Tag: young adult historical

Book Review: A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Historical Fantasy Romance
Length: 360 pages
Author: June Hur
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: May 14th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.

Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.

1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.

Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.

Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.

When Iseul’s and Daehyun’s fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen:

Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.

UNDER RATED.

At present, I am the only person I know of who has read this book and I think y’all need to get on this too! It is a standalone young adult historical fiction/fantasy with some enemies to lovers/oh wait we both hate the same guy romance that I loved listening to.

Now this book does NOT shy away from the atrocities committed by the king in question. I learned a lot from this book and from the author’s note at the end about this point in time. I love when books broaden my knowledge of time periods I knew little of. I do think some of the historical aspects and characters got lost in the shuffle of trying to create this as a standalone but that was my only issue.

I loved that this was dual POV and that both characters were people you wanted to root for. There were so many scenes that gutted me and so many scenes that pulled at my heart. I loved the intensity and how things came together in the end. It’s a fantastic book.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Historical fiction / fantasy / romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: mentions of rape and abuse, war themes, animal violence, sexual abuse, misogyny, kidnapping of women and girls, incent (mentioned), suicide (mentioned), infanticide (mentioned), panic attacks — the author does have a full trigger warning page at the beginning of the book; because I listened to the audiobook I might have missed something else to note here

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ARC Book Review: A Queen’s Game (A Queen’s Game #1) by Katharine McGee

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Historical Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Katharine McGee
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: October 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The New York Times bestselling author of the American Royals series invites you to visit 19th-century Europe amid the glamour and intrigue of the Victorian era. In this historical romance inspired by true events, three princesses struggle to find love—and end up vying for the hearts of two future kings.

In the last glittering decade of European empires, courts, and kings, three young women are on a collision course with history—and with each other.

Alix of Hesse is Queen Victoria’s favorite granddaughter, so she can expect to end up with a prince . . . except that the prince she’s falling for is not the one she’s supposed to marry.

Hélène d’Orléans, daughter of the exiled King of France, doesn’t mind being a former princess; it gives her more opportunity to break the rules. Like running around with the handsome, charming, and very much off-limits heir to the British throne, Prince Eddy.

Then there’s May of Teck. After spending her entire life on the fringes of the royal world, May is determined to marry a prince—and not just any prince, but the future king.

In a story that sweeps from the glittering ballrooms of Saint Petersburg to the wilds of Scotland, A Queen’s Game recounts a pivotal moment in real history as only Katharine McGee can tell it: through the eyes of the young women whose lives, and loves, changed it forever.

Thank you Get Underlined for the gifted ARC.

I DID LIKE IT.

First of all, this is much more historical fiction than anything else. Which is FINE. But since I didn’t read the synopsis I didn’t know so I’m passing a long that information to you. I enjoyed seeing these people in history through this lens. It was a bit dramatic (as expected for a KM book) and held my attention well. I didn’t have a hard time picking up and continuing the story.

NOW. If you’re like me and only have a vague memory of who ends up with who, who dies, etc. you will spoil yourself by going doing historical deep dives online (aka what I did because my history nerd side came out). This didn’t turn me off from reading it and I think it added to the flair of where the story is going. I am curious how this will be pulled into a series. It’s not ROMANTIC but there is romance. There’s some sweet moments and cute things, I wish there would have been more development involved though.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction + Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: vague open door
  • Violence: low

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ARC Book Review: The Never Heir (The Otherworlds #1) by Courtney Millecam

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Historical Fantasy
Length: 340 pages
Author: Courtney Millecam
Publisher: Laurel Ink Press
Release Date: May 16th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Charlie ‘Tootles’ Tulane risked everything to break the spell binding the lost boys to Pan and escape Neverland. Now seventeen and living in 1923 London, Charlie’s freedom from the land of Faerie has never felt better. But even the noblest of actions have consequences. Neverland demands a leader, and without one, chaos spills into the mortal world.

Spending his nights as an amateur boxer, Charlie meets the ‘Bright Young Things’ of London’s upper class. Part of that group is Evie, a girl whose ravings about mermaids abducting her sister got her sent to an asylum. Now that she’s back among polite society, Evie’s under strict orders from her mother to avoid any further scandal and to attract a suitable match. But that proves difficult when Evie’s friend and confidant from Faerie turns demanding and sinister, forcing her into a deal she can’t refuse: In exchange for locating Pan’s lost relics of power, the Fae will return the one thing Evie wants most.

When Charlie learns his past betrayals set off a chain reaction resulting in the abduction of Evie’s sister, the two must return to the place of Charlie’s nightmares in an attempt to set things right. But this time, the price for rectitude might prove too steep for either one of them to pay.

Thank you to Book of Matches Media and Courtney Millecam for the eARC.

A FANTASTIC RETELLING.

I’m pretty sure this is my first Peter Pan retelling and it did not disappoint!! I had a great time reading this and absolutely loved the combination of fae and 1920’s London. Historical fantasies are a new favorite sub-genre of mine and this is one that must be read by all!

I really liked the main characters Evie and Charlie. Both out there doing their best and also making some mistakes. I enjoy seeing flawed characters and the ups and downs of progression throughout. Romantically, I loved the slow burn between them and thought it was all very sweet and I am rooting for them come book two!

There were many interesting plot twists and turns and I would be curious to see more of the fae lands in the next book. I didn’t always love the frenemies group that Charlie and Evie ran around with though. They just weren’t my favorite.

It’s a fantastic debut and series starter book. I liked the pacing and that I felt engaged to the story the entire time. The little historical tidbits like boxing, speakeasy’s, and more rounded out this book incredibly well.

I’m so curious what will happen next!!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Historical Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, physical altercations, light blood depiction

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