Tag: young adult fantasy

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My TBR That I Predict Will Be 5 Star Reads

GoodeyReads17 Comments

Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

Oh this is a good topic this week y’all. Though now I’m all up in arms that I don’t have any of these books yet. I CAN’T WAIT TO READ THESE BOOKS.

House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas

IS IT ANY SURPRISE I HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS BOOK? Probably not. But the few lucky souls I’ve seen with an ARC have been singing its praises and I am here for MARCH.

Aurora Burning (Aurora Cycle #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

My babe is on the cover, SO OF COURSE I WILL LOVE THIS.

The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy #3) by S.A. Chakraborty

I have been anxiously waiting for this finale since I finished The Kingdom of Copper last year. This finale is sure to be epic.

Wild at Heart (Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker

The moment I heard there was a sequel I squealed. I LOVED The Simple Wild and I have high hopes this sequel lives up to it.

The Stormlight Archive #4 by Brandon Sanderson

*anxiously awaiting a title and to know who Kaladin’s love interest will be*

AND IT COMES OUT ON MY BIRTHDAY.

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

I have given everything Levenseller writes a 5*. I love her books. I am so excited this comes out SOOOOOOOON.

The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen

I’ve already read The Bridge Kingdom twice and will read it a third time before reading this book. It is my top read of 2019. Clearly I’m anxious about book two.

Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon

Since Amy Harmon can do no wrong, this historical fiction romance is sure to bring the tears and the stars.

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

My friend got this for me for my birthday and I actually just picked it up a few nights ago. I have high hopes since this a favorite book of hers. I’m really curious how this story will play out!

Reign (Stormheart #3) by Cora Carmack

Admittedly, I didn’t love book two, buuuuuut I think the finale will have all of my attention. I have some really high hopes for a ship that I’m hoping will sail off into the sunset. And I mean, LOOK AT THAT COVER.

Instagram || Goodreads

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: January 2020

GoodeyReads1 Comment

What a month!

I may have gone a bit crazy this month and didn’t even know it until I started counting them. Granted, January lasts FOR FOREVER so you can’t really blame me. I had a great re-read, conquered a 1,200+ page beast, and threw in some cute rom-coms to boot.

This was a great start to 2020 and I am stoked for what my reading year has in store!

My reviews will be posted in the next few months! I only post Monday – Friday so my reviews get extended into other months over time.

  • [Re-read] A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOTAR #2) by Sarah J. Maas – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Talon the Black (the Dragonwall Saga #1) by Melissa Mitchell – (☆☆☆)
  • Regretting You by Colleen Hoover – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • My Very Own Hitman by Izi Miller – (☆☆☆☆)
  • A Dangerous Collaboration (Veronica Speedwell #4) by Deanna Raybourn – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive #3) by Brandon Sanderson – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Grace Year by Kim Liggett – (☆☆☆☆)
  • The Tea Dragon Society (Tea Dragon #1) by Katie O’Neill – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] Lakeshire Park by Megan Walker – (☆☆☆☆)
  • One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying #2) by Karen M. McManus – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Blood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy #1) by Amelie Wen Zhao – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Vortex Visions (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles #1) by Elise Kova – (☆☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] The Maiden Ship (The Maiden Ship #1) by Micheline Ryckman – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Love Is An Art by Summer Dowell – (☆☆☆)
  • 180 Seconds by Jessica Park – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • Chosen Champion (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles #2) by Elise Kova – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3) by Kendare Blake – (☆☆☆)
  • The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez – (☆☆☆)
  • Akarnae (The Medoran Chronicles #1) by Lynette Noni – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston – (☆☆☆☆)
  • The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner – (☆☆☆☆☆)

Favorite this month: ACOMAF, Regretting you and Oathbringer

Least favorite this month: Two Dark Reigns

Instagram || Goodreads

Book Review: The Valiant (The Valiant #1) by Lesley Livingston

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆  
Audience: Young adult historical fiction / fantasy
Length: 372 pages
Author: Lesley Livingston
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: February 14th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Princess. Captive. Gladiator.

Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king, the sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha, and the sworn enemy of Julius Caesar.

When Fallon was a child, Caesar’s armies invaded her homeland, and her beloved sister was killed in battle.

Now, on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is eager to follow in her sister’s footsteps and earn her place in the fearsome Cantii war band. She never gets the chance.

Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon’s family might be her only hope of survival.

Now Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries and deadly fights—in and out of the arena. And perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her forbidden yet irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier.

HERE FOR FEMALE GLADIATORS.

I read this based off of a recommendation an old friend gave me. She reads a lot of the books I recommend and I wanted to do the same for her (since we have very similar tastes). Y’all, this was a great book! I’m so happy I picked this up and definitely want to read the next one.

The setting was off the charts. I am fascinated by the Roman Empire and its history. I haven’t come across many (if all, because I can only thing of Blood and Sand right now), that use Rome has a historical fiction setting. LOVE IT LOVE IT. I found the interweaving of real life people like Julius Caesar and Cleopatra to be thrilling. I personally didn’t know that there were even female gladiators to begin with! I enjoyed reading the little note at the end about some of the history Livingston found to add some background to these fierce ladies.

Romance was fine. That was probably the only downside to The Valiant. I thought it was starting off slow (which I’m totally cool with) because Cai wasn’t in the story that much. Then I realized…he’s really not in the story that much. Until the later second half of this book do we see him more consistently. Any interactions between Cai and Fallon are full speed ahead while I’m trying to catch up with if I even ship them or not. It left a bit to be desired, but I’m hopeful in the next book I’ll get a larger flourish of them together.

There was a twist or two I did see coming that didn’t ruin the plot for me. I actually liked where it went and how all of the information played into Fallon’s life. Fallon was an amazing heroine. Brave, a bit stubborn, loyal and real. I cheered for her in her battles and on and off the fields of battle.

I’m curious how everything will further unfold in the next book. Caesar and Cleopatra are definitely playing a part in it and I think that is so cool. I didn’t even know that they actually had a relationship until this book (and a bunch of Googling afterwards).

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult historical fiction / fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: a few kisses
  • Violence: gladiator battles, sword fighting, arrows; fairly bloody and gory
  • Trigger warnings: witnessing the loss of a loved one, slavery (Fallon is taken by a Roman slave trader and sold to a house for female gladiators)

Instagram || Goodreads

Book Review: One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆1/2
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: September 19th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

In this enthralling sequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.

THIS WAS BETTER.

After the mostly disaster of Three Dark Crowns, I somehow convinced myself I wanted to see if book two actually got better (like a lot of my friends had mentioned). They were right, this was at least, better.

I thought the drama and stakes gained a couple of levels that kept me interested throughout the book. The writing is quick and fast paced with a continual flow of things happening.

Having a wicked character really helped too. Katharine hit a monstrous streak that I was here for. Sometimes it’s nice actually seeing some darkness from a book with dark in the title. I found it pretty creepy what had ended up happening to her to cause such a darkness and am curious how that will continual to fuel her decisions.

Arsinoe and Mirabella are fine. I like them and like that all of the queens have stand-out personalities. It would be a bummer if they all sounded and acted the same. There story line was infinitely different and now I have been dragged into wanting to see how book three and four play out. I kind of wish that one of the queens actually did die (maybe that’s coming?) because I feel like the character deaths that did happen weren’t earth-shattering. Honestly, I wasn’t even upset with the deaths.

The romances played a big part of the plot line still. While I felt I got more out of them because this was book two, it was still missing a lot of background information. I know very little about the suitors and I have been having a hard time connecting with any of these characters.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: some kisses, a few fade to black with no detail
  • Violence: physical, animal attacks, poison, someone is choked to death

Instagram || Goodreads