ARC Book Review: The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme

February 23, 2021February 9, 2021 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Jillian Boehme
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: March 2nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

For a hundred years, the once-prosperous kingdom of Perin Faye has suffered under the rule of the greedy and power-hungry Thungrave kings. Maralyth Graylaern, a vintner’s daughter, has no idea her hidden magical power is proof of a secret bloodline and claim to the throne. Alac Thungrave, the king’s second son, has always been uncomfortable with his position as the spare heir—and the dark, stolen magic that comes with ruling.

When Maralyth becomes embroiled in a plot to murder the royal family and seize the throne, a cat-and-mouse chase ensues in an adventure of dark magic, court intrigue, and forbidden love.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for a review.
All opinions are my own!

NEEDED MORE.

This book caused me to learn something about my bookish self.

I am picky when it comes to standalone fantasies.

Why? Because I think it’s hard to give everything a fantasy book needs laid out to make it feel whole by the time it ends. A fantasy needs strong world-building, an explanation of magic systems and more. I thought this was missing a lot of that plus a lack of character depth (with main and side characters).

The Stolen Kingdom started off pretty strong. The premise wasn’t wholly unique, but it seemed to have a flair I could get behind. I liked Maralyth as a main character. She was strong-willed and may have had to go with things she didn’t approve of, yet made the right decisions when it came down to it. I saw her in her role by the end.

Alac was a love interest I enjoyed. He wanted to change his kingdom for the better and was open to listening and working with his perceived enemies to do so. I wish there would have been more to Alac and Maralyth’s romance sub-plot. It was charming watching them together and I wanted to see the banter and tender pages.

It was an enjoyable story for a standalone. Even when I think it was missing deeper aspects, it delivered likable characters and a nifty, yet simple, magic system to follow. It would be an enjoyable read for younger YA audiences too.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: little to none
Romance: kisses
Violence: physical, poison, loss of loved ones, murder

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Book Review: Bone Crier’s Moon (Bone Grace #1) by Kathryn Purdie

February 5, 2021February 5, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 480 pages
Author: Kathryn Purdie
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: March 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Bone Criers have a sacred duty. They alone can keep the dead from preying on the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes from sacrifice. The gods demand a promise of dedication. And that promise comes at the cost of the Bone Criers’ one true love.

Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers, a mysterious famille of women who use strengths drawn from animal bones to ferry dead souls. But first she must complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she’s also destined to love.

Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Yet when he finally captures one, his vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fates are entwined—in life and in death.

Sabine has never had the stomach for the Bone Criers’ work. But when her best friend Ailesse is taken captive, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means defying their traditions—and their matriarch—to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. Before they all die.

STARTED STRONG.

Fighting a tiger shark? Yeah, that’s a strong start.

I liked where things were going and how it was set-up. I was imagining a lot wider plot that would connect back into the characters..but alas, that was not the case. Everything took place in a small city, and it felt that way. There was this reiteration about a flute that went on for 450 pages. That’s mostly what I gathered from this.

Multiple POVs are my jam, and I liked having them here. I did find myself confused at times with who was speaking if I had to stop in the middle of a chapter. Their own voices didn’t resonate enough from the page to really help me grasp the character.

What was the thing with the owl?! I’m still confused, and have too many questions. This mythical owl kept showing up to further the plot by being the answer the characters needed. It was a cop-out. I’m guessing the owl plays a bigger role in book two? Maybe? I don’t know.

This is a quick read, and definitely fits in the young adult fantasy category. Besides struggling with the POVs, I did like the writing style because of it’s pace and not drawn out sentiments.

Ooooo, I haven’t even mentioned my true downfall with this one, the insta-love. Oh goodness, the instant love. We literally changed paragraphs and Bastien went from wanting to stab, to wanting to kiss Ailesse. Does not work for me.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: none
Romance: kiss
Violence: swords/knives, physical altercations, explosions

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Book Review: Fireborne (The Aurelian Cycle #1) by Rosaria Munda

February 1, 2021September 7, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Author: Rosaria Munda
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books
Release Date: October 15th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Game of Thrones meets Red Rising in a debut young adult fantasy that’s full of rivalry, romance… and dragons.

Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone—even the lowborn—a chance to test into the governing class of dragonriders.

Now they are both rising stars in the new regime, despite backgrounds that couldn’t be more different. Annie’s lowborn family was executed by dragonfire, while Lee’s aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet.

But everything changes when survivors from the old regime surface, bent on reclaiming the city.

With war on the horizon and his relationship with Annie changing fast, Lee must choose to kill the only family he has left or to betray everything he’s come to believe in. And Annie must decide whether to protect the boy she loves . . . or step up to be the champion her city needs.

From debut author Rosaria Munda comes a gripping adventure that calls into question which matters most: the family you were born into, or the one you’ve chosen.

WHY THE LOVE TRIANGLE.

Ugh.

I’ll get this out of the way first. There’s a bit of a love triangle woven in. I don’t like it.

Anywho, the rest of the story? GOOD. I liked it! I want to read book two. Interesting story line with an exiled prince that nobody knows about. Working his way up the ranks, deciding where he wants to be. All good things that made me love Lee. I also really liked Annie. She’s a sweetheart who can also lay it down when needed. They are the real ship here and I demand them to be together.

Oh hey, also, DRAGONS. I loooove dragon books. I was looking for a bit more from the dragons, but they are definitely in this story a lot. They have an interesting history too, and I like the way they were woven in.

There’s plenty of action, and some slower spots too. It really read as young adult fantasy. Which can be positive or negative depending on how you feel about about the genre. I still enjoy it even if some things bug me. I found this easy to get into and the background and world information to simple to grasp. The character stories were intense and made me angry and upset for them.

I’m curious where this will continue because there’s definitely pieces at work.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: little light
Romance: kisses
Violence: dragon fire, murder, physical altercations, dragon fights
Content warnings: losing loved ones

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Book Review: Silent Kingdom (Silent Kingdom #1) by Rachel L. Schade

January 27, 2021September 6, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 247 pages
Author: Rachel L. Schade
Publisher: Dragon Shadow Publishing
Release Date: September 29th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Chosen by truth. Marked for death. Halia must choose to save her kingdom, or let it fall.

Misroth’s king has died, and the entire kingdom is in mourning—or so it seems. After her father is crowned regent in his brother’s stead, Princess Halia discovers a terrible truth that could end her life. But when she flees to live in hiding, she discovers that the Royal Guard are not all she has to fear. Dark creatures stalk her, reports of oppression and war reach her ears, and her burden to protect her kingdom—at any cost—will not be silenced.

SLOW START, GOOD END.

Another Kindle Unlimited find!

I liked where things were initially going (because wow what a intense intro) but it stalled a bit with her younger age + not much going on.

Once Halia was older things started to pick up. I liked the idea of an exiled princess finding her way back home to right the wrongs so grievously done. What I struggled with was her visions. I have a hard time with any character having visions in a book. It takes me out of the story and makes it hard to get back in. Halia had multiple almost every chapter which really through off the pacing.

I adored her cute little soon to be friends to lovers moment. I would have loved even more because I thought Halia and Avrik’s friendship was precious and sweet.

Halia never intended to be a heroine, and I thought her character growth was well accomplished. It’d be curious to see how the rest of the series continues with the pawns at play. I liked the last quarter of the book the most because things really started HAPPENING. It was an incredible slow build to get there.

Overall audience notes: