Book Review: Blood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy #1) by Amélie Wen Zhao

April 13, 2020January 30, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Amélie Wen Zhao
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: November 19th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the Cyrilian Empire, Affinites are reviled. Their varied gifts to control the world around them are unnatural—dangerous. And Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, has a terrifying secret. Her deadly Affinity to blood is her curse and the reason she has lived her life hidden behind palace walls.

When Ana’s father, the emperor, is murdered, her world is shattered. Framed as his killer, Ana must flee the palace to save her life. And to clear her name, she must find her father’s murderer on her own. But the Cyrilia beyond the palace walls is far different from the one she thought she knew. Corruption rules the land, and a greater conspiracy is at work—one that threatens the very balance of her world. And there is only one person corrupt enough to help Ana get to its core: Ramson Quicktongue.

A cunning crime lord of the Cyrilian underworld, Ramson has sinister plans—though he might have met his match in Ana. Because in this story, the princess might be the most dangerous player of all.

MORAL GRAYNESS ABOUNDS.

And y’all. That sometimes makes for a really good book.

Don’t you love characters that have a hard time making a good decision, but you know do care deep down about the greater good? ME TOO. That’s how I felt reading about practically all of the characters in this book. Everyone had their own agenda, yet would reach out to help others, then turn around and stab them in the back, to really actually be helping them. AH. It was awesome to turn each page not knowing who’s side everyone was on.

I loved watching Ana learn to love her powers and herself. While she still has a long way to go, it was amazing watching her eyes continually open wider as her world was expanded and the deeds of her kingdom come to light. On the path to forging a better world, wrongs must be acknowledged before they can be righted.

The entire story line actually leans to a darker nature of book. I was impressed to find that the hype around this book was more or less on point. My girl Ana COULD NOT CATCH A BREAK. Goodness gracious. It was almost too much. I felt like she would get through one battle scene, turn around and there would be someone else getting stabbed who needed her help (or that someone was trying to stab her). I would have loved to have some more quiet, building moments than allllllll the action that was given. Did make more a lively tale at least.

I am so into the very little burgeoning romance happening with Ramson. He lives in a realm of grayness and it makes me love him more. I liked getting some POV chapters from him and learning the sins of his past. It makes both Ana and Ramson characters you shouldn’t necessarily like, but appreciate the ways they are trying to be better. Ramson is witty and always ready with a comeback and the banter with Ana just made me happy.

Will I read the next book? Definitely. This is a series I can’t wait to continue reading!

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: a little
Romance: banter/flirting
Violence: magical, physical, arrows, swords, knives, poison; somewhat bloody/gory
Trigger warnings: Ch. 4 – a remembrance of an attempted suicide by drowning (by the main character); racism, human trafficking and slavery

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: March 2020

March 31, 2020March 30, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Does March feel like it’s been going on forever? Even more than January? While practicing social distancing for the last 2+ weeks, I honestly haven’t seen the inside of anything but my house. Hence, a lot of reading happened.

A lot.

I broke my monthly record and it 26 books in never-ending March. Unfortunately, I also dolled out more 2 stars than I ever have too. But you win some, you lose some! Still plenty of good reads.

My favorites this month: House of Earth and Blood (NO SURPRISE), Undercover Bromance, Dragonfly in Amber, Until it Fades, The Giver of Stars, A Voice in the Wind, and Aurora Rising.

My least favorites this month: Five Dark Fates, Lucky Caller, Of Curses and Kisses and The Stars We Steal

Reviews will be out in the coming months!

[ARC] A Temporary Boyfriend (The Fake Love Series #2) by Summer Dowell – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
Windwitch (The Witchlands #2) by Susan Dennard – (☆☆☆☆)
Heart of Flames (Crown of Feathers #2) by Nicki Pau Preto – (☆☆☆☆)
The Harvest (Call of the Sirens #1) by K.B. Benson – (☆☆☆)
House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas – (☆☆☆☆☆)
[ARC] Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2) by Lyssa Kay Adams – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake – (☆☆ 1/2)
On the Fence by Kasie West – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
[ARC] More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn – (☆☆☆☆)
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Bloodwitch (The Witchlands #3) by Susan Dennard – (☆☆☆☆)
Until it Fades by K.A. Tucker – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Maybe This Time by Kasie West – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion #1) by Francine Rivers – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
Lucky Caller by Emma Mills – (☆☆)
Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare – (☆☆☆☆)
Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta’s Academy #1) by Sandhya Menon – (☆☆)
More Than We Can Tell (Letters to the Lost #2) by Brigid Kemmerer – (☆☆☆☆)
[ARC] Don’t Go Stealing My Heart by Kelly Siskind – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
[Re-read] Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Neighbors Like That (A Love Like This #1) by Carina Taylor – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
When You Ask Me Where I’m Going by Jasmin Kaur – (☆☆☆)
The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co. #4) by Jonathan Stroud – (☆☆☆☆)
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen – (☆☆☆☆)

How did your month of reading go? Did we read any of the same books? Lets talk in the comments!

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ARC Book Review: Ruthless Gods (Something Dark and Holy #2) by Emily A. Duncan

March 30, 2020January 30, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 544 pages
Author: Emily A. Duncan
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Expected Release Date: April 7th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Darkness never works alone…

Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who–and what–he’s become.

As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone… or something. The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness, the ones that Nadya believes are her gods, the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world, and they refuse to stay quiet any longer.

In her dramatic follow-up to Wicked Saints, the first book in her Something Dark and Holy trilogy, Emily A. Duncan paints a Gothic, icy world where shadows whisper, and no one is who they seem, with a shocking ending that will leave you breathless.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

TRUE TO ITS NATURE.

I should first acknowledge, will I read this third book? YES. While Ruthless Gods let me down a bit (and was way too long), there is still enough in here for me to need a conclusion to this wicked tale.

The desperation and darkness that leaked from these pages was astounding. This isn’t some cute fairytale y’all. This will hurt your soul most of the time and leave you questioning if a happy ending is ever possible. And honestly, I’M NOT SURE THAT IT IS. The scope of what someone is willing to do for love of country, and person pushed boundaries that left me reeling by the end. I was pulled in from the beginning, the middle definitely dragged on way too long, and then the ending gave me a interesting enough conclusion that I know I want more. This was a big case of book two syndrome.

This was reallllll creepy and realllll bloody. Every time Malachiasz showed his truly monstrous self I cringed because the mental picture is WEIRD Y’ALL. My boy Malachiasz was *almost* everything I needed him to be. I felt we were missing a chunk of his personality that didn’t come out until the very end. I wanted more heavily wicked banter and more intriguing moments with Nadya. I love this wicked cinnamon roll though and wonder what he’s planning next, because I know it’ll destroy my soul.

Serefin and Kacper. Saw it coming. LOVE IT. And that is about the only tiny moment of happiness Serefin saw this entire book (I told y’all, nothing good happens in Ruthless Gods). His continual battle with a god was intriguing, but here is my real gripe from the whole book; There were way too many visions and flashbacks. They often confused me because the segue into them was abrupt to the story.

My complaint from Wicked Saints was that Nadya wasn’t nefarious enough. She did up her ante in this installment!! YAY. I loved seeing her wield some dark magic and fight her demons. What I didn’t love was how wishy-washy she was about her relationship with Malachiasz. I get that it’s supposed to be this push and pull because he’s wicked, cool. BUT FOR REAL. I had a hard time getting on board with how often Nadya was flip-flopping and using pages to be a bit melodramatic about it all. I think some COMMUNICATION would solve most of these issues, it’s not even a matter of who’s wicked enough, it’s a matter of flat out talking to someone.

While I did enjoy the writing, some scene changes and chapter turnover was not in any sort of flow. It felt like small scenes were being jumped over and I was being tossed into the *next big thing* when I would have liked a bit more movement between scenes. I really loved the last 100 pages and am very curious about the last book. How the gods will play a role, what will happen between the countries, who is going to betray who last, SO MANY QUESTIONS. It’ll be a showstopper I’m sure.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: very little, in the second half of the book
Romance: a few kisses/make-outs, one almost scene that has a little heat
Violence: everything is bloody and gory y’all; murder, knives, magic, monsters, it’s all here
Trigger warnings: alcoholism, self-mutilation through cutting (for use of blood magic), self-mutilation through removing an eye

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Book Review: East (East #1) by Edith Pattou

March 26, 2020January 30, 2020 GoodeyReads4 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy + retelling + romance
Length: 507 pages
Author: Edith Pattou
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 1st, 2005
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Rose has always been different.

Since the day she was born, it was clear she had a special fate. Her superstitious mother keeps the unusual circumstances of Rose’s birth a secret, hoping to prevent her adventurous daughter from leaving home… but she can’t suppress Rose’s true nature forever.

So when an enormous white bear shows up one cold autumn evening and asks teenage Rose to come away with it–in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family–she readily agrees.

Rose travels on the bear’s broad back to a distant and empty castle, where she is nightly joined by a mysterious stranger. In discovering his identity, she loses her heart– and finds her purpose–and realizes her journey has only just begun.

REALLY WHIMSICAL.

This book screamed a very whimsy fantasy. A simple and sweet retelling of a Nordic fairytale. I’ve seen that a lot of people mention that they read this as a child (where have I been??) and I’m grateful that I’ve had a chance to read this now! I definitely can’t wait to pick up the next book.

I love how fast this was to read. It was written in multi-POV chapters that were usually on the shorter side. It made for fast flipping where you couldn’t even tell that it’s an almost 500 page read. I never felt like things were left about with the constant switching of characters. It really rounded out the three areas of this tale and made it all the more magical.

The romance between the bear [obviously he doesn’t stay that way], and Rose was incredibly sweet. The bonds they grew by having to communicate in unique ways had just the right flair of romanticism. I like that it never came off like it was overtaking the story and rather wove into Rose’s sense of adventure.

Rose was full of wanderlust and a desire to right her accidental wrongs. I loved her spirit and vibrancy. The way she helped her family and the polar bear had me cheering her on. She was an easy character to love.

All of the characters were well developed and multi-layered. I even found myself sympathetic to the villain. I love the way the conclusion wrapped up and gave the ending a happily every after AND a bittersweet moment as well. This book was magical and fantastical. And appropriate for the younger YA audience as well.

Overall audience notes: