Book Review | Shadowscent

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Shadowscent

Author: P.M. Freestone

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 362

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy

In the empire of Aramtesh, scent has power.

When disaster strikes and the crown prince lies poisoned, long suppressed rivalries threaten to blow the empire apart. It’s up to a poor village girl with a talent for fragrances and the prince’s loyal bodyguard to find an antidote.

To succeed, the pair must uncover secrets – cryptic, ancient tales as well as buried truths from their own pasts – in an adventure that will ignite your senses.

Scent has power, especially for someone who can recognize the most subtle of scents. Shadowscent is a story of adventure in the empire of Aramtesh. It starts with a girl, Rakel who can recognize scents and concoct the right medicines to help with healing. Ash, is the crown prince’s bodyguard who hides a secret. When the Prince is poisoned, Rakel and Ash have to find the cure for the prince before it’s too late.

I enjoyed the world building of Aramtesh and learning of the royal family. There is a secret brotherhood, Rangers, and the Order of Asmudtag at play. For the most part they were all fascinating. Also Prince Nisai and his friend were always needing out about history and in that sense we get to learn about their empire a little more.
There is a lot of action in the second half of the book when Ash and Rakel are on the quest to figure out a riddle and help bring a cure back to the poisoned Prince.

Though I was interested in Rakel and her talent with scents, the first half of the story failed to really capture my attention. It was a little slow moving so I slugged through this book and skimmed a bunch of it.
I wish there was more urgency or a feeling of danger in this book, but it wasn’t coming through for me. Yes the Prince is poisoned and they need an antidote for him, but nothing about it felt like urgent or maybe because by then I wasn’t invested into the story?
I couldn’t connect to the characters. Rakel was my favorite but I think her voice was a bit lost every time Ash came into the picture.
Triggers: death, poison

This book was an okay read for me. It started off too slow for me. I think for a story with so many elements of secret orders I was expecting more danger or something to keep me on edge, and I got nothing in that department. But I still think there are many who will still enjoy this book because it does have adventure especially in the second half of the story.

Book Review | A Heart So Fierce and Broken

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers, #2)

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 450

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Book Series, Romance

Find the heir, win the crown.

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.

Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

What happened?!

The sequel to A Curse So Dark and Lovely, takes place right after the events of the first book. Grey is on the run, there is a search for the missing heir, and there is a new character thrown into the mix – Lia Mara, Karis Luran’s eldest daughter. The story is told through their perspectives.

I don’t know why this book didn’t hold my attention, maybe I wanted too see more of Rhen and Harper, but not in the way they appeared in this book. Anyway let’s get to my likes and hmmm’s:

I loved Grey in the first book, so it was nice to have this be his story and perspective. I’m even happy he found someone to fall for.
Lia Mara is an intriguing new character because she is the eldest daughter of Karis Luran but not the heir, that title belongs to her sister. But she wants to help bring peace to the warring sides and tries to do it on her own and gets into some trouble. I like how she never gives up.
By the end of this book there is such a conflict between Rhen and Grey…I can’t imagine how book three is going to pan out.

I was bored in the beginning. I loved Grey in book one so why did his story, THIS story – not keep me interested? Not even with Lia Mara in the picture made this story move any faster for me. I skimmed a lot from the halfway point until the end. Maybe I was just waiting for more Rhen and Harper appearances.
Rhen turned into like…evil Rhen! I thought he was cold in book one, but wow…he really wanted to find out who the heir was huh? And at any cost AND Harper couldn’t even stop him. 🤭 Like, what happened Rhen? SMH. Rhen is still trapped it seems even though the curse was broken. 😒
I had no expectations for this book – I remember the first one because Harper stood out a lot, and I may be in the minority but I liked her with Grey haha, not Rhen. Rhen was just a bit cold to me and he is definitely cold in this one!

Overall, I think if you wanted a book from Grey’s perspective then here you have it! I guess I was expecting to see Rhen and Harper in it but when they did appear…it was definitely different from what I imagined. The two kingdoms are definitely now on the brink of war and I will definitely read the next book to see who wins but I’m also kind of sad for Rhen and Harper. We shall see what happens…

Book Review | Of Rioters & Royals

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Of Rioters & Royals (Swift Shadows, #1)

Author: M.L.Greye

Format: eBook (borrowed, Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 421

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Disclaimer: **The author requested I read and review her book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Emry is a Royal – a princess of Enlennd. As is tradition, she must have a knight at her side as her protector. The only way to appoint one is through The Trials. Her Challengers from the five regions of Enlennd must compete for the infamous title of Princess’s Knight. The problem, though, is that the people of Enlennd are split into two categories: Rioters and Royals. Finding the perfect knight may be the last of her worries. War is coming to Enlennd.

Declan is a Rioter. An upriser. An anarchist. He mistrusts the Jewels – the sovereign family of Enlennd. Yet, he is offering himself up as a Challenger in The Trials. The Mistress, leader of the Rioters, has a mission for him. The first step is for him to become the Princess’s Knight. He is ready for the task, until he actually meets Emry and discovers that betraying her would be much more difficult than he’d thought.

Thank you to author, M.L. Greye for reaching out to me and asking I read and review her book. All opinions of the book are my own.

What stood out right away to me is this book has a very interesting magic system involving a person’s eye color. Each eye color defines what types of powers a person has. And I don’t think I’ve read a book with that kind of magic, so that was pretty cool.

Princess Emry is about to be assigned a knight and to find one the challengers must go through a trial. One of those challengers is Declan, who is there for other reasons. Will he win the trials and be her knight? Or something more?

I liked the different magic system in this book where everyone’s eye color determines their powers. I don’t think I’ve read a book with that magic before, so I thought that was very creative and unique.
If you like romance in a YA fantasy, this one has a sweet romance. It’s not insta love but Emry and Declan have a past that we don’t know about until he comes to court as a challenger. Then we learn how they met before. I love how they are a Pair, no love triangles here!
There is action, secrets revealed and twists I wasn’t expecting. It’s a story between good and evil which is always inspiring.
I like Emry’s sisterly bond with Citrine, they were fun together. They are best friends and I’m glad they have each other.

The beginning with the prologue almost made me dread reading this story. But that’s just me, I’ve learned I have a hard time getting into books with long prologue giving the history about a kingdom, because it feels like a textbook. I would rather learn history throughout the story.
The prologue threw me a bit off so I didn’t really get into the story until halfway through and once I did, it’s a very quick read.
Character wise – Emry is obviously the main character who will have more powers than anyone and is a leader, I expected that. But I was drawn more to Declan because he is the one affected when some secrets are revealed.

I enjoyed the twists in the story and kudos to the magic system being unique and refreshing. There is romance, action and a fight between good and evil. I think this was a solid first book for a series!

Book Review | Find Me Their Bones (Bring Me Their Hearts, #2)

My Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Find Me Their Bones (Bring Me Their Hearts, #2)

Author: Sara Wolf

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 400

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

No one can save her.

In order to protect Prince Lucien d’Malvane’s heart, Zera had to betray him. Now, he hates the sight of her. Trapped in Cavanos as a prisoner of the king, she awaits the inevitable moment her witch severs their magical connection and finally ends her life.

But fate isn’t ready to give her up just yet.

With freedom coming from the most unlikely of sources, Zera is given a second chance at life as a Heartless. But it comes with a terrible price. As the king mobilizes his army to march against the witches, Zera must tame an elusive and deadly valkerax trapped in the tunnels underneath the city if she wants to regain her humanity.

Winning over a bloodthirsty valkerax? Hard. Winning back her friends before war breaks out? A little harder.

But a Heartless winning back Prince Lucien’s heart?

The hardest thing she’s ever done.

I’m addicted to this series. I started reading the sequel after I read the first book and the only regret I have is I have to wait for the third book. 🥺

Book two takes off right after Bring Me Their Hearts and that cliffhanger. Zera still doesn’t have her heart but she’s lost the friends she made when they didn’t know she was a Heartless. Now they know and they don’t trust her and she doesn’t trust herself around them either, especially Lucien. So why does he keep trying to see her still?

Zera is on a new mission to get her heart back from her new witch and this time she won’t let her feelings for Lucien come between her and her real heart.

I love how Zera has to pick up the pieces from shattering her “unheart” and face the people who now hate or are afraid of her. She resolved to focus on getting her heart back and not fall over Lucien like before. And I really loved her new dangerous mission because we get to meet Yorl, a celeon and see Zera antagonize her. Plus it is NOT a love triangle, yay! She just makes a new friend and she needs one after she lost her old friends. She’s as sassy as ever, wearing a smile as her armor, I kept thinking, “Chin up! That’s my girl!” lol.
This mission involves getting very close to a dangerous creature the valkerax, which is a giant wyrm with serrated teeth and sounds crazy frightening. But Zera wants her heart back so bad…she needs to do this, even if she dies each time she’s with it!
The introduction of a new villain…Lucien’s sister, Varia and I really hate her. UGH. I don’t like her but I like that this story has a villain that isn’t so clear cut evil. People love her, adore her and Zera is bound to her now. So how does Zera not hurt Lucien again and yet break free from Varia somehow. Varia also has grand plans of peace between witches and humans but to others it sounds like dominant control over everyone.
The story never lags, it moves on hurtling towards the end and ANOTHER cliff-hanger. We watch Zera deal with her conflicted feelings about Lucien, her heart, her fears, her humor, her many deaths dealing with the valkerax. She’s so freaking brave and I love her. I want her to have a happy ending somehow.

Hmmm? Another cliffhanger…😭 and I need book three. TODAY.
This book is killing me with Zera and Lucien being apart – like…I need them to just come together and let bygones be bygones. ☹️ I want them both happy!
Triggers: violence, blood, self-harm (I really hate Varia)

I’m so glad I decided to read this series and I am going to scour NetGalley daily hoping the third book is available for request because I need to know what happens to Zera and the whole crew. Even Varia…is there a chance for her to redeem herself? I am a new fan of this author and I hope to read more of her work. I need the third book – that is all. 😍

Book Review | Bring Me Their Hearts

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Bring Us Their Hearts

Author: Sara Wolf

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 370

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally.

It was a crazy week of negative news all over the world and I decided to pick up this book and read it. I read it one night, finally reading past midnight (it’s been awhile since a book kept me up!).

A Heartless, Zera wants her heart back but her witch won’t give it back until she completes a mission to prevent another war between witches and humans. The mission? Take the heart of the Crown Prince, Lucien d’Malvane. And I mean, TAKE THE HEART, not win his heart…she has to pull it out of his chest. 😳 By the end of the book, can she do it?

This was pure escapism and so fun for me to read! Yes, a bit morbid and dark at times, but Zera is on a mission to take the heart of someone. Like she literally has to put her hand into his chest and rip it out. 😳
Zera is a Heartless, she “died” when she was 16 but now she’s immortal just as long her witch has her heart. I love Zera, she’s kind of all over the place, but her humor is her armor and she cracked me up a lot. I felt for her so much, she just wants her heart back and her memories of her past life with her mom and dad. For the most part she can pass off as human, but when the hunger in her takes over she turns into a monster and kills. 😥 I am rooting so hard for Zera and I hate her tough choices but it makes this story so addicting.
Malachite – Prince Lucien’s bodyguard is awesome and I love how he and Zera tease each other. He has Prince Lucien’s back and I like learning about him being a Beneather or Bene-Thar. As I said, I love the humor!
The world building is rich with witchlore, a war between witches and humans and different kinds of beings in this world like celeons (like cat people) and of course the Heartless. I was immersed into the world right in the beginning.
There was action, humor, a romance budding between a cold prince and a funny Heartless – of course she’s supposed to take his heart though, which makes things complicated. I loved the angst.
Then ending is killer! It’s crazy and wild and a cliff-hanger. Thank goodness I had the foresight to borrow the sequel at the same time!

Lucien comes off arrogant and irritating but that doesn’t deter Zera. She gets under his skin and it’s so good that I wanted MORE of them.
Triggers: death, violence

This was the perfect series to start during this crazy time with the everything shutting down around us in the real world. I loved learning what it means to be Heartless and reading quickly to the end to see if Zera could really take Lucien’s heart. I liked the court intrigue and the world building. Zera was made a Heartless without a choice…and now she has a chance to get her heart back. Will she? I’m addicted to this series and cannot wait to find out what happens next.

Book Review | Circle of Shadows

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Circle of Shadows

Author: Evelyn Skye

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 451

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult

Sora can move as silently as a ghost and hurl throwing stars with lethal accuracy. Her gemina, Daemon, can win any physical fight blindfolded and with an arm tied around his back. They are apprentice warriors of the Society of Taigas—marked by the gods to be trained in magic and the fighting arts to protect the kingdom of Kichona.

As their graduation approaches, Sora and Daemon look forward to proving themselves worthy of belonging in the elite group—but in a kingdom free of violence since the Blood Rift Rebellion many years ago, it’s been difficult to make their mark.

So when Sora and Daemon encounter a strange camp of mysterious soldiers while on a standard scouting mission, they decide the only thing to do to help their kingdom is to infiltrate the group. Taking this risk will change Sora’s life forever—and lead her on a mission of deception that may fool everyone she’s ever loved.

Love, spies, and adventure abound as Sora and Daemon unravel a complex web of magic and secrets that might tear them—and the entire kingdom—apart forever.

I really, really wanted to love this one but sadly it felt so short of my expectations.

Sora and her gemina, Daemon are Taiga warriors – think ninjas. They are sent on a mission and instead get caught up in a bigger problem when they spy Prince Gin – the Empress’ brother – alive and with a new magic.

This story has fighting, secrets, betrayals and more.

I loved the world building. It seems inspired by Japan but don’t quote me on that. The kingdom of Kichona came to life when it was described. When Sora and Daemon travel from town to town, I could envision myself in that town eating the foods and watching the celebrations.
There is action, mostly in the latter half of the book and let me just tell you…it’s pretty ruthless. Story wise when it came to Prince Gin’s mission, it was brutal and I’m actually glad it went there – because he is quite a villain.
I liked the short chapters because it moved the story along faster because I was getting bored with the story in the middle. So yay for the short chapters.

Not gonna lie, I skimmed this book starting from almost midway into the book because I couldn’t get into it. I think my biggest issue was the names. Fairy. Broomstick. Glass Lady. Like…give me a name like Sora and Daemon! Sora is also Spirit and Daemon is Wolf and it interchanged and at times I was like…who? What?….so it bugged me a lot. Now if this was a graphic novel (because I think this would make an awesome graphic novel…)…I wouldn’t mind names like Broomstick.
And with the names being that way…this very detailed world building and complicated story felt at times…simple or it never went deep when I wanted it to. It literally felt flat to me.
Then there is the love triangle which appeared almost at the end! 🤨 Why?
Triggers: violence, sacrificial scene

This story fell flat for me but I think it has so much potential! I love the world building, and I think the characters are fun except I disliked their not having names except for a few main people. There is a message of loyalty and family in this story and the ending was pretty shocking. 😳 Overall I’m sure it’s a story that will find it’s audience, I’m not sure if I will pick up the sequel – we shall see.

ARC Review | Ruthless Gods

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Ruthless Gods (Something Dark and Holy, #2)

Author: Emily A. Duncan

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: April 7, 2020

Categories: Horror, Romance, Young Adult, Fantasy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

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.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

Wow, Ruthless Gods. So I just finished it and I amstill processing how I feel about it. I keep wavering between 3.5-4 stars so I’m just rounding up and keeping it at 4 stars.

Wicked Saints, the first book in this series was bloody and dark. I think Ruthless Gods is bloodier and darker…but somewhat at times repetitive. Malachiasz (I will never know how to spell or say his name right off the bat 🤷🏻‍♀️)has turned into a monster after his quest for knowledge and power. Serefin is possessed by some god he doesn’t believe in, and Nadya is bereft that her god has stopped speaking to her and is still confused by her feelings for Malachiasz. Their descent into hell, or this war between gods, seems to have only begun.

The mood for this brutal, strange, scary world is spot on. It is dark, bleak and full of monsters or should I say gods? There is nothing shiny and bright in this world – there is bitter winter and darkness for the setting. The author definitely does a great job creating an atmosphere that is full of mysticism and things we humans cannot quite comprehend. At times I didn’t understand what Malachiasz even was…does anyone really know? Is he a god? Or does he just have god powers? Is he still evolving? Sometimes I felt like this book was one big question mark. It questions magic, divinity, power and humanity.

Serefin is in an internal fight with a god who is trying to control him. He is such the opposite of Malachiasz who wanted all the power and knowledge. Plus if you thought there was a lot of self-harm with the blood magic in the first book…well, this one takes it there and then some! Some parts were just gruesome, at least for me since I’m weak when it comes to horror.

Malachiasz, this boy…seriously. I don’t trust him, at ALL. And he has turned into something so monstrous. Nadya shouldn’t be trusting him at all either…but he is her weakness. They are such a strange couple, sweet at times, totally bad for each other most times and a bloody mess together (literally) all the time. It just gets messier between them by the end of the book. There is so much angst between them, a little too much for me. I just wanted someone to make the right decision and stick with it (looking at you Nadya!).

And Nadya…she might have frustrated me the most because no one knows what she is or what her power is. All the speculation was starting to test my patience. I’m just ready to find out something more concrete about their situations. I did enjoy the break from these three main characters when a new character enters the story to shed more light about the gods.

Overall, as a second book I think it was better than Wicked Saints because it was faster paced and with a greater sense of urgency that I thought was missing from the first book. There is more suffering, more wondering, more horror in this book but that’s pretty much the tone of the story, destruction and rebirth. Emily A. Duncan is definitely creative and staunch in her world building. If you want bloody, she give you bloody in this book.

I’m ready to see how this series ends and I wonder if any of them make it out alive.

ARC Review | Wicked As You Wish

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names For Magic, #1)

Author: Rin Chupeco

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: March 3, 2020

Categories: Fantasy, Fairy-Tales, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Tala Warnock has little use for magic – as a descendant of Maria Makiling, the legendary Filipina heroine, she negates spells, often by accident. But her family’s old ties to the country of Avalon (frozen, bespelled, and unreachable for almost 12 years) soon finds them guarding its last prince from those who would use his kingdom’s magic for insidious ends.

And with the rise of dangerous spelltech in the Royal States of America; the appearance of the firebird, Avalon’s deadliest weapon, at her doorstep; and the re-emergence of the Snow Queen, powerful but long thought dead, who wants nothing more than to take the firebird’s magic for her own – Tala’s life is about to get even more complicated….

Thank you to Sourcebook Fire and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

Let me just say, I have a love for Rin Chupeco books. I remember not being able to read The Bone Witch because it was too slow and yet it ended up being one of my favorite series. 😱

So here we have Wicked As You Wish. Think magic, technology, an alternate Earth where the land of fairytales exists in our modern day world. It reminded me of the show Once Upon A Time!

Tala is half filipino, half scottish and her power? She negates magic, she can break spells, which is super useful when you are around evil magic users. The last heir of the magical kingdom of Avalon, Alex, is in hiding and his protectors are her parents who used to be warriors when Avalon was a thriving place. But with the Snow Queen after him, now Tala, her family, the new Bandersnatch warriors are on the run to get to Avalon and free it from it’s frozen prison. Will they succeed?

There is an intricate world being described in this book. It will confuse a lot of people because it did confuse me. Just know that it is our modern day world, but the fairy tale kingdoms of Neverland, Wonderland and Avalon exist as well. It’s real. As for the magic system, non-magic users covet spelltech, basically using magic and technology together, ex. a cell phone which can create spells! But there is older magic or powers that are passed down through bloodline as well. Tala’s power is to break up spells and hers is passed down through her mother.
Speaking of fairy tales, I like how portals are the rabbit hole, or magic mirrors. There are the magical items like the sword in the stone and a firebird. But I love when fairy tales and the modern world collide, I’m a sucker for it. 😍 And this book is like…chaos with a light-hearted feel to it?
Modern day issues arise in this book – the author talks about ICE and people being detained at the border, like our current problems in the USA today.
Diversity is everywhere in this book. I love that the elite guards from Avalon were these old filipino women – YES, I felt like my grandmother could have been a Katiputan guard. She could wield a machete like no other. And besides racial diversity, we have LGBTIA+ representation as well.
There is action and battles with ogres, ice wolves, toads, ice maidens and possessed cold zombies (is the Night King from GoT the Snow Queen’s man or what? 😅😂). It’s a wild journey to Avalon, folks!
Tala as a character seems as neutral as her curse/power/agimat. She’s still learning to control her power, she’s the newbie when it comes to portals, ice maidens and Avalon itself. So basically she’s us, the reader who doesn’t know much. Haha. I hope we see her power grow. She’s the main character but I think she faded when the Bandersnatch crew came along. I love the Bandersnatch crew, they are all so different and have their own strengths and weaknesses. I also see some potential love matches brewing…(I hope!).

This story at times is all over the place. I had to put it down to finish an arc that I had a closer publication date and I’m glad I put it down because my brain had some time to simmer with the information about I gathered in the first few chapters. There was a lot of info dump at times. For me, I didn’t mind that because I needed to understand all the workings of this magical world. There is a lot to learn. But once I picked up the book again, I finished it in a day because I was entertained.
Like I said it’s a wild journey from Arizona to Avalon because there are SO many characters, places and magic terms to remember. I enjoyed it, but I think a lot of people will be put off with all of it thrown at them at one time. I think the world building will confuse many readers.
Please give me some romance between Zoe and Cole? And what’s going to happen with Tala and Ryker? Can anything come from that? 🙁

This book was chaotic but for me in a good way. I felt like it woke me up, which was what I needed because there are a few books on my night stand I’m trying to get through and they have been putting me to sleep. 🤣 This one slapped me in the face and was like come on, pay attention and let’s take a ride! It’s not perfect by any means, it can be confusing. At times I was like…

It’s not a story for everyone, but seriously, I enjoyed this story a lot and the ending made me go… 😱. I think this book would make a great tv show because it is so visual! Anyway, I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel because I need answers.

Mini Reviews } The Tainted | The Exiled | Dominion of Ash Series by. Frost Kay

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Title: The Tainted (Dominion of Ash, Book 1)

Author: Frost Kay

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages:292

Categories: Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, YA

I never should’ve taken the dare.

In a destroyed world plagued with pestilence, assassins, thieves, and the Tainted–mutated fae-like humans with a penchant for abduction–nothing is easy. It’s brutal, deadly, and most often, short.

My father has three rules to survive the apocalypse; keep your head down, work hard, and never leave the safety of Harbor. Following his rules isn’t as easy as it seems–especially when tricked into breaking them.

Blackmailed into attending at party outside of the walls didn’t seem so bad–until all hell broke loose and I was left in the clutches of a dragon lord. I thought I knew who my enemies were: starvation, infection, and the Tainted.

I was wrong. That’s why I never saw it coming.

The death. The lies. The complete betrayal.

No one said love wouldn’t destroy you.

The Dominion of Ash series takes on a dystopian, urban fantasy theme. Earth has been ravaged bay a virus that has mutated the DNA of humans. Hazel lives in a compound where no one has been “tainted” by the virus but outside of a world is a one where many Tainted consider their mutation a gift. So there is a VERY clear divide between the two human species. We follow Hazel who is thrown, literally, into the world of the tainted and it’s frightening. She fights for her survival as she Noah who is the leader of the tainted compound she is being held at.

I like the world building and the idea of virus mutating our DNA, I mean anything is possible! She comes across animals who are trained as well. There is a lot of action as Hazel is trying to survive the desert and trying to get back home. Hazel is a sheltered girl who gets a big wake up call when she is left to die.

A lone girl in a dangerous world shows how women are prey for predators and she comes across a few from both the Untouched she lives with and the Tainted as well. The books in this series are short, so it is a very quick read, and I found Hazel’s journey from sheltered girl to meeting a whole community of Tainted interesting because she has to self-analyze her prejudices and yet survive.

There are a bunch of triggers in this book: sexual assault and violence being the main ones.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Title: The Exiled (Dominion of Ash, Book #2)

Author: Frost Kay

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 217

Categories: Urban Fantasy, Dystopia, YA/NA

She got caught. Again.

After a disastrous second escape attempt, Hazel finds herself blood indebted to her savior – Noah – but he’s no saint.

Desperate to repay her debt, she begrudgingly offers her skills as payment if she’s allowed to visit home one last time. Her wish is granted but at a steep cost. What is supposed to be a saving grace turns out to be a nightmare.

The monsters are right. Ignorance means death and blood ties are worthless.

Be careful what you wish for.

Okay so I read these two books in one night because like I said, they are SO short…this one being only 217 pages!

Hazel is with the Tainted and she is basically wanting to die than live with them. I’ll say one thing about her – she’s a fighter. Frustratingly so…to the point of harming herself. Hazel learns more about the tainted that have gone out of their way to keep her alive but her main goal is to escape and go back home to her family. She fights, she schemes, she get’s under Noah’s skin and finally – finally we get to see more of the attraction between them, because we know it’s gonna be good between them, right?

My favorite part of this series so far is watching Hazel have more women figures in her life, like Noah’s abuela (grandmother), she is awesome. Hazel hasn’t had a mother and was raised by men so this girl really needs a female figure in her life. When Hazel finally gets her wish and leaves the compound she finds out more hard lessons back out in the wilderness and about a new threat and new war about to start between the Untouched and Tainted. Who’s side will she be on? This one ended in a major cliffhanger and I can’t believe I have to wait to see what happens. 😫

More triggers in this one: assault, violence, self harm

Book Review | The Hunt (The Twisted Kingdoms, Book #1)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Hunt (Twisted Kingdoms, #1)

Author: Frost Kay

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 326

Categories: Fantasy, Romance

Death marked her from her very first breath.

Being sired by a Madrid is supposed to be a blessing, but for Tempest, it’s a curse that leaves her orphaned, penniless, and enslaved to a blood thirsty crown on the brink of war.

Found too unruly to become a ward of the court, she’s thrust into the care of the King’s Hounds – the assassins and warriors responsible for protecting the kingdom. Driven by rage and an oath to avenge her mother’s memory, Tempest throws herself into training.

But becoming the first ever female assassin isn’t enough. Now, she must obtain the heart of her kingdom’s most feared enemy – the jester – a deadly shapeshifter hidden in a land twisted by myth and darkness.

Revenge is never easy or cheap. Tempest is willing to sacrifice everything to see justice served. Even her own soul and freedom.

I don’t recall the story of the Fox and the Hound – I’m sure I read it a long time ago, but despite that, I thought the premise for this book sounded pretty interesting.

Tempest is an orphan, raised by the King of Dotae’s ruthless guards, the King’s Hounds. When she becomes of age, she takes part in the trials to become the first ever female Hound. Tempest also is trying to thwart the King’s advances so she makes a deal with him. If she finds the infamous shapeshifter and leader of the rebels, the Jester, and brings his heart to the king – Tempest gets a seat on the War Council. But if she doesn’t succeed, she will belong to the king. Will Tempest complete her mission or will she be entrapped by the king forever?

I like stories about female assassins and Tempest is definitely a worthy adversary. We don’t see her much being a Hound in the story but on her mission to find the Jester, she shows the skills she’s known for back in Dotae. As a character I found her at times naive but willing to look at the evidence if things feel wrong, so I think there will be a lot of growth in the sequel with her, at least I hope there is.
Gotta love a sexy, flirty shapeshifter and we definitely have that with Pyre. He is a kitsune or fox shapeshifter. I like seeing how he cares for his people and yet knowing he is dangerous under the wily smile. I’m loving the attraction that is growing between him and Tempest. It’s a slow burn too, which is nice!
I enjoyed the world building in The Hunt. This book focused mostly on the kingdom of Dotae and the Talagans (shapeshifter community). But in the beginning of the book it explains in the prologue how this world came to be, a world filled with dragons, fae, shapeshifter, humans, etc…until the peace between them broke.
I did like Tempest’s bond with the men she grew up with, her uncles, the Hounds…of course she comes to question what they stand for later on but I think it will be interesting to see how Tempest deals with the information she has about the men she loves.

I think King Destin is a bit cringey especially how he preys on Tempest who is only eighteen years old. He is in his 40’s! 🙄 He is definitely the villain in this story.
And though I do like Pyre, why is Tempest getting caged in by these men?! 😕 I guess it’s trying to show how powerless she is as a woman in this world where the men are the leaders but I hope to goodness somewhere in the sequel or down the line in the series she gets her power back and kick some major ass, especially King Destin’s. By the way, these two men are not the only ones interested in her…🤷🏻‍♀️ but I hope that storyline doesn’t go anywhere. I don’t want a love triangle in this one, please!
Triggers: fighting, death, physical wounds

I really enjoyed Pyre and Tempest’s interactions with each other in this first book. It looks to be a long series according to the information on Amazon, so there is a lot more story to unravel here and I hope a juicy romance between the two eventually. I think the position Tempest is put in made me weary about the story a bit but I have hope she will overcome these traps these men put her in! 💁🏻‍♀️ I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.