Heavenbreaker by. Sara Wolf | Book Review

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Heavenbreaker (#1)

Author: Sara Wolf

Format: hardcover (own)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 5/21/24

Categories: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Series

Bravery isn’t what you do. It’s what you endure.

The duke of the powerful House Hauteclare is the first to die. With my dagger in his back.

He didn’t see it coming. Didn’t anticipate the bastard daughter who was supposed to die with her mother—on his order. He should have left us with the rest of the Station’s starving, commoner rubbish.

Now there’s nothing left. Just icy-white rage and a need to make House Hauteclare pay. Every damn one of them.

Even if it means riding Heavenbreaker—one of the few enormous machines left over from the War—and jousting against the fiercest nobles in the system.

Each win means another one of my enemies dies. And here, in the cold terror of space, the machine and I move as one, intent on destroying each adversary—even if it’s someone I care about. Even if it’s someone I’m falling for.

Only I’m not alone. Not anymore.

Because there’s something in the machine with me. Something horrifying. Something…more.

And it won’t be stopped.

Content Warning: grief, violence, murder

This is one of my most anticipated books this year and I bought the hardcover because it’s really gorgeous with the sprayed edges. Now, I did go into this book with a little bit of caution because it’s a space opera and I sometimes love that genre or I just don’t connect. With this book, my feelings landed in the middle.

I love the violent and full of rage main character, Synali. Yes, she should be angry that someone killed her mother and almost killed her. Yes, she should be raging against the injustice of the wealthy houses who don’t do anything to help the poor – she grew up poor and had to do all kinds of things to survive. And yes, she wants to take down her father’s house even if she dies trying.

I found the world-building really creative and I was hooked in the beginning of the story. There is a futuristic jousting tournament every year where riders, ride a steed – but the steed is not a horse. It’s a huge (compared to a tall tower), alien like robotic body of some sort – even in my own mind, I had a hard time imagining it and was wishing this was a graphic novel. Anyway, the rider, rides the steed into the biggest jousting tournament of the year and the winner gets a favor from the king. Synali, is not a rider but she’s chosen to become one for a house that is not her own, all for the goal of revenge and hopefully destruction. The world that is created is really fantastic and there is a lot of history to learn about these steeds and what happened to Earth.

The secondary characters are very interesting like Dravik who has an ulterior motive and we don’t totally know how much of a villain he is yet but Synali is working with him because they both have the same goal in mind. Mirelle, who is Synali’s cousin and enemy, is an interesting character that shows us a little bit of what Synali longed for in a family. Synali sees what could have been if she wasn’t born a bastard. Rax, is her rival but so opposite in nature to her rage, yet Synali hasn’t scratched the surface of him yet. I think there is so much more to learn about all of these characters and I hope we get to see that develop in book two.

Some things that maybe disconnected me from the story? The sci-fi elements, because sci-fi does that to me haha, but I pushed through. The writing – and I usually like her writing because it’s straight to the point but this one was too much being straight to the point at times. The chapters are short, and sometimes the sentences are too, which for the most part I understand because Synali is just walking rage, no feelings except for mostly rage and grief for her mother. The short chapters does help move the story quickly though.

The romance between Synali and Rax has so much potential to be an amazing enemies to lovers but I felt like there wasn’t much emotion between either of because Synali is all about revenge and Rax is all about winning to survive his situation.

My Final Thoughts:

I read this book in one day because I was riveted by the world-building and Synali’s character. I felt like my attention waned a bit as I was rushing through to the end but maybe because I was hoping the romance would develop more but it’s definitely not the main focus of this story. I had my issues here and there with the story but it’s because I’m not a big sci-fi reader. Overall, I was entertained and I’m looking forward to book two and hoping for more development in some of the characters and their relationships.

quotes from the book

“I have my memories. The past isn’t pain – not all the time.”
Heavenbreaker by. Sara Wolf

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Send Me Their Souls | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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Curious Tides by. Pascale Lacelle | Book Review

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Curious Tides (Drowned Gods, #1)

Author: Pascale Lacelle

Format: hardcover (own)

Pages: 544

Publication Date: 10/3/23

Categories: Academia, Romance, LGBT+, Witches, Series, Fantasy, Young Adult

Ninth House meets A Deadly Education in this gorgeous dark academia fantasy following a teen mage who must unravel the truth behind the secret society that may have been involved in her classmates’ deaths.

Emory might be a student at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics, but her healing abilities have always been mediocre at best—until a treacherous night in the Dovermere sea caves leaves a group of her classmates dead and her as the only survivor. Now Emory is plagued by strange, impossible powers that no healer should possess.

Powers that would ruin her life if the wrong person were to discover them.

To gain control of these new abilities, Emory enlists the help of the school’s most reclusive student, Baz—a boy already well-versed in the deadly nature of darker magic, whose sister happened to be one of the drowned students and Emory’s best friend. Determined to find the truth behind the drownings and the cult-like secret society she’s convinced her classmates were involved in, Emory is faced with even more questions when the supposedly drowned students start washing ashore— alive —only for them each immediately to die horrible, magical deaths.

And Emory is not the only one seeking answers. When her new magic captures the society’s attention, she finds herself drawn into their world of privilege and power, all while wondering if the truth she’s searching for might lead her right back to Dovermere…to face the fate she was never meant to escape.

Content Warning: grief, violence

This one has a slow start but I didn’t give up on and I’m glad I didn’t.

I love the world-building where magic is based on when a person is born and under what moon. It had the dark, gloomy academia vibes which was nice. I love the secret societies intrigue. We have two POVs from Emory and Baz. Emory survived a ritual that killed a bunch of her classmates, but she wasn’t even supposed to be there. Baz is the older brother of her best friend, Romie, who was lost in the ritual. They are both back at Aldryn College – a college for magic users, but this time Emory has new powers and she and Baz are trying to figure what went wrong during the ritual that went bad and they uncover so many things about magic, lies they were told, and secrets about other worlds.

My favorite characters so far are Baz, Kai, and Vera. Emory, I didn’t love because she kept making mistakes and trusting the wrong people. I didn’t see her as a good person, especially with how she treated Baz! She leads him on for her benefit and he deserves better. I hope there is growth for her in book two – there was some at the end of this one, but she really needs to do much more to win me over.

The beginning was too slow and repetitive at times but it picks up at the halfway mark and from then on it gets good mostly because of Kai, who I love but it just moves faster and has more action. There is a love triangle which infuriated me because I could tell from the start that Keiran wasn’t trustworthy but Emory had to learn the hard way I suppose, because she is so stubborn.

My Final Thoughts:

I definitely wanted to read this one because of the beautiful cover and I love the whole moon magic concept. It’s also an academia book and I was in the mood for it. I didn’t love Emory, the love triangle, or the slow beginning and the repetitiveness of some things that could have probably been cut to shorten this 544 page book. But once it picks up in the middle, I really couldn’t put it down! I love Baz, Kai, and Vera. I love the world building and magic system. I do hope there is growth for Emory in book two because I do not think she deserves Baz at all. I am looking forward to reading book two because of how this one ended. I’m curious to see these other worlds that have been hinted at!

Quotes From the Book

“The dead move on and so must we.”
Curious Tides by. Pascale Lacelle

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Just for the Summer by. Abby Jimenez | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3)

Author: Abby Jimenez

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 4/2/24

Categories: Romance, Series

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

Emma hadn’t planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It’s supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Content Warning: dysfunctional family, family trauma, grief

I am so out of it that I was seeing this title everywhere and wanted to read it but didn’t even know it was a series until right now as I’m in Goodreads getting the book information to add to this blog post. I’m such a dope. 😆 Because I didn’t read any other books in this series, just this one!

Maybe that’s why I felt so disconnected from the characters? And maybe I’ll have to go read the other books in the series and then maybe look at this book with different eyes – not sure.

I thought the meet-cute between Emma and Justin was really cute but for some reason I felt no chemistry between them at all. Maybe because they really were just nice to one another. Yes, both of them had mom issues to deal with and I’m usually reading about characters who have problems with one another and I like it 😅. I like tension!

Emma’s mom was out of her life and that left her with abandonment issues. How will she know how to commit to anyone when the one woman in her life, her mother, never stayed put? As for Justin, his situation with his mom is just sad. I love how he stepped up for his family though reluctantly which is understandable. He basically is now the parent of his siblings! Both of them have tough situations, so much trauma, but eventually things work out.

So I think my problem is that I wanted a little more tension between Emma and Justin but they are not the tension type of couple. They are wholesome characters who deserve the best and a happy ending. They are two good people who needed to work some things out before getting together in the end. There is nothing wrong with that at all…but the thing is I got bored at the halfway mark and kinda skimmed to the end – which I wasn’t expecting since so many people are raving about this book. But I think I just wasn’t in the right mood for it or maybe I need to read the other books in the series? Not sure. I felt like didn’t have any connection to any of the characters except for Maddy, she was my favorite.

My Final Thoughts:

I’m bummed that this one turned out just okay for me since I went in with high expectations. Also this was the first book I read from this author but maybe I can read the ones before this and see this series in a new light.

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The Hemlock Queen by. Hannah Whitten | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Hemlock Queen (The Nightshade Crown, #2)

Author: Hannah Whitten

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 4/9/24

Categories: Fantasy, Series, Love Triangle

In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten’s lush, romantic epic fantasy series, a young woman who can raise the dead must navigate the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King’s royal court.

The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore—a necromancer and former smuggler—to his right hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the sainted court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kyrithean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore’s old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian’s changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he’s reckless, domineering and cold.

And something’s been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that’s telling her there’s more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything.

With Bastian’s coronation fast approaching and enemies whispering on all sides, Lore must figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her country before they all come crumbling down and whatever dark power has been creeping through the catacombs is unleashed.

Content Warning: violence

+ I did how everything get messier with the Gods and how they were inhabiting different people. It is the worse for Bastian who is being possessed by Apollius. So it changes him a lot because Apollius is sinister.

+ I do like the supporting cast and the political intrigue happening as Bastian tries to make allies with enemies, or so he says. There is a lot that is unveiled and explained where it comes to the Gods. The world-building is great and shows

~ But this story is too slow. I didn’t even realize it was only 400 pages because it felt like more and took me a few days to finish. I did like the beginning, there is a lull in the middle and then it finishes off strong. Getting to that strong ending though took awhile.

~ I don’t mind love triangles but I do not like this one. I hate that Lore is so indecisive between Bastian and Gabe. I think by the end she decides she loves both of them so what is this going to be? A throuple? I don’t think Bastian or Gabe want to share her. So this romance frustrates me a lot and I don’t feel connected to either of them.

My Final Thoughts:

This one was okay. I think it was just too slow in some parts and too much of Lore trying to figure out which boy she really loves and wants to be with which got tiring. I wanted romance in this but this isn’t it. I think the world-building is great and the politics but I’ll go into book three a little more reserved I think – we shall see what happens!

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The Foxglove King by. Hannah Whitten | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For the Throne by. Hannah F. Whitten | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

For the Wolf by. Hannah F. Whitten | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

King of Sloth by. Ana Huang | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: King of Sloth

Author: Ana Huang

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 466

Publication Date: 4/30/24

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Series

He’d never wanted anyone enough to chase them…until he met her.

Charming, easygoing, and rich beyond belief, Xavier Castillo has the world at his fingertips.

He also has no interest in taking over his family’s empire (much to his father’s chagrin), but that hasn’t stopped women from throwing themselves at him…unless the woman in question is his publicist.

Nothing brings him more joy than riling her up, but when a tragedy forces them closer than ever, he must grapple with the uncertainty of his future—and the realization that the only person immune to his charms is the only one he truly wants.

***
Cool, intelligent, and ambitious, Sloane Kensington is a high-powered publicist who’s used to dealing with difficult clients.

However, none infuriate—or tempt—her more than a certain billionaire heir, with his stupid dimples and laid-back attitude.

She may be forced to work with him, but she’ll never fall for him…no matter how fast he makes her heart beat or how thoughtful he is beneath his party persona.

He’s her client, and that’s all he’ll ever be. Right?

Content Warning: grief, death of parents, strained family relationships

+ This one started off really good. I always thought Sloane was a strong character from book one – she’s the publicist who works hard and is good at her job. She kind of has a reputation as cold and an “ice princess” which is interesting because I felt she was fiery and somewhat of a machine that a princess. Also she doesn’t have a good relationship with her family. But I always found her a good friend when she appeared in the first two books of this series.

+ Xavier is charming, handsome and caring but kind of lacking direction. He also has some demons he’s struggling with along with a strained relationship with his father. He’s an heir to a billionaire fortune he doesn’t want so he tries to find his own way. Sloane is basically his “babysitter” trying to rehab his party boy image and I thought her being hard of him was kind of funny because he didn’t seem bothered by it at all. But with his party boy image I was assuming he would be a “bad boy” but he really wasn’t. He’s actually a sweet and nice guy, not ruthless at all which was not what I was expecting.

+~ I feel like the romance started great but sort of lost steam after the midway point only because they are both dealing with some challenges in their own separate lives. Obviously they don’t lose feelings for one another and only get better the longer they date, but I wanted more angst maybe but they are more of a comfort to one another which is nice – I just wanted some tension. Maybe because they got together so soon in the book and I wanted their back and forth to be drawn out a bit longer?

~ I really wish this was under 400 pages because I was losing interest at the 60% mark and that makes me wonder if I just didn’t care after they started dating because I knew they would be okay. The rest of the book was about Xavier trying to start his own business and Sloane dealing with family drama, because her family is awful. But I was skimming some of these pages at the end.

My Final Thoughts:

I really liked how this book started off but then it fizzled out for me in the second half. I think Sloane and Xavier are a cute couple, I just wanted more tension to build between them before they got together. I do like how they are there for each other though. I think I had this misconception that Xavier would be ruthless and be a real bad boy but in actuality Sloane is the ruthless one and she has to be in order to whip him into shape! Overall, I enjoyed the first part of the book but I kind of got bored with the second half.

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King of Greed by. Ana Huang | Book Review ⭐️⭐️

King of Pride by. Ana Huang | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

King of Wrath by. Ana Huang | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Fire Endless by. Rebecca Ross | Audiobook Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Fire Endless (Elements of Cadence, #2)

Author: Rebecca Ross

Format: audiobook (borrowed)

Pages: 512

Publication Date: 12/6/22

Categories: Fantasy, Series, Adult Fiction, Magic

East and West. Humans and Spirits. Breccans and Tamerlaines. The Isle of Cadence has always held itself and its residents in a tenuous balance. But now Bane, the spirit of the North Wind, has pushed everyone and everything in his path off-kilter in a bid to claim dominion over all.

In the West, Adaira struggles to adjust to the more brutal, bitter ways of life among the Breccans. Striving to find her place in the clan, she swiftly realizes that it just might be the last role she desires to hold. And while magic blooms effortlessly for the Breccans in the west, the spirits continue to suffer beneath Bane’s harsh power, felt in every gust of wind.

In the East, Jack is adrift without Adaira until he sings to the ember-weak fire spirits, acquiring a dangerous mission he never expected. One that is destined to lead him westward. Likewise, Torin and Sidra are consumed by a new mystery as sickness spreads first amongst the crops, and then to the people of the Tamerlaine clan. While Sidra desperately searches for a cure, Torin dares to strike a bargain with the spirits—a precarious folly anytime, but especially now as the days grow darker.

With the island falling further out of balance, humans and spirits alike will need to join together to face Bane, and Jack’s gift with the harp will be called upon once more. Yet no one can challenge the North Wind without paying a terrible price, and the sacrifice required this time may be more than Jack, Adaira, Torin, and Sidra can bear to pay.

In the stunning conclusion to the Elements of Cadence duology, A Fire Endless finds the delicate balance between the human and faerie realm threatened by Bane, the spirit of the North Wind, whose defeat can only come through fire, song, and heart-rending sacrifice.

Content Warning:

The narrator for this audiobook did such a good job with the voices and the accent, combined with the author’s awesome storytelling I was swept away into the story.

I didn’t re-read the first book in the series, so it did take me awhile to find my footing in the story. But I remember loving Torin and Sidra’s love story and it continues in this book though they have so many challenges. There is also Jack and Adaira but they are apart a lot in this book which is sad. There is blight ravaging the East and spirits to deal with on both sides.

It is a 500 page book and I felt like it moved slowly, especially it being in audiobook form. I don’t know if I would have the same feeling is I had read the book but it is consistent with book one, which was slow also, but I still enjoyed it.

My Final Thoughts:

It’s a story filled with strife, magic, community and love. I’m glad I got to finally finish this series!

Book Links:

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Sisters of Sword and Song by. Rebecca Ross | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Divine Rivals by. Rebecca Ross | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Graham Effect by. Elle Kennedy | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Graham Effect (Campus Diaries, #1)

Author: Elle Kennedy

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 498

Publication Date: 10/31/23

Categories: New Adult, Romance, Series, Hockey Romance, Sports Romance

Gigi Graham has exactly three qualify for the women’s national hockey team, win Olympic gold, and step out of her famous father’s shadow. So far, so good, except for two little things. Fine – a little thing and a big, grumpy thing. She needs to improve her game behind the net, and she needs help from Luke Ryder.

Ryder is six-foot five, built, opinionated, rude . . . and sexy as hell. But he’s still the enemy.

Briar’s new hockey co-captain has his reasons, though. The men’s team just merged with a rival program, leaving Ryder with an angry roster where everyone hates one another’s guts. To make matters worse, the summer coaching spot he’s angling for with the legendary Garrett Graham is out of reach after he makes the worst possible first impression on his hero. So, really, this compromise with Gigi is win-win. He helps her make the national team, she puts in a good word with her dad.

The only potential snag? This bone-deep, body-numbing, mind-spinning chemistry they’re trying to ignore. It’s a dangerous game they’re playing, but the risks just might be worth it.

Content Warning: traumatic childhood

I read the Off-Campus Series by Elle Kennedy back when it was first published almost 10 years ago – wow! I don’t remember if I read them all though and I for sure didn’t read any of the Briar U series but here is a new series called Campus Diaries and it takes place at Briar University. But this time the wild hockey boys from Off-Campus have grown up! The Graham Effect is all about Garrett Graham’s college aged daughter, Gigi. She’s a hockey player too is trying to make the Olympic Team but also having the most fun at college with the hockey boys and her best friends.

I thought this was a cute and spicy romance but also it was more than just a fluffy romance. Not gonna lie, I was expecting a fluffy and spicy hockey romance. This one is shy of 500 pages and I think it was a tad bit too long. But the story does give us a whole spectrum of Gigi and Ryder’s romance. I thought they had great chemistry and there are a lot of spicy scenes between them. Gigi is a good girl, good daughter and student – she was pretty much perfect. Ryder is the boy with the reputation for a bad attitude, but he is definitely the boy with the traumatic childhood. The two made a good couple because honesty was number one for them – no matter what. Loved that about them.

I loved seeing Gigi and Ryder’s relationship grow – and I love all the different characters we meet! Gigi has her best friends, Mya and Diana and Ryder has his close buddies and then some with his old and new teammates. There are a lot of names to remember but I thought each character stood out on their own pretty well. Do I think everyone needed to be introduced? Maybe not. Also, I know this is a sports/hockey romance and I like the sports stuff fine, but not so much of it. I really did feel like at some point this story kept going on and on. Another thing that I won’t spoil but something happens at the end of the book and I was like…why?! 😅 Why did that need to happen?

My Final Thoughts:

This is a spicy new adult hockey romance set in college. It’s got good looking and mostly nice characters (a lot of characters). Gigi is sweet, smart and athletic and Ryder is gruff, not a talker and athletic. They have a great chemistry and a strong relationship. I do think the story was way too long and some things could have been cut but overall still a very fun read.

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Misfit by. Elle Kennedy | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Bad Girl Reputation by. Elle Kennedy | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️

Good Girl Complex by. Elle Kennedy | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So Let Them Burn By. Kamilah Cole | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: So Let Them Burn (Divine Traitors, #1)

Author: Kamilah Cole

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 1/16/24

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult, Jamaica Inspired, Dragons, Romance, LGBT+

Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland.

Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.

When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.

As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.

“By turns hopeful and devastating, So Let Them Burn is a masterful debut with a blazing heart. I was captivated from beginning to end by Cole’s sharp, clever prose and by her protagonists—two remarkable sisters with an unforgettable bond.” — Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief

Content Warning: violence

I thought the premise of this book was very intriguing – Jamaican inspired and dragons?

I love the sister bond between Faron and Elara. Faron is the Child Empyrean – chosen by the Gods, and gifted with power. She is the chosen but is the younger sister and makes a few mistakes in this books showing her immaturity. Elara is the older sister and is always in her sister’s shadow but longs to shine on her own. The sister are apart for most of the book but I think it helps to see them apart because Elara grows a lot from her new situation, whereas I think Faron alone needed her sister’s guidance.

I liked learning all about the dragons and the world-building is great. I would have liked more about the dragon academy since I think the best thing about this book was about the dragons. There is an interesting plot twist that occurs and I can see how this is going to complicate things a lot for the sisters. There are two romances happening for each sister, I’d say I was more into Elara’s building romance than Faron’s. But with everything that happened in the end of the book, I’m now much more curious how it’s going to end up for Faron. I think Gael Soto’s character is very intriguing and it will be interesting to see what happens to him in book two.

I did feel like this is more for younger young adult audiences.

My Final Thoughts:

Overall this one was entertaining and you definitely like it if you are looking for a younger young adult novel with dragons in it.

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The Veiled Kingdom by. Holly Renee | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Veiled Kingdom (The Veiled Kingdom, #1)

Author: Holly Renee

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 364

Publication Date: 3/19/24

Categories: Romance, Fantasy, Adult Fiction, Fae, Enemies to Lovers

From USA Today Bestselling Author Holly Renee, author of the Stars and Shadows series, comes a scorching new fantasy romance that ignites the pages with relentless danger, forbidden passion, and the intoxicating allure of enemies to lovers.

Fleeing my father’s cruelty, the wicked king who robbed me of a future, I face death in the streets, caught between a rebellion and a tyrant’s reign.

Captured by those sworn to kill me, the rebels remain blind to my true identity—the missing daughter of the despised king. Faced with an impossible choice, I stand before them: join the rebels or face their blades.

Yet, Dacre, the son of the ruthless rebellion commander, becomes torn between suspicion and a desire that mirrors my own. He allows no one to touch me, tries to protect me, yet threatens me at every turn.

As secrets are weaved beyond our hidden realm, a fierce battle unfolds within me. As I get closer to the rebels, and their cause, my loyalty to my kingdom clashes with my undeniable devotion to Dacre and the burning connection between us.

In a world where love and hate are two edges of the same blade, I find myself caught in a delicate dance between forbidden desire and my looming destiny.

Content Warning: toxic parental relationship

I went into this one blind – I saw the book cover, love the colors, thought the synopsis sounded pretty good and hit “read for free” since it’s on Kindle Unlimited. I read it in one night!

I wanted “enemies to lovers” and I got it. Nyra is a runaway princess – her father’s regime is ruthless and she had to escape him. There is a rebellion movement planning to take him down but they are in search of this so-called princess people haven’t seen in awhile. The son of the rebellion is Dacre and he is Nyra’s enemy…for now.

The chemistry between Nyra and Dacre is so good. He’s her captor, she’s the captive. He doesn’t trust her and treats her like she’s a pebble in his shoe but she doesn’t cower. Even when he’s disrespecting her, and insulting her while he trains her, always egging her on – she never cowers in front of him but instead takes it and I guess it even turns her on. I will say that there are qualities to Dacre that are admirable, like obviously he cares for his sister Wren and he is loyal to his people and the rebellion. He has an awful dad and his mom’s death traumatized him so he is hard edges and just – hard. 😅

There’s a lot of spicy scenes between Nyra and Dacre but it comes later in the book, which I thought was perfect timing. It didn’t happen so quick, but it definitely kept me seated and reading, waiting to see if something more would happen – and I was not disappointed!

As far as world-building, I just wanted a little more but because I’m used to it in other fantasy books. I felt like this one is one of those addictive reads with not as much world-building but maybe in comes in book two? A lot time is spent with Dacre training Nyra and the story is mostly set in the rebel city, so I’m hoping book two takes us back to Nyra’s kingdom and we get to actually meet this horrible father of hers.

I devoured this book but unfortunately now I have to wait for book two which comes out in July!

My Final Thoughts:

This hit all my romantasy cravings ~ enemies to lovers, captor/captive, one bed, alphahole and his dirty talk (naughty, naughty!), and this is a world of faeries which I also love but I need a bit more world-building. I want to know more about these fae kingdoms, more backstory and maybe more depth with Nyra (I’m thinking we get it with that cliffhanger ending!) but other than that, I’ll be waiting for book two. I’m addicted!

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The Fine Print by. Lauren Asher | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires #1)

Author: Lauren Asher

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 431

Publication Date: 7/8/21

Categories: Romance, Adult Fiction, Billionaire Romance, Workplace Romance

Rowan
I’m in the business of creating fairy tales.
Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels.
Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland.
My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her.
Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias.
By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late.
People like me don’t get happy endings.
Not when we’re destined to ruin them.

Zahra
After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland’s most expensive ride, I should have been fired.
Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job.
The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I’d ever met.
Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn’t care.
At least not until I discovered his secret.
It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn’t fix everything.
Especially not us.

The Fine Print is the first book in a series of interconnected standalones following three billionaire brothers.

Content Warning: toxic parental relationship

I love the characters in this story – Zahra is quirky, but wholesome and comes from a good, loving family. She’s had a bad experience with an ex-boyfriend but overall, she’s strong, warm and people love her. She’s miss sunshine with a little bit of sass because she can definitely keep up with Rowan’s grumpy personality. I found their interactions and banter really fun!

I also love Zahra’s sister, Ani, who has down syndrome – she was so funny, cute and cool! I loved that she had her own little sass too and could keep up with Rowan. Rowan is the typical rich, handsome, grumpy guy trying to live up to family expectations but he has quite a past himself and is dealing with his mother’s and grandfather’s passing.

I thought the romance progressed really good from their first meeting and then all their interactions in between up until their conflict. I do think the story went on a bit too long and Rowan was being a jerk with ending things and then wanting her back right away. Like come on man, you are seriously stringing this nice girl along and she really didn’t deserve that. Yes, he has commitment issues and needed to work on them but yeah…even I was getting tired of it.

It did have a cute ending but it could have come sooner for sure!

My Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a cute one and I do love Zahra and Rowan together – he just needed to get his stuff together earlier so this could be a nice 350 page book. 😅 I don’t think we got a good feel of either of his brothers in this book but I’ll be reading their stories for sure.