2025April 29, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

New look who this?

I feel like this month got wildly out of hand. I even had MULTIPLE two star books sooooo that was fun. Anywho, here’s the list!

Debt of My Soul by K.P. Haven
The Ragpicker King (The Chronicles of Castellane #2) by Cassandra Clare
[ALC] Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
[ALC/ARC] The Wind Weaver (Reign of Remnants #1) by Julie Johnson
Clean Out of Luck (Only Magic in the Building) by Carina Taylor
Out with the Tide (Never Harbor #2) by Julie Olivia
[ALC] The Love Haters by Katherine Center
Direbound (The Wolves of Ruin #1) by Sable Sorensen
[ARC] The Haven, the Hallow, & the Highborn (Roots of Magic Novella) by Jessa Grey
Daisy Haites (Magnolia Parks Universe #2) by Jessa Hastings
Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy #3) by Lauren Roberts
[ARC] Saving the Mountain Man’s Legacy (Brothers of Sapphire Ranch #8) by Misty M. Beller
[ALC] Enigma by RuNyx
Just Our Luck by Denise Williams
Off the Wall (Only Magic in the Building) by Julie Christianson
[ARC] The Ashfire King (The Sandsea Trilogy #2) by Chelsea Abdullah
The Shadow Bride (The Scarlet Veil #2) by Shelby Mahurin
I Knew He Was Trouble (Sweeter Than Fiction #1) by Amanda Schimmoeller
Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor
A Proper Governess (Hearts of Harewood #2) by Kasey Stockton
The Book That Held Her Heart (The Library Trilogy #3) by Mark Lawrence
Signed, Sealed, and Smitten (Only Magic in the Building) by Melanie Jacobson
The Notorious Virtues (The Notorious Virtues #1) by Alwyn Hamilton
[ARC] Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows #1) by Devney Perry
Wild and Wrangled (Rebel Blue Ranch #4) by Lyla Sage
Voice of the Ocean by Kelsey Impicciche
[ARC] Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt
The Splendor of Fire (The Hebridean Shield #2) by Ashley Worrell
The Wolf King (Wolf King #1) by Lauren Palphreyman
The Escape Plan (Only Magic in the Building) by Katie Bailey
His Mortal Demise (The Last Bloodcarver #2) by Vanessa Le
Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine
Nightshade (Sorrowsong Duology #1) by Autumn Woods
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
[ALC] Jilted by Vi Keeland
[ARC] Every Hour Until Then (Timeless #5) by Gabrielle Meyer
[ALC] The Thrashers by Julie Soto

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Book Review: Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy #3) by Lauren Roberts

April 16, 2025April 9, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 608 pages
Author: Lauren Roberts
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: April 8th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Paedyn and Kai are reunited but face a terrible decision in this thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling romantic fantasy trilogy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and The Red Queen.

Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya…

And Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate—and the fate of those around her—forever.

In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?

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

FANTASTIC CONCLUSION.

Where do I even begin?! I devoured this audiobook in two days (I had a long excursion one day so admittedly that helped) BUT ANYWAYS. I couldn’t put this book down!!! The audio production is amazing and really brings this book to a new level for me. I love listening to these characters.

I was a little worried about some plot points and different pieces but when I finished the book and realized the necessity of the decisions behind the journey, I felt more at peace with what went down.

The romance is once again a JOURNEY. The banter between Kai and Pae is still absolutely everything to me!!! And I might have to read this physically to highlight all of the moments between them. There’s sweet, and heat, and passion, and anger, and fear, and ALL THE EMOTIONS. I love all the emotions.

And I do think it wrapped up in the ways that made the most sense. I loved having a third POV (you’ll see!!!) because that story made me theorize HARD and when my theories were correct I was pleasantly shocked because I don’t think I’ve read that before and I love new to me things.

This book had a little bit of everything and is truly one of the most solid YA trilogies I’ve read in a hot minute. The conclusion I’ve been hoping for delivered.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance
Language: mild
Romance: one closed door
Violence: moderate – high
Content warnings: loss of loved ones

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Book Review: The Deathly Grimm (The Forest Grimm Duology #2) by Kathryn Purdie

April 6, 2025March 27, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
Author: Kathryn Purdie
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: March 25th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The spellbinding sequel to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling dark fairytale, where our main characters must return to the forest—and its monsters.

The story hasn’t ended yet.

After surviving the Forest Grimm and defeating the Wolf, Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, the one place they can be safe behind the forest’s borders. But when the forest itself begins luring in more villagers, it’s clear that Clara and Axel have only treated the symptoms of the forest’s curse, not the cause—and it’s getting worse.

Burdened with visions of the past and learning to navigate her fragile new relationship with Axel, Clara finds herself entering the forest with Axel yet again to discover the truth once and for all: the identity of the murderer who caused the curse. As they fight murderous woodsmen with incomprehensible riddles, ladies who will drag you into an eternal dance, and ghosts with the power to wield the forest against them, Clara and Axel realize the stakes are higher than ever. If they don’t survive the dark, deadly twists of the forest once more, not only will they never escape, they may also no longer have a home to escape to.

Romantic, eerie, and beautiful, The Deathly Grimm is the triumphant conclusion to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling Forest Grimm duology.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the gifted copy.

BETTER AS A STANDALONE.

And I rarely say that, but I mean it this time.

I had a hard time getting through this one because it felt very much the same as book one. Clara goes back into the woods, meets some fairytales that have gone awry, figures out who the bad guy is (who is obvious from the start) and saves the day. Which was practically what happened the first time.

There was also a forced issue in the romance. I think it was trying to add tension, yet it didn’t come across as such. I wanted to love them and that never happened.

It was overall just a dry read. I don’t have much to say because I hardly felt anything while reading other than I was ready to be finished with this book.

Overall audience notes: