Tag: young adult fantasy

Book Review: The Ruined (The Beautiful #4) by Renee Ahdieh

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Publisher: GP Putnam’s
Release Date: December 5th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The stunning conclusion to the instant New York Times bestselling quartet that began with The Beautiful.

The Sylvan Vale and the Sylvan Wyld are at war. Now that the unsteady truce between them has been broken, lines must be drawn. In an effort to protect the weakened Winter Court, Bastien rallies powerful allies and friends in New Orleans to come to their aid.

Meanwhile, under protection alongside her injured mother in the Summer Court, Celine is uncertain of whom to trust. She cannot get word to Bastien, and does not understand why he has not returned. When she realizes war between the fey courts is imminent, she journeys with Ali in an effort to find the time traveling mirror and change their fate.

But when Celine’s rivals realize Bastien has rallied his allies in the mortal world, they decide to take the fight to him.

Thank you Penguin Teen for the eARC.

I AM UPSET.

I have loved reading this series and I have been waiting a long time to get my hands on the final book and now I’m sitting here super cranky and not wanting to even write this because of the last 30%.

The first 70% was great, I love the writing style and the ease of the reading. The world building is intricate and I love the combination of vampires, werewolves, and fae.

BUT HERE WE GO (which is spoiler free, but you can probably read between the lines too).

The ending y’all. We spent four books leading up to this????? To a complete breakdown of a relationship over a dumb miscommunication that spiraled into total destruction. Causing the end of way too many things to ever recover. And the last few pages were this sorry attempt at saying well maybe things do work out, when NO. That foundation has crumbled. To spend so much time on some of these characters to throw it away. I just…I’m upset…to put it mildly. I feel duped.

There was a clear route this could have gone that would have brought true peace and reconciliation (and where I thought the book was headed???). And there were other characters we didn’t even get to see closing story lines for?? THAT WERE MAIN POINTS OF VIEW? The rushed ending was another nail in the coffin.

I’m losing my cool all over again. This one has really bummed me out.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: battle themes, loss of loved ones, murder

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Book Review: Face the Night by Lani Forbes

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 335 pages
Author: Lani Forbes
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release Date: August 15th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

On a harsh frontier where good and evil contend for people’s minds, a young woman must fight for her true identity in this scintillating YA fantasy from the author of the award-winning Age of the Seventh Sun trilogy.

Once, Catriona Macgregor led a charmed life. Daughter of a wealthy rancher, pretty and educated, she looked forward to all the world had to offer–until fate took a turn. Now family, home, and even her name have been stripped away. As “Black Cat Whitfield,” adopted daughter of an outlaw, she’s wanted by the authorities. It certainly wasn’t the destiny she imagined–especially as one of the Blessed.

The Blessed, rare people like Cat, are supposed to use their gifts to carry out missions for the Patron Saints, but she can only imagine that Saint Prudentia made a terrible mistake in choosing her. Still, her gift has never deserted her. Whenever danger threatens, Cat receives a vision–just in time to save her life. And when she meets a renegade priest, Father Ignatius, he helps her understand how her ability may be part of a much bigger picture. A picture that involves facing up to the monstrous Baron Caldwell – the one who ordered her parents killed – and his son, Adrian, who betrayed them all.

Cat is torn between guilt over her parents’ death, a longing for vengeance against their killers, and a dismaying new interest in Adrian. It would be easiest to flee the whole situation and never look back. But as someone once told her, you can’t outrun the darkness on your heels. There’s only one way to break through to sunrise – by turning to face the night.

Thank you Bibliolifestyle and Blackstone Publishing for the gifted copy.

TOOK ME BY SURPRISE.

I feel like I could sit and nitpick small aspects of this that didn’t work for me, but by the end of the book I just FELT good about what I read and how truly enjoyable it was. It’s also well situated within the YA category without any major content issues (other than some light swearing).

The themes surrounding facing the night and the problems of the past was woven beautifully throughout. I loved seeing Cat going from a woman in hiding to taking what happened to her in the past and using that to be a source of strength towards the future. I also loved Adrian and his steadfastness in choosing the right path and looking after his sister.

There’s even a sweet, slow burn second chance romance that I thought was great. Little moments and reminders of who they were in the past and how that played out for them reconnecting and standing together.

I loved the western vibes thrown in with the middling gods fantasy aspects. It felt unique and something I haven’t recently read. It wraps up super well for a standalone and I highly recommend the audiobook!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: some light
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, loss of a loved one, gun violence, murder

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Book Review: Well of Dreams (The Runic Saga #1) by Kayla Ann

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 408 pages
Author: Kayla Ann
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The gods predicted the end, but they never counted on mankind’s will to survive…

After an apocalyptic event that left the world in ruin, the surviving nation of Evrópa returns to the reverence of ancestral magic and mystic runes. Seventeen-year-old Larissa Daldóttir has little time to dwell on such folklore—not with a monthly produce quota to meet and an illegal second-born sister to hide. Enslavement, if not death at the hands of the Empress, awaits her family should Halla be discovered.

When Larissa is mistaken to be in league with the resistance against the Empress, she must flee with Halla. Wounded and hunted by agents of the Empress, Larissa’s survival relies on a mercurial shapeshifter and a mysteriously familiar young man from her forgotten past.

Running from both her past and the Empress, Larissa has no choice but to trust in the tenuous bonds built through heartache and tragedy. In a race to find the resistance before the Empress finds them, Larissa and Halla unintentionally unravel secrets of their history that not only unhinge the stability of the crown but their very lives.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy!

FANTASTIC DEBUT.

This is your sign to take a chance on debut indie authors. I loved this book y’all.

I’m not a big dystopian fan, but this felt different. It was a subtle dystopian vibe mixed with all things Norse mythology and I loved the combination. There’s intense moments, dark creatures and a past that’s trying to find it’s way to the present.

I love the multiple POV’s and how it kept the pace going. There’s a lot of flashbacks that helped build the story and once I started clicking pieces into place I became increasingly invested in knowing the full scope of what happened. I really like all of these characters too and can’t wait to see how the story continues to unfurl.

There’s a romance sub-plot I am absolutely here for. I loved the reveals and the writing was wonderful. The paperback edition I received had gorgeous art throughout too and I loved being able to get a better picture of the cast. I’m genuinely excited to see what’s next!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Dystopian Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, near death experiences, weapons violence

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: November 2023

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It was my birthday month and what a great month it was. I’m thankful for another year around the sun and the fact that I’m closing in on FIVE HUNDRED books this year!

Favorites this month:

  • The Scarlet Veil
  • Lost Kingdom
  • Emergency Contact
  • Iron Flame
  • The Binding Season
  • The One with the Kiss Cam
  • Defiant
  • Solo for the Season
  • A World Without You
  • A Court of Silver Flames
  • This Dark Descent
  • Isle of Brine and Bone
  • Well of Dreams
  • The Takedown
  • Last Call at the Local

Least Favorites:

  • The Holiday Stand-In
  • The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk
  • Sword Catcher (Sword Catcher #1) by Cassandra Clare
  • Thieves’ Gambit (Thieves’ Gambit #1) by Kayvion Lewis
  • [ARC] A Winter by the Sea (On Devonshire Shores #2) by Julie Klassen
  • The Scarlet Veil (The Scarlet Veil #1) by Shelby Mahurin
  • Merry Kismet (Gift-Wrapped Romance) by Anneka R. Walker
  • [ARC] Lost Kingdom (Lost Kingdom #1) by Laurel Black
  • [ALC] Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne and Anthony LeDonne
  • A Song of Shadow and Starlight (Shadow and Starlight #1) by Morgan Gauthier
  • Curses and Other Buried Things by Caroline George
  • The Rules of Mistletoe by Taylor Epperson
  • Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros
  • A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak (Girl’s Guide) by Laura Taylor Namey
  • Wrapped with a Beau by Lillie Vale
  • [ARC] The Binding Season (Fallow Creek #3) by Claudia Cain
  • Date the Alphabet (Love Tucson #2) by Laura Langa
  • [ARC] The One with the Kiss Cam by Cindy Steel
  • The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar
  • [ARC] Defiant (Skyward #4) by Brandon Sanderson
  • Solo for the Season (Gift-Wrapped Romance) by Martha Keyes
  • A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
  • A World Without You by Caitlin Moss
  • Lord Farleigh and Miss Frost (Clairvoir Castle Romances #4) by Sally Britton
  • A Sugar Creek Christmas (Sugar Creek #1) by Jenny B. Jones
  • [Reread] A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4) by Sarah J. Maas
  • This Dark Descent (This Dark Descent #1) by Kalyn Josephson
  • [ARC] A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
  • One Small Secret (Gift-Wrapped Romance) by Esther Hatch
  • Better Hate than Never (The Wilmot Sisters #2) by Chloe Liese
  • Isle of Brine and Bone (Halcyon Bay #2) by Natalia Macias Lucia
  • Heir of Sun & Moon (The Five Realms #1) by Jenessa Ren
  • Emerald of the Sea by Kimberly Pearl
  • Eldest (The Inheritance Cycle #2) by Christopher Paolini
  • [ARC] The Atlas of Us by Kristin Dwyer
  • [Novella] Bright Winter Lights (Winter Nights #2) by Liz Maverick
  • The Holiday Stand-In by Kortney Keisel
  • How to Lose a Guy Before Christmas by AJ Pine
  • Well of Dreams (The Runic Saga #1) by Kayla Ann
  • The Takedown by Carlie Walker
  • A Song of Thieves (Thieves of Felshan #1) by Jacqlin Guernsey
  • [ARC] Last Call at the Local (Love, Lists & Fancy Ships #3) by Sarah Grunder Ruiz
  • A Modest Independence (Parish Orphans of Devon #2) by Mimi Matthews
  • Five Gold Rings by Kristen Bailey
  • [Novella] Mistletoe for Felicity by Sally Britton

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