Tag: young adult fantasy

Book Review: Fate Breaker (Realm Breaker #3) by Victoria Aveyard

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 625 pages
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A dark fate descends. A shattered alliance must rise.

The Companions are torn apart and the realm hangs in the balance, at the edge of ruin. Taristan and Queen Erida rise triumphant from the battlefield, while Corayne barely escapes with her life; her Companions left behind to uncertain fates.

But not all hope was lost: Corayne managed to steal Taristan’s Spindleblade. Without it, Taristan can’t rip open any more Spindles. Without it, he can’t end the world.

Now, from every corner of the realm, the Companions race to reunite while they rally old allies and seek unexpected new ones, in one final push against darkness.

But Taristan and Erida are all but invincible. With their cruel god, What Waits, on their side, they will sacrifice anything and anyone to his hunger.

Everything has come to this. In the final clash between good and evil, a ragged alliance makes its bravest stand against a ruthless enemy . . . and the demon god who would consume the realm entire.

GREAT CONCLUSION.

This review won’t be terribly long because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, but I am here to say this was much better than the Red Queen series (of which I DNF after the third book and raged when someone told me what happened in the fourth). THIS SERIES ENDS BETTER.

And for all my low romance lovers, this is a great series to pick up. There’s some, but it’s very much a sub plot and doesn’t overwhelm the big plot happenings. This had those high fantasy vibes while being a young adult aged (and appropriate) read.

I found the final moments to wrap up where things needed to be. I had some concerns about a certain pairing and thought that where the ended up made a lot of sense and felt satisfying.

Many will find these books slow, so I highly recommend the audio (I listened to all three of them) to make things move a little faster.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate-high

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Book Review: Daughter of the Sun (The Mothmar Trilogy #1) by Amanda Auler

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 383 pages
Author: Amanda Auler
Publisher: Spirelight Press
Release Date: October 18th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Born without a Gift, Solyana must accept being ordinary amidst the extraordinary. But when blizzards devastate her valley and endanger village life, a prophetic sign emerges, proclaiming Solyana the savior.

Fulfilling the prophecy means leaving the valley and journeying into greater Mothmar–where every previous expedition has led to death.

Unwinding the mysteries of the past and present, Solyana’s choices could spell survival or extinction for those she loves and unknowingly bind her to another…

Pallah, the object of her father’s disdain and overshadowed by her siblings, is desperate for the home she’s never had.

Accepted into a group of elusive zealots under the wrong pretenses, Pallah begins to discover she may be as dangerous to herself as she is portrayed to be to others.

On a night that changes her life forever, Pallah discovers her Gift is forbidden. Between her new group of friends and the persistent voice in her head, Pallah is pushed toward a decision that could send her into irreversible darkness.

Can Solyana find the truth to the prophecy before she is thrust into the awaiting abyss? Can Pallah discover her true purpose before her world collapses in on itself?

A story of friendship, family, and the choices that shape us. Dive into the world of Mothmar and experience magic, animal companionship, and adventure layered through time and dipped in mystery.

GOOD START.

This was a great audiobook. I liked many aspects and look forward to reading book two!

The two main FMC’s had a lot going for them and I liked their journey. There’s a lot of complicated matters happening and I loved the push and pull of what’s right and wrong. There’s some subtle romance plot lines I would love to see some more depth in.

I liked the magic system involving tethers, animals and more. I think that was explained well and I followed that much easier than I did the overall world building. I feel like I’m still a little confused on who’s who and what’s what across the board.

This was a nice series starter and one I’m grateful I had the chance to listen (definitely recommend the audiobook).

Overall audience notes:

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

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Book Review: Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Catherine Bakewell
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 14th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Tamora Pierce, this standalone YA debut is a stunning cottagecore fantasy romance about a girl with powerful and violent magic, which she must learn to control—or lose everything she loves.

Clara’s magic has always been wild. But it’s never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father’s chest.

The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell that requires perfect control. And the only person willing to help is her former best friend, Xavier, who’s grown from a sweet, shy child into a mysterious and distant young man.

Xavier names a terrible price in return, knowing Clara will give anything to save her father. As she struggles to reconcile the new Xavier with the boy she once loved, she discovers their bargain is only one of the heavy secrets he’s hiding. And as she hunts for the truth, she instead finds the root of a terrible darkness that’s taken hold in the queendom—a darkness only Clara’s magic is powerful enough to stop.

MEH.

I admit the beautiful cover sucked me in, even though I had friends give this book the same rating I just did. I was still hopeful. OH WELL.

The general idea of this book was fine. And the characters were also that, just fine. Setting, magic, world building. FINE (see where I’m going with this?). The entire book needed much more expansion of all the ideas. Too many things felt small or rushed for the sake of completing the story in one book and I don’t think the overall plot was strong enough to carry it through.

I liked the romance. It was a kind of cute second chance trope that caught my attention. Things moved super fast (my usual issue in standalone fantasies), besides that though, I did like how things wrapped up. It was a good ending and I was happy to see some necessary things resolved.

Darn you gorgeous cover artists.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: depression, a sick parent, light wound depiction

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ARC Book Review: To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods (To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods #1) by Molly X. Chang

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Author: Molly X. Chang
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: April 16th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this magical epic fantasy, a young woman cursed with the power of death must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country—the first installation of a gripping new series.

Heroes die, cowards live. Daughter of a conquered world, Ruying hates the invaders who descended from the heavens long before she was born and defeated the magic of her people with technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen.

Blessed by Death, born with the ability to pull the life right out of mortal bodies, Ruying shouldn’t have to fear these foreign invaders, but she does. Especially because she wants to keep herself and her family safe.

When Ruying’s Gift is discovered by an enemy prince, he offers her an impossible deal: If she becomes his private assassin and eliminates his political rivals—whose deaths he swears would be for the good of both their worlds and would protect her people from further brutalization—her family will never starve or suffer harm again. But to accept this bargain, she must use the powers she has always feared, powers that will shave years off her own existence.

Can Ruying trust this prince, whose promises of a better world make her heart ache and whose smiles make her pulse beat faster? Are the evils of this agreement really in the service of a much greater good? Or will she betray her entire nation by protecting those she loves the most?

Thank you to Del Rey for the Goodreads giveaway book!

READY FOR MORE.

I was fortunate enough to win this in a giveaway because I have been eyeing it for awhile now, and it did not disappoint.

My favorite thing about this book was how complex it was. Black, white and alllllll the gray. I loved the emotional journey this took me on. Trying to guess where the true evil was hiding, who was really making the calls, and how the story was all coming together. I liked how much this book gave me but also making me anxious for the next book. This had an awesome build where I found myself more and more invested.

The romance aspects (sub-plot) have my attention to. Honestly, I have ZERO clue where this is going and I am in love with that. I’m someone who prefers a multi-book slow burn and questioning if the first guy is the end game or not (because I have QUESTIONS). Is it weird I love how much I’m still in the dark??

An amazing debut. One I will be recommending to fantasy readers. OH!! And it’s got historical fantasy vibes which if you know, IS MY KRYPTONITE. Seriously, check this book out.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: drug addiction (opium), loss of loved ones, executions, medical experimentation

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