Categories: Alternate History, Historical Fantasy, Romantasy, Fae, Young Adult
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to HarperCollins for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.
Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen.
High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.
But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin… and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.
Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart—and at the center of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything Ivy knows.
Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Adalyn Grace.
+ This story has an interesting concept – alternate English history with a Fae Queen ruling. Now Prince Bram is looking for a wife and there is a competition for his hand in marriage. I thought the bargain people made with the Queen was fascinating – what would you give up for the thing you want?
+ Ivy’s trying to marry Bram, but all the girls are trying to marry him to help their families in some way. But Ivy meets Bram’s half-brother first, Emmett, and they have a lot of chemistry and it’s nice to see Ivy be herself around him as the story progresses. I thought maybe there would be a love-triangle with how some things were playing out – but there is a twist on that.
+ I thought it was nice getting to know the other girls even though some don’t get along. They eventually become like a found family during this competition.
+ There is quite a plot twist at the end of the story. I can say it wasn’t expected at all and I was quite surprised at what was taking place.
~ The trials were pretty weak. I think I wanted something more thrilling.
~ So this story is told mainly through the main character, Ivy Benton. But each girl remaining, the top six, tells their POV also, which at times got me confused until I realized what was happening and had to check the chapter to see which character was speaking.
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was more like The Selection than The Cruel Prince as this is being advertised. I thought the ending was a good twist in the story and I liked seeing what bargains people made with the Queen. I did wish the trials were more thrilling and I did get sometimes confused on who’s POV I was reading (if I didn’t pay attention to the chapter names) but other than that, I thought it was entertaining, especially the ending.
Categories: Adult, Romance, Historical Romance, Series
The third and final book in USA TODAY bestselling author Adriana Herrera’s smart, sensual Las Leonas series featuring an ambitious doctor breaking societal norms and the reluctant Duke willing to risk it all for her…
Aurora Montalban Wright has had a whirlwind summer in Paris but is finally settling down to the business she came to do: run an underground women’s clinic. This venture is risky, not only because she’s technically breaking the law, but because she is providing services to the daughters, wives and mistresses of powerful men who could get her into a lot of trouble.
When she finds herself in danger, Apollo Sinclair Robles, the new Duke of Annan, offers his assistance, even though she despises him (or wants to despise him – that doesn’t stop the several dalliances they have with one another). But he has many secrets of his own. He’s still grappling with his newfound place in the British aristocracy, especially as a Black man. Now he is part of a world he despises with more than a few enemies waiting for any opportunity to disgrace him.
He should be focusing on finding a bride that can help him further his causes and leverage himself withing the highest echelons of power, but instead he’s distracted with keeping Aurora Montalban safe. Aurora has been cut off from her family and has been living modestly for months. Once Apollo realizes the risks she’s been taking with her clinics, he makes it his business to protect her. The woman is relentless in her endeavor to help women in need, even when it means putting herself at risk. Their closeness leads to discovering new sides to Aurora, and the more he learns about her the more he’s convinced she’s the perfect woman for him. But her past is complicated and having her as his duchess would make his bid for power more difficult.
Book Excerpt:
Prologue
July 1889
Paris, France
Aurora Montalban Wright was no rebel.
At least that was what most who knew her would say. It was not an unfair assessment of her character. After all, true rebels never bothered with consequences, not when a glorious mission lay in the balance. No one would label Aurora a carefree sort, and that was fine by her. Because what she’d learned early in life was that rebellions cost blood, sweat and tears, and she had none of those to spare. This, of course, did not mean she was above bending a rule—or five—if the situation called for it.
In fact, twice in her past, she’d broken every rule set before her in order to escape her circumstances. Once, humiliatingly, for a man—which came to a disastrous end. The other—equally catastrophic—for her freedom. Despite this, Aurora was not rebellious by nature. It was simply that she was galvanized by the word no. The more she was told she could not do something, the more creative she became at conquering it.
No, Aurora was no rebel, but tonight she felt like one. The worst possible news had come at the worst possible time and she desperately wanted a distraction. In fact, she wanted far more than that, she needed the kind of oblivion that only came from terrible decisions. Thankfully she was in a city where immoral diversions were easy enough to procure, if one knew which objectionable doors to darken.
Her destination, the clandestine apartment of Apollo César Sinclair Robles—a man who’d just claimed his place as the heir to a dukedom by destroying his own father—could be considered a particularly ill-advised one.
As her fiacre came to a stop on the Rue de Volney, she fleetingly considered if there weren’t less potentially disastrous ways to deal with her current mood. Then she felt the weight of the key she’d kept in her pocket for weeks and decided there definitely were, but she still wanted to do this.
The building looked exactly as she remembered from the night she’d spent here a month earlier. It was one of those modern, luxury apartment buildings near the Parc Monceau, kept by wealthy aristocrats and business titans to commit their more slanderous peccadillos in decadent discretion.
When she reached the door, she took a moment to examine herself in the sparkling glass window. The walking suit she’d donned that morning showed the strain of the day. Her face was framed with wisps of loose curls that had escaped the braid pinned to the nape of her neck. Her hat was a bit more askew than what was fashionable and there was a stain on her left cuff she could not quite identify and was reluctant to smell.
She ought to go home, clean herself up and come another day.
She wasn’t presentable and she was certainly not in a state of mind to interact with someone who had a natural gift for trying her patience. Coming to Apollo for what she needed tonight was the furthest from sensible she’d been in a long time.
The thought sent a flash of alarm through her body. She decidedly ignored the cardiovascular admonition.
Undeterred, she pushed the door open and strode right up to the porter with the key dangling from her hand and her heart making another valiant effort at warning her off.
“Oui, madame.” The porter greeted her with the detached politeness of someone too well trained to openly scowl at her clothes, but too French not to appear at least marginally aggrieved at their deplorable state.
“Lord Darnick.” The two words did the trick, and with a nod, he stepped aside and directed her toward the lift operator, who was already pushing buttons.
Clearly, women coming to see his lordship at all hours of the night was a regular occurrence. Not exactly a surprise. From the moment she’d met the man at a soiree months earlier, he’d been an unapologetic reprobate. She’d never encountered anyone who cared less about other people’s opinions than Apollo César Sinclair Robles.
The evidence of that lay in the way he’d arrived in Edinburgh like a dark avenging angel and exposed his father as a liar and a thief. Upending in a single night, one of the oldest dukedoms in Britain while establishing himself as its rightful heir, leaving the peerage reeling, and his own father a social pariah.
He was arrogant, rude, and blatantly ridiculed the societal norms she’d so carefully ascribed to. From that first meeting, she’d found herself equally appalled and intrigued by him.
A smile tugged at her lips at the thought of what the new Earl of Darnick would do when she turned up at his apartment and told him she was there for sex, and the more depraved, the better.
He would probably think she was out of her mind.
Out of her mind or not, she had it made up, and whatever lapse this was, she would deal with it in the morning. Four steps forward and two firm knocks were all it took for her, a respected physician, to announce herself at a man’s tryst apartment somewhere between one and two in the morning.
Her heartbeat marked hurried footsteps on the other side, while she took in slow, calming breaths. The moment the door finally opened, it was suddenly very clear that she had not properly prepared herself. The rapid escalation of her pulse told the story.
He looked like the very last stop on the train to ruination. All languid grace, and the ease of a man who was well aware of the damage he could do on a woman’s good sense with a mere wink and a smile.
Aurora, to her eternal shame was not immune to either.
“Bella Doctora, I didn’t know you made house calls.” He spoke in that lazy drawl he always used with her, but there was an alertness to his gaze that betrayed his indifference.
“Don’t call me that,” she rebuked, then remembered she was here to ask for something and tempered her manner with what she hoped was a comely smile. “I came to return your key.” She held it up as she endeavored, and failed, not to gape at the triangle of bronzed, muscled chest. She didn’t dare look below his sternum lest she encountered bare forearms and swooned before she could tell the man what she was about.
“My key,” he drawled, without reaching for it. “After more than a month, you’ve decided to deliver it at one in the morning, on a Tuesday.” He’d given it to her on the night he’d brought her here, after her friend Manuela’s wedding day devolved into a scandal that had all of Paris talking for weeks. She hadn’t seen him since.
“I was looking in on a patient close by,” she retorted, truthfully, dropping the key into the pocket of his dressing gown. The other truth she failed to disclose was that she’d kept the damned key in her pocket like some kind of talisman since he’d given it to her.
“Ah yes, Doctora Montalban and her causes.” His voice dripped with cynicism, as if it amused him that she considered her profession anything serious.
“Why is it that every time you call me that it feels like an insult?”
“That might have more to do with you than with me.”
It irked her that his barbs always hit their targets. She’d made an art of letting men’s opinions roll off her back, not a difficult task, since a significant number of men she encountered were imbeciles. But not this earl, not the man who’d ambushed the British aristocracy like Simón Bolívar did with the Spanish at Boyacá.
She wished that diabolical grin of his didn’t start a sizzle under her skin. “Are you going to invite me in?”
He cocked a thick, dark eyebrow at whatever he heard in her tone, but instead of inviting her inside, he braced a large hand on the top corner of the doorjamb, until his very distracting mouth was close enough to kiss. She swallowed audibly when she caught a glimpse of the corded muscle of his forearm, thick veins and dusting of dark hair. Her salivary glands seemed to run out of fluid just then.
“First you have to tell me what you’re really here for, Doctora.” He was showing off his size for her and it was fruitless to pretend it had no effect on her. Everything about the man eroded every preservation instinct she had.
For over ten years, she’d avoided any scenario that could place her in a vulnerable position. She’d practically forgotten that under her walking suits lived a woman with very real urges and burning desires. Until this man had crossed her path. Since then, he’d been like a toothache. Making himself known, throbbing, gnawing at her, until she’d had to do something about it.
His closeness sent her blood from a canter to a gallop, and her breaths became shorter, more erratic. The undeniable biological evidence of arousal and desire. She might as well get on with it. She locked her own gaze with the new Earl of Darnick’s, took a breath and leaned in.
“I came here for sexual intercourse, Lord Darnick.” It was gratifying to see his predatory gaze replaced by genuine shock. But as expected with a hunter, he recovered quickly.
“Well, in that case, do come in, Doctora Montalban,” he told her with a wave of his hand before stepping aside.
She decided to ignore the sarcasm in his voice and walked into the apartment.
The moment she stepped inside, she was once again surprised by how different this place was to what she envisioned for Apollo’s lair. Instead of a showroom full of ostentatious furniture and excessive gilt, what she found was a comfortable, unpretentious room. He had an impressive collection of books. One of which was sitting open on the armrest of a chair by the fire, next to a tumbler of amber liquid. He also collected art, which to her astonishment were tasteful and interesting.
He was rich, handsome, well-read and had an uncanny eye for art. Not that any of it mattered, to her. She was not here for a marriage proposal, she off from the door and taking a few steps toward her place by the bookshelf. “Let’s reserve the endearments for later and see what we can do about all these clothes you’re wearing.”
“What?” She sounded like a dolt. This was what she’d told him she wanted. What did she expect after propositioning a scoundrel? Sweet nothings in her ear, passionate declarations?
“Your clothes, sweetheart.” He wiggled two fingers somewhere in the vicinity of her chest. “The infernally unending layers of fabric you insist on wearing. They give a man a devil of a time surmising what you’ve got under all that wool and linen.” He made a face, and her mouth twitched. Of all the things to fluster the wicked Earl of Darnick.
She took another look at him, those winged cheekbones, skin like the most perfect caramel, and the umber curls, which made her think of days in bed and rumpled, sweat-soaked sheets. It was a face a woman could ruin her life over. It was a good thing she’d already done that once and had no intention of ever doing it again.
“This is just for tonight.” It needed to be said, but he remained unbothered.
“That you don’t need to worry about, sweetheart.” He lifted a shoulder, his gaze still suspended somewhere below her neck. “I’ve never had much craving for seconds.”
She shrugged and looked away, what more was there to say to that?
“I’d appreciate it if this stayed between us.”
“Keeping secrets from your pride, are you?” he asked in a mocking tone. He was referring to her two dearest friends. The friends with which she arrived here in Paris four months earlier: Luz Alana and Manuela. The only two people in the world who knew every one of her secrets, except for this one now, she thought grimly.
“My dear sister-in-law will be scandalized to know you’ve come to me in your hour of need.” Of all the unlikely twists of fate the last few months in Paris had yielded, Luz Alana finding a love match with a Scottish whisky distiller, who turned out to be an earl and Apollo’s half-brother, had been one of the most surprising.
“It is not like you’re the Marquis de Sade, you’re just convenient.” He laughed again and this time it reached his eyes. “Besides, Luz Alana and Manuela have their own lives.”
“True love is miraculous.” For her friends, it seemed to be. She’d seen enough people entrapped into those cageless prisons of duty and guilt to have any use for the sentiment.
But even she had to admit, Luz Alana and Manuela seemed to have found partners worthy of their devotion. She was glad for them, but that was not what she searched for.
Her friends believed in love worth any sacrifice. That soulmates and fairy tales were possible. Aurora did not. Not for herself, at least. She was too…marked. Too jaded to ever believe in the lies of the heart.
Love, for her, had only ever served to remind her of the ways she never quite measured up, how hard it was for her to inspire that sentiment in another, and she would never again risk her freedom for that chimera. She had a feeling Apollo César Sinclair Robles, in this at least, was a kindred spirit.
“Why are you really here, Doctora?” Apollo asked, taking another step in her direction. He was merely a couple of feet away now. From this distance she could see that his lips had a pink tint to them. She allowed herself the distraction of that perfect mouth for a moment as she considered his question.
She could confess that this very evening she’d received a letter from her brothers informing her they’d suspended her ability to withdraw funds from her trust. She could tell him she’d been using those funds to operate a clandestine clinic that helped women in a certain kind of trouble. She could even say that the friend who delivered the correspondence had seen the man who’d ruined Aurora at the of age fifteen aboard a steamer headed to France. She might even admit that the possibility of running into the villain of her past made her so sick with dread and shame she’d run here, to Apollo. To ruin herself again, by choice, this time. But none of those pitiful confessions would be conducive to what she’d come here for, not comfort or solace, but escape.
“Let’s just say I’m in a fairly destructive mood,” she declared, looking at him square in the eyes. “I would very much like to do something utterly ruinous and you were the first thing that came to mind.”
USA TODAY bestselling author Adriana Herrera was born and raised in the Caribbean, but for the last fifteen years has let her job (and her spouse) take her all over the world. She loves writing stories about people who look and sound like her people getting unapologetic happy endings. Her books have received starred reviews from PW and Booklist and have been featured on The TODAY Show and NPR, in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Adriana is an outspoken advocate for diversity in romance and was one of the co-creators of the Queer Romance PoC Collective.
Categories: Young Adult, Grief, Contemporary, Romance
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
An emotionally raw and romantic YA novel perfect for fans of Laura Nowlin’s If He Had Been with Me.
Their love was written in the stars, but how is Lia to move on when death trumps fate?
When Lia’s mom was 17, she had her fortune told and learned her only daughter was fated to fall in love with her best friend’s son. Life unfolded exactly as predicted, and despite the army-brat lifestyle bringing them in and out of each other’s orbit, Lia and Beckett were meant to be. Or so they thought.
When a freak heart attack steals Beck’s life, Lia is devastated and unmoored. She lived her life by her mom’s old fortune; if she was fated to be with Beck, and Beck is gone, who is she supposed to be? And is there room in her broken heart for life, let alone another love?
Content Warning: death, grief, foster care
Likes:
+ Lia (Amelia) is grieving. The love of her life has died and she doesn’t know how to go on. Being an Army brat, she’s attended more schools than most kids but now at this new school she has to deal with new changes, new friends and her grief.
+ I thought this was such a heart-warming story because of how close Beck and Lia’s mom’s were close throughout their lives (soulmates) and that’s how Beck and Lia had been in each other’s lives since birth. The story portrays the different people feeling grief, not only Lia, and I like that. Her grief is painful and relatable. I also love how this story starts with a fortune teller and her mother. And it really questions what happens when the plans you’ve made are destroyed and how you get back up and forge a new plan and path.
+ Lia is not only dealing with grief. It is her senior year, so she has some hard decisions to make about her plans after high school. But she does try hard to make friends, and she meets a really good group of girls who support her immediately. She even finds her heart opening to someone new, who is really a great guy. I love that even through all the pain, she is ready to live her life again.
+ The romance is slow and sweet! There are flashbacks about her relationship with Beck, but her new relationship with Isaiah is so different and I love that for her. I like how he gives her space. Isaiah has had a hard upbringing too and foster care is a topic discussed in this book. These two broken people come together and it’s a wonderful love story.
Dislikes:
~ I’m not a fan of flashbacks but I like how this showed how young and sweet Beck and Lia’s love is but also was flawed in hindsight.
~ Lia’s relationship with her parents is strained but I can understand why because grieve is a chaotic place to be. I just wish she let her mom in more, but I get it. I totally get it.
Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this story. I like how it takes a look at young love and grief. My heart broke for Lia because I can relate to her story – how do you move on when the plans for your future is destroyed in one moment? It’s a hard journey and Lia’s story reflects how sometimes it’s bittersweet but also how there is hope for the future, and there is more life and love to give and receive if you are open to it.
Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult, Rivals to Lovers, Coming of Age
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Rivals-to-lovers gets an academic send-up in this charming and irresistible romantic comedy from Emma Lord, New York Times bestselling author of Tweet Cute and Begin Again!
At long last, Sadie has vanquished her lifelong academic rival — her irritatingly charming, whip smart next door neighbor, Seb — by getting the coveted, only spot to her dream college. Or at least, so she thinks. When Seb is unexpectedly pulled off the waitlist and admitted, Sadie has to compete with him all over again, this time to get a spot on the school’s famous zine. Now not only is she dealing with the mayhem of the lovable, chaotic family she hid her writing talents from, as well as her own self doubt, but she has to come to terms with some less-than-resentful feelings for Seb that are popping up along the way.
But the longer they compete, the more Sadie and Seb notice flaws in the school’s system that are much bigger than any competition between them. Somehow the two of them have to band together even as they’re trying to crush each other, only to discover they may have met their match in more ways than one.
Likes:
+ I love a rivals to lovers romance and this offers all the fighting and chemistry between two people who are trying to ignore the attraction between them. I especially love that Sadie and Seb have known one another since they were little! I loved seeing them go from frenemies to lovers.
+ This is a coming of age story as well as a romance. Sadie and Seb both are in their first year of college and though Sadie knows what she wants, she’s not sure what her family would think of her dreams of being a comedic writer. As for Seb, he’s not sure what path is right for himself but though he and Sadie are rivals, they definitely do push one another to be better versions of themselves – usually.
+ I thought the college experience was captured really well in this story – I loved all the antics, campus life, and shenanigans with the clubs. Also, Betty was awesome.
Dislikes:
~ There were times I wished Sadie would let up on the competition with Seb and their little falling out felt a bit overdramatic on Sadie’s part.
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed this one because I loved the college campus life portrayed in the story. The rivals to lovers romance was full of fighting, banter and chemistry. Overall, I thought it was a fun story!
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Entangled: Teen for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A dying kingdom on thin ice…
Not so long ago, druid Keltania Tunne thought she knew the world—and her place in it. Magic was all but dead, and the kingdom torn apart. Then she was sent to the court of the Winter Fae and charged with the protection of Valen, the icily arrogant prince who some believed would bring about the destruction of them all…
Instead, he brought magic.
The greed for magic nearly destroyed their world, and its return could plunge them all back into chaos—or unite the estranged fae courts…if they move quickly.
Now Keltania and Valen must navigate the temperamental fae, their insidious secrets, and an enemy who would cleave the kingdom in two in the name of vengeance—all the while hiding the truth of their connection.
Its magic. Its remarkable power. And its ability to crush their hearts in two.
But no one knows that Valen struck a secret bargain with their enemy…and soon everyone in the land will face the consequences.
Content Warning: Cursing
This is book two in the Omen of Ice series, but unfortunately I never read book one! I didn’t realize when I requested this book that it was the sequel so that’s my fault.
So not having read book one and jumping straight into book two, I was a bit lost. That’s when I realized my mistake. I pushed on anyway, hoping that eventually I would get the gist of what I was reading. From what I could gather, Valen is a reluctant leader, and I found his personality to be humorous, he had a dry humor. Tania, the druid, is someone he has a connection with, they can read each other’s minds and are attracted to one another but can’t be with one another. But they both work together to defeat their enemy.
I couldn’t quite connect to the characters because I didn’t read book one but I found the kelpie, Daroose, pretty funny. I did find the story moved quickly and had lots of action.
Final Thoughts:
For a sequel in a series I never read I think this was a solid book. I think fans of the first book will enjoy this conclusion.
Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Etsy (Shop)
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Park Row for giving me a chance to read this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
A muizai is a mistress’s shadow. You are there to do her bidding…
19th Century China. Tightly bound feet, or “golden lilies,” are the mark of an honorable woman. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that her golden lilies will someday lead her out of a life of slavery.
Not only does Little Flower have bound feet—uncommon for a muizai—but she is gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with women of fortune. Resentful of her talents, Linjing does everything in her power to prevent Little Flower from escaping. But when scandal strikes the Fongs, both women are cast out to the Celibate Sisterhood, where Little Flower’s talents catch the eye of a nobleman, threatening not only her improved status, but her life—the Sisterhood punishes disobedience with death. And if Linjing finds out, will she sabotage Little Flower to reclaim her power, or will she protect her?
Richly atmospheric and profoundly moving, The Lotus Shoes is an empowering tale of two women from opposite sides of society, and their extraordinary journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love and triumph.
In college I wrote a research paper on Chinese foot-binding for my Intro to Asian History class so when I was offered this book to read for a blog tour, I was interested to see what else I could learn.
The Lotus Shoes does not shy away from violence against women during this time period under Emperor Guangxu’s empire which was in the late 1800’s. Little Flower is a peasant girl who’s mom start to bind her feet at the young age of four. But circumstances deals Little Flower an unexpected and hard life as a slave to LinJing’s family. LinJing is an affluent daughter, but she doesn’t have bound feet or “golden lillies” because of Western influence making it’s way through China.
But foot-binding is not the only violence towards women that is portrayed in this story. The treatment of daughters, wives, and slaves is shocking especially because this idea of golden lily feet, status and elegance hides the violence happening to these women. It’s more sad when you realize it’s women committing the violence upon other women. This story also explores the importance of family, status and societal pressures. Little Flower and the other slaves try to fight against their circumstances but their punishment is so severe. As for LinJing, her circumstances are dealt a blow as well and I thought it was interesting to see the comparison of her life and Little Flower. Two girls with no real choice of their circumstances but they both choose different paths.
For the most part, the story held my attention but there were parts in the middle that I thought it was lagging. It picks up again in the second half though. I definitely gravitated towards Little Flower’s sympathetic story. Whereas, LinJing’s character was tough to like because of the way she treats Little Flower.
My Thoughts:
I was really engaged with this story even with the minor issues I had with it. Foot-binding is touched upon in this book but I think the real story is about societal pressures, and the history of what women in China had to go through to survive. I learned so much about what women in China had to go through in the past. If you like historical fiction, definitely check this one out.
Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Etsy (Shop)
Jane Yang was born in the Chinese enclave of Saigon and raised in Australia where she grew up on a diet of superstition and family stories from Old China. Despite establishing a scientific career, first as a pharmacist and later in clinical research, she is still sometimes torn between modern, rational thinking and the pull of old beliefs in tales that have been passed down the family. Jane’s family tales are an inspiration for her writing. She writes stories about women in pre-Communist China, exploring power and class struggles, and sometimes with a dash of suspense, spirits and hauntings.
Categories: Martial Arts, Fantasy, Young Adult, Series, Politics
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The first novel in a sweeping YA fantasy duology based on characters and teachings created by Bruce Lee!
Sixteen-year-old Jun dreams of proving his worth as a warrior in the elite Guardian’s Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Earth to a new protector. Eager to prove his skills, Jun hopes that a win will restore his father’s honor—righting a horrible mistake that caused their banishment from his home, mother, and twin brother.
But Jun’s father strictly forbids him from participating. There is no future in honing his skills as a warrior, especially considering Jun is not breathmarked, born with a patch of dragon scales and blessed with special abilities like his twin. Determined to be the next Guardian, Jun stows away in the wagon of Chang and his daughter, Ren, performers on their way to the capital where the tournament will take place.
As Jun competes, he quickly realizes he may be fighting for not just a better life, but the fate of the country itself.
Content Warning: violence
Jun and his twin, Sai, are born in the East where only a dragon breathmarked can learn to fight be picked to become an elite warrior. When their family is torn apart, with Jun and his dad to the West and Sai and his mom in the East, Jun has to do what he can to see them again. The first step is to become the next Guardian. And to do that he has to join a fighting tournament against the toughest fighters in the West.
If you like martial arts, you will love this story. It’s got fighting, politics, found family and it’s overall just such an entertaining story! I really enjoyed the world-building.
I really enjoyed Jun as the main character – he’s stubborn, but you know this kid has such a good heart. He wants to be a Guardian but it’s so he can make his dad proud and find his mom and brother. I was really rooting for him through his growth and his fights. I loved watching him build relationships with Ren, Chang and his rival Yin. There is political intrigue going on in the West but I think with how this book ends, we’ll get to see what is happening in the East next.
The fighting scenes are great! Very violent but so good that I wish this was a tv show or movie – remember those days of martial art movies? It’s definitely entertaining.
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed this one a lot and can’t wait to read the next book!
Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Etsy (Shop)
Title: Lies on the Serpent’s Tongue (Bittersweet in the Hollow, #2)
Author: Kate Pearsall
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 1/7/25
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Categories: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A beautifully dark YA set in Appalachia tinged with magic, mystery, murder, and romance. For fans of House of Hollow and Wilder Girls! As Caball Hollow slowly recovers after a tumultuous summer, the James family must also come to terms with their own newly revealed secrets.
18-year-old Rowan James has spent her whole life harboring unpleasant truths—that’s what happens when you can smell people’s lies—and building walls around herself to block them out. Like her younger sister, Linden, who can taste the feelings of others, Rowan has long resented her gift, which has taught her that everyone lies and no one is who they seem to be. So when her old nemesis, Hadrian Fitch, the biggest liar of them all, shows up on her front porch—bloodied, broken, and asking for help only she can give—her first instinct is distrust. But something new is stalking the Forest that surrounds Caball Hollow.
Now things are disappearing. At first, it’s small stuff—like letters, photos, and keys. But then, Rowan notices people around her are losing their memories. And when the body of a neighbor is found in the middle of town, Rowan knows there’s a link between this death and all the events disturbing the Hollow. Can she find what—or who—the link is before it takes another life?
Content Warning: violence
I really enjoyed Bittersweet in the Hollow, the first book in this series. I love the James women!
We are back in Caball Hollow which is in the Appalachia mountains of West Virginia. It’s an eerie small town and the James women history with witchcraft, the bone tree, the Moth-Winged man stories and now sightings of the Wampus Cat just adds to it all. I enjoy the lore of the James women and the atmosphere of the setting.
I feel like this book is way more atmospheric than book one and much more creepy. Rowan, one of my favorite of the James sisters, because of her fiery personality, she is restless but she finds her calling when she is forced to volunteer for the Forest Service and she is one brave young lady. She is alone in the forest except for basically a treehouse and a walkie-talkie. For someone young, she’s really responsible and doesn’t complain about things, which I love about her.
The mystery about community members missing items and essentially maybe missing parts of themselves is what brings Rowan and Hadrian (the Moth-Winged Man) together. Between these two and their attraction to one another, we learn more about the forest, the Otherworld, the bone tree, and what would happen if the bone tree died. I also loved the storyline about Zephyrine who is Gran’s lost sister.
I do feel like this book was help transitioning to what’s going to happen with book three and so I feel like we didn’t get to know Rowan as much as I wanted. We were in her head a lot which is great but I wanted to see her interact more with her sisters and Hadrian. I loved her scenes with Hadrian but I love them so much I wanted more.
My Thoughts:
This is a great sequel and I can’t wait to read more about the James sisters and Caball Hollow!
Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Etsy (Shop)
Categories: New Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Romantasy, Series
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Avon for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A bladesmith with the power of the stars in her blood and a prince with a dangerous secret will fight to save their kingdom in this spicy and spellbinding romantasy inspired by Persian and Indian mythology—perfect for readers of Sarah J. Maas and Thea Guanzon.
To save the realm from eternal darkness, she’ll have to choose between the truth and the lie—stand and fight or kneel and die.
“His Imperial Majesty, King Zarek requests your presence as his esteemed guest.”
When the gold-dusted court invitation arrives at Suraya Saab’s forge, she believes it’s a joke. Nobles might seek her skills as a bladesmith—one of few who can imbue her work with precious jadu, the last source of magic in the realm—but she has no qualifications as a potential bride for the crown prince. Still, the invitation is the chance at adventure, and the means to finally visit the capital city her late mother loved.
But what awaits her in Kaldari is nothing she could have imagined—and fraught with danger. It’s not the crown prince, but his impossibly handsome, illegitimate half-brother, Roshan, who draws her interest…and her ire. The invitation isn’t a quest to find a suitable bride, but a veiled hunt for the starbringer—a girl rumored to hold the magic of the stars in her blood. And across the city, unrest is brewing between the noble houses and the rebel militia.
When the rebels carry out a brutal strike, Suraya and Roshan find themselves on the run, trying to deny their simmering attraction and the knowledge that Suraya herself might be the starbringer. But Roshan is hiding secrets of his own. And with no control of the power that seems to be stirring within her, Suraya has drawn the attention of the old gods themselves…and the interest of one dark god in particular might be the biggest threat of all.
Content Warning: death, violence, war, profanity
I was stunned by this book cover and had to request it. Here are my thoughts:
This book was a wild ride. I like the world-building and the mythology about stars and the gods. I think there is more to explore in this world but in this book there is magic, runes, prophecy, and chiromancy. I really enjoyed all the aspects of the world-building.
Suraya is invited with a bunch of girls to the palace in Kaldari because Prince Javen is looking for a wife. So this reminded a bit of the story The Selection, but then the story takes a turn for something different. I found Sura to be a fiesty, headstrong, but funny character. Her relationship with her best-friend Laleh is sweet and funny. And when she meets Roshan, their friendship grows as well, but into something way more.
The romance is spicy and their chemistry is fun but I feel like book two will be taken into a new direction. Suraya and Roshan’s romance is really sweet, not much conflict and they make a good couple except for some trust issues.
This story is filled with politics and Suraya gets caught in the middle of it because the powers that have manifested inside of her. She has to learn to control her powers and figure out what her role is with everything going on around her. There is a lot of action and it especially gets wild at the end!
I did have some issues with the story. I don’t mind profanity, but there were times the characters had modern speech and that threw me off a little. Also, there is a character, who is very mystery and we only get a few scenes of him. I know he will probably appear more in book two, but it was kind of maddening not knowing who he is and how he ties into everything. Also, I felt like Suraya’s talent as a blacksmith wasn’t really a focus of the story and I’d have liked to see her use that talent more. At times I felt like the story was all over the place.
My Thoughts:
I had some issues with this story and thought at some moments too much was going on, but overall I was entertained. I enjoyed the romance, the spice, the world-building and am looking forward to see what will happen in the next book.
Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Etsy (Shop)
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Delacorte Romance for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A swoony new romance from the author of Sunkissed! When her football-player boyfriend and now ex lands the podcast job she’s been dreaming of, a girl takes matters into her own hands by enlisting the help of his nemesis to get revenge.
Seventeen-year-old Finley has only ever had one to become a famous podcaster. This includes coming up with the perfect pitch to land her on her school’s podcast team. But when her football-obsessed boyfriend, Jensen, decides to also try out—and uses her idea—she’s left confused and betrayed.
Determined to get back at him, Finley and her friends try to find the perfect revenge scheme, but quickly discover that Jensen is almost-impossible to best. Keyword, almost.
By chance, Finley discovers a knack for kicking and decides to take Jensen’s spot on the football team. To help her train, she recruits Jensen’s cute but conceited nemeses, Theo. Soon the two discover that their connection runs deeper than football. But Finley can’t let herself get distracted, and Theo has secrets of his own. Is true love really better than the perfect revenge?
I haven’t read a Kasie West book in awhile! Here are my thoughts:
Likes:
+ Finley is out for revenge because he boyfriend took the podcast spot at school that she was trying for. I didn’t blame Finley at all for her revenge plot because her boyfriend, or should I say ex, was really a jerk. Throughout the whole book he was taking her ideas, making her feel like she wasn’t good enough and that sucked a lot. But I liked her journey with trying to figure what she wanted to do after her dreams were crushed and making things right in the end.
+ One of the cutest things in this story though is Finley’s relationship with her grandmother who has the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. Finley does a podcast interview with her throughout the story and I love how it’s how she bonds with her grandmother and shows off her talent with podcasting and interviewing people.
+ Finley’s friends are really the best. They are with her even when this revenge plot goes into uncharted territory and when she messes up sometimes they don’t shut her out but they work it out. I loved Max!
+ The romance between Finley and Theo (her ex’s rival) is really cute. Theo is the popular guy with a reputation. Theo and Finley have really good chemistry when it comes to being rivals, then friendship and then into a romance. I like how they pushed one another to be better. I thought the way it paralleled somewhat with her grandma’s romance story was super cute!
Dislikes:
~ I did not like Jensen. And Finley wasn’t perfect, especially with her desperately wanting to get back at him so bad – but I can understand where she is coming from. Jensen, not so much, he was just a jerk.
Final Thoughts:
This story has heartfelt moments between family and friends and there is a cute romance Theo and Finley. It’s a quick read and teens and young adults will enjoy this one, especially if you have read other books by this author.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 