Tag: young adult fantasy

Book Review: The Heart of the World (The Isles of the Gods #2) by Amie Kaufman

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 406 pages
Author: Amie Kaufman
Publisher: Knopf Books
Release Date: September 17th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Magic and sacrifice will collide as lovers and gods, enemies and allies vie for the fate of the world in this heart-pounding sequel to THE ISLES OF THE GODS, which Stephanie Garber called “deliciously diabolical and full of heart.”

Thank you to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook and Get Underlined for the gifted copy.

IT WRAPPED UP WELL.

First of all I am absolutely obsessed with the audio productions of these books. I loved that this had a full cast and that each POV had a different narrator. Audiobooks are a MUST for this duology. Highly recommend.

I do think some of the general plot got lost in the shuffle of so many POV’s > length of the book. Trying to build so many characters and relationships while also putting together this big arc with returning gods and such worked for the most part, but also left me wanting something more.

The characters though? I loved them all. I loved that the villain’s POV was included too. I do tend to love character driven stories and I appreciated seeing where each character was coming from and how the romantic sub-plots were woven throughout. There’s some good action and a bit of politicking, found family and a conclusion that wrapped up the story well. I can’t wait for more Kaufman books!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Never a Hero (Monsters #2) by Vanessa Len

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA fantasy
Length: 528 pages
Author: Vanessa Len
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: August 29th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This sequel to the contemporary fantasy Only a Monster will take Joan deeper into the monster world, where treacherous secrets and even more danger await.

Despite all of the odds, Joan achieved the impossible. She reset the timeline, saved her family – and destroyed the hero, Nick.

But her success has come at a terrible cost.

She alone remembers what happened. Now, Aaron, her hard-won friend – and maybe more – is an enemy, trying to kill her. And Nick, the boy she loved, is a stranger who doesn’t even know her name. Only Joan remembers that there is a ruthless and dangerous enemy still out there.

When a deadly attack forces Joan back into the monster world as a fugitive, she finds herself on the run with Nick – as Aaron closes in.

As the danger rises – and Nick gets perilously closer to discovering the truth of what Joan did to him – Joan discovers a secret of her own. One that threatens everyone she loves.

Torn between love and family and monstrous choices, Joan must find a way to re-gather her old allies to face down the deadliest of enemies, and to save the timeline itself.

Vanessa Len’s stunning Only a Monster trilogy continues with this second installment, a thrilling journey where a secret past threatens to unravel everyone’s future.

MIDDLE BOOK.

I thought this was a duology?? And I found out it’s not and it showed. At over 500 pages there was no way it needed to be this long.

I LOVED book one and I am currently feeling a bit jaded at how this went. I don’t often feel like a book drags when I’m listening as an audiobook but that was the case here. Because of the results at the end of book one, I felt that this one had to rehash a looot of information to move things along.

And I wish the romance had been more at the forefront. It started off really well and then tapered off and I’m not even sure where things stand at this point. There were some good reveals towards the end, and I will read the third book.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Time Travel Fantasy
  • Language: moderate – strong
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, weapons and physical violence, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Keshe Chow
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: August 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A young woman chosen as the crown prince’s bride must travel to the royal palace to meet her new husband—but her world is shaken when she discovers the dark truth the royal family has been hiding for centuries—in this lush fantasy debut perfect for fans of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night and Violet Made of Thorns.

Princess Ying Yue believed in love…once upon a time.

Yet when she’s chosen to wed the crown prince, Ying’s dreams of a fairy tale marriage quickly fall apart. Her husband-to-be is cold and indifferent, confining Ying to her room for reasons he won’t explain. Worse still are the rumors that swirl around the imperial whispers of seven other royal brides who, after their own weddings, mysteriously disappeared.

Left alone with only her own reflection for company, Ying begins to see things. Strange things. Movements in the corners of her mirror. Colorful lights upon its surface. And when, on the eve of her wedding, she unwittingly tears open a gateway, she is pulled into a mirror world.

This realm is full of sentient reflections, including the enigmatic Mirror Prince. Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Mirror Prince is kind and compassionate, and before long Ying falls in love—the kind of love she always dreamed of.

But there is darkness in this new world, too.

It turns out the two worlds have a long and blood-soaked history, and Ying has a part to play in the future of them both. And the brides who came before Ying? By the time they discovered what their role was, it was already too late.

Thank you GetUnderlined for the finished copy.

MAKE IT STOP.

The insta-love killed the whole vibe of this book for me. And it even happened TWICE (there’s a love triangle, you’ve been warned). I do admit that it got better in the second half but I did also let out a scoff when these passionate love confessions came out. I tried y’all.

The plot itself isn’t bad. There’s some good bones there. If the FMC, Ying, had been a little less naive about everything I would have really liked her. I kept waiting for that movie montage moment of her gaining some common sense but alas, I was left [mostly] wanting.

It is a standalone, and I know that can be a nice feature for a lot of people. I went in having high hopes and I’m left feeling meh by the journey. The audiobook was good though. I liked the narrator if you want to try out that avenue.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: heated make-outs with touching; vague fade to black
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: loss of life, war themes

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Book Review: House of Roots and Ruin (Sisters of the Salt #2) by Erin A. Craig

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: NA Fantasy Horror Romance
Length: 544 pages
Author: Erin A. Craig
Publisher: Delacorte
Release Date: July 25th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a manor by the sea, one sister is still cursed.

Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.

When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it.

Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance… blossoms.

But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet façade…

A modern masterpiece, this is a classic Gothic thriller-fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig, about doomed love, menacing ambition, and the ghosts that haunt us forever.

WHOA.

Ya know, this might be why I don’t read horror books? This got a bit WILD Y’ALL. And maybe that’s totally on brand for the genre, but your girl does not read books like this often.

I had a pretty good time with it. It’s interesting. The audio was good so I enjoyed listening. I was simultaneously quirking my head at what was going on and feeling that need to know what happens next.

The ending becomes absolutely off the walls. It’s pure chaos in the best ways. I loved how it ended because it really fit the whole books vibe. I do think that it was oddly sexual. It’s definitely not a YA book. It fits more into the NA category for sure.

So I don’t know if I’d say run out and read it, but if you’re in the mood for something wholly different than your usual with an ending that will leave you feeling all of the spooky vibes, try it!

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Horror Fantasy
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: innuendo + one vague scene + closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, medical experimentation, loss of life, near death experiences

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