Tag: young adult fantasy

Book Review: Illusionary (Hollow Crown #2) by Zoraida Córdova

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Author: Zoraida Córdova
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 11th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In Zoraida Córdova’s thrilling sequel to Incendiary, Renata embarks on a dangerous journey to bring justice to the kingdom — perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Sarah J. Maas.
Reeling from betrayal at the hands of the Whispers, Renata Convida is a girl on the run. With few options and fewer allies, she’s reluctantly joined forces with none other than Prince Castian, her most infuriating and intriguing enemy. They’re united by lofty goals: find the fabled Knife of Memory, kill the ruthless King Fernando, and bring peace to the nation. Together, Ren and Castian have a chance to save everything, if only they can set aside their complex and intense feelings for each other.
With the king’s forces on their heels at every turn, their quest across Puerto Leones and beyond leaves little room for mistakes. But the greatest danger is within Ren. The Gray, her fortress of stolen memories, has begun to crumble, threatening her grip on reality. She’ll have to control her magics–and her mind–to unlock her power and protect the Moria people once and for all.
For years, she was wielded as weapon. Now it’s her time to fight back. 

A GOOD DUO.

Ah yes, the illusive duology that didn’t make me want to throw the second book across the room. Would recommend purely based off of the previous sentence alone.

If you’re looking for a bit more information though, here we go!

I enjoyed all of the action and political intrigue that was involved. Things went a lot more in depth with the villain and their true motives. Instead of seeming like a wicked dude with no layers, you start to understand where the hatred comes from. He got the ending necessary for the story so I’m glad that bow was tied up nicely.

Realllllly loved where the romance went to here. This became a tad bit of a love triangle, but not in your face and not full of eye rolls. it was a nice, natural progression and I am team CASTIAN all the way. It was the definition of swooning and I love a broody prince y’all. I will say I didn’t think there was enough closure between Ren and Dez? She kind of jumped ship when he literally jumped ship and I thought there was more unresolved between them. Oh well.

This duo is gritty and complex. It’s steeped in a deep history built into the world and the lore of a magic knife and those with magic wanting to feel safe and belong somewhere. The chosen one trope plays beautifully strong here with Ren knowing her worth.

Plus, an extended epilogue that gives you all the feels and the full endings I was looking for!!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses to closed door
  • Violence: murder, physical altercations, magical weaponry, loss of loved ones

Instagram || Goodreads

Book Review: Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1) by Zoraida Córdova

GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 450 pages
Author: Zoraida Cordova
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: April 28th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I am Renata Convida.
I have lived a hundred stolen lives.
Now I live my own.

Renata Convida was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King’s Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a Robari, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata’s ability to steal memories from royal enemies enabled the King’s Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.

Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown and helping the remaining Moria escape the kingdom bent on their destruction. The Whispers may have rescued Renata from the palace years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred–or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she turned “hollow” during her time in the palace.

When Dez, the commander of her unit, is taken captive by the notorious Sangrado Prince, Renata will do anything to save the boy whose love makes her place among the Whispers bearable. But a disastrous rescue attempt means Renata must return to the palace under cover and complete Dez’s top secret mission. Can Renata convince her former captors that she remains loyal, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.

But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom–and end the war that has cost her everything.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

How have more people not been discussing this book?? I willfully agree it had some flaws in the middle, but overall that beginning and ending kept me like a fish dangling on a hook.

I haven’t been flat out shook by a surprise twist in the first half of a book in awhile. This one took the cake. While I hated it, I also loved it because this was a strong start for a duology. The magic system is pretty cool (though I do think it needs more explanation/rules). The world building is mostly there and there’s a cruel prince…that might not be that cruel?! SIGN ME UPPPPPPP.

The middle did drag a bit because Ren’s magic involves her being able to look/take people’s memories. A lot of the story were just flashbacks from different characters who Ren enacted her magic abilities on. I could have done without so many of them as they felt like filler and didn’t necessarily push the plot forward.

Just like the beginning, the ending was WOW too. I couldn’t stop listening (audio is amazing if you love that format like me!!). Maybe didn’t loooove one small aspect, but for the most part, I was speechless. It was fantastic and I can’t wait to read the second book. Really a hidden gem for YA fantasy.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses to closed door
  • Violence: physical altercation, magical attacks
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, massive fires, some gore, suicide, graphic injuries, torture, poisoning, kidnapping

Instagram || Goodreads

ARC Book Review: Master of Iron (Bladesmith #2) by Tricia Levenseller

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: July 26th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In Master of Iron, the conclusion to Tricia Levenseller’s exciting Bladesmith YA fantasy duology, a magically gifted blacksmith with social anxiety must race against the clock to save her beloved sister and stop a devastating war.

Eighteen-year-old Ziva may have defeated a deadly warlord, but the price was almost too much. Ziva is forced into a breakneck race to a nearby city with the handsome mercenary, Kellyn, and the young scholar, Petrik, to find a powerful magical healer who can save her sister’s life.

When the events that follow lead to Ziva and Kellyn’s capture by an ambitious prince, Ziva is forced into the very situation she’s been dreading: magicking dangerous weapons meant for world domination.

The forge has always been Ziva’s safe space, a place to avoid society and the anxiety it causes her, but now it is her prison, and she’s not sure just how much of herself she’ll have to sacrifice to save Kellyn and take center stage in the very war she’s been trying to stop.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy audiobook.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

Tricia Levenseller books are some of my absolute favorite YA reads. She is an auto-buy author for me and once again, has hit it out of the park. I was a bit neutral after the first book in this duo, but this ending, AMAZING.

I loooooved Ziva. The social anxiety rep here feels so spot on and I could relate 1,000 different ways to how she was feeling talking to others, making friends, and being assertive when the time came. Ziva showed great character growth and the ability to listen and learn how to communicate with those she loved.

The ROMANCE. SO DANG SWEET. I adored Kellyn. I liked that they got a lot more time together and that there were legitimate relationship struggles they worked through. It was authentic and I liked how both parties learned to COMMUNICATE and lean on one another as a bond of trust deeply formed. Oh my gosh they were just the best y’all. And some well placed pet name use had me swoooooning.

There’s also a beautiful sister relationship here. Temra and Ziva have one of the tightest connections I have read about. And I liked they way they were always there for each other and also could say, I can do this myself, too. There was a great give and take and acknowledging ones’ place in the world.

Within all of this greatest was a solid plot of action and battles. I love that I felt like nothing overshadowed one plot aspect over the other. There was balance between the romance, the big plot, friendships and subtle quiet moments. I devoured this book and anxiously await Levenseller’s next great read.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: mentions of closed-door
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, war themes, kidnapping, physical and magical altercations, torture

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Devil’s Thief (The Last Magician #2) by Lisa Maxwell

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Historical Fantasy
Length: 704 pages
Author: Lisa Maxwell
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: October 9th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this spellbinding sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Last Magician, Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.

Hunt the Stones.
Beware the Thief.
Avenge the Past.

Esta’s parents were murdered. Her life was stolen. And everything she knew about magic was a lie. She thought the Book of Mysteries held the key to freeing the Mageus from the Order’s grasp, but the danger within its pages was greater than she ever imagined.

Now the Book’s furious power lives inside Harte. If he can’t control it, it will rip apart the world to get its revenge, and it will use Esta to do it.

To bind the power, Esta and Harte must track down four elemental stones scattered across the continent. But the world outside the city is like nothing they expected. There are Mageus beyond the Brink not willing to live in the shadows—and the Order isn’t alone in its mission to crush them.

In St. Louis, the extravagant World’s Fair hides the first stone, but an old enemy is out for revenge and a new enemy is emerging. And back in New York, Viola and Jianyu must defeat a traitor in a city on the verge of chaos.

As past and future collide, time is running out to rewrite history—even for a time-traveling thief. 

WAY TOO LONG.

I finally picked this series back up (I don’t know why it took me so long, I loved The Last Magician!). This was a hefty tome to read, and was filled with a lot…and nothing…all at the same time.

My biggest complaint is the length, there was no way this needed to be 700 pages. It became very unfocused and searching after ONE stone took up the entire book. It led to off pacing, moments where the characters themselves were dragging their feet and I was wishing things would get a move on.

The writing is great though. Even with how thick it is, I didn’t start feeling that strain until late in the second half of the book. I wanted to read every word, wanted to know what was going to happen next. I think it’s also because I enjoy most of the characters. They’re endearing and frustrating, which makes them feel real. Esta probably annoyed me the most because she kept FLAT OUT REFUISNG to let Harte help her with anything. It was like she had to prove she could do anything on her own, every. dang. time. I need this character arc to bring in some ability to ask for and accept help.

There’s MANY points of view here. Some that made sense, I understood, was overall fine with. Then, there were others that I’m questioning why they were necessary? I don’t think the handful of them really added anything and probably could have been left out and the story wouldn’t be lacking.

The historical aspects of this were interesting. I haven’t read a book set in this time period and in this location. I liked the Author’s Note at the end as well that explained some more of the history, her writing choices and other books to read on the subject. I love when this is put in there for historical fiction-ish based books.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Historical Fiction / Fantasy
  • Language: some
  • Romance: kisses to heated make-out
  • Violence: physical altercations, explosions, magical attacks, train wrecks, poisoning
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: hate crime, racism, substance abuse, pain-med addiction

Instagram || Goodreads