Bye bye September and Hello to one of my favorite months – October! I love Halloween and my daughter has been ready for Halloween since July. 🙂 We will be decorating the house this week, how fun!
I think I did pretty good with reading in September. There was a lull when my air conditioning broke and I didn’t feel like reading and sweating in bed. Plus I had a big order for Etsy to finish and that took me three sweaty weeks to finish. Most of my reading got dine in the last few days of September. So let’s see what I read:
What I Read and Reviewed in September: 15 Books
5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:
4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:
**Review for Born of Blood and Flames was read in September but will be posted in October.**
4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
**Review for The Prison Healer was read in September but will be posted in October.**
3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
**Reviews for Under the Black Banners and The Dark Bond: Vampire Hunter Society was read in September but will be posted in October.**
ARC Reviews Posted in September:
5 Stars – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:
4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:
3 1/2 Stars – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:
3 Star Reads ⭐️⭐️⭐️:
ARCS I READ IN SEPTEMBER FOR FUTURE POST: 0
So total books I read for September is 15! Wow, I read no arcs for future posts lol – oh well, I had no time. I also got my NetGalley list down pretty good so I only have a few on there that are books to be releases in 2022. I have time to read them!
Title: Born of Blood and Flames (Gravestone Book, #1)
Author: Amber Darwin
Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)
Pages: 268
Publication Date: 8/9/21
Publisher:
Categories: Paranormal, Dark Fantasy, Romance
“The Darkness found me, and when I awoke, I became the most gifted Blood Witch my generation has ever known.
I am a weapon. I am hunted. I am everything they fear.
My name is Vivi Graves, and my story was never a fairytale.”
Life hasn’t been simple for the city of Thornfall’s best Blood Witch turned bartender. Shunned by most other witches, abused by The Academy of Elders, her love life is a dumpster fire, and even her sassy familiar doesn’t listen to a word she says. But at least she’s escaped the clutches of her corrupted mentors. Or has she?
When a terrifyingly sexy man shows up at her workplace, all shadows and temptation, her current reality starts to unravel. There’s no denying that he’s dangerous for her health, her heart isn’t safe either. But as their fates intertwine, buried secrets expose themselves and the past comes back to punish them both.
Is blood thicker than water? Does love conquer all? And in the depths of hell, can Vivi survive the flames? There’s only one way to find out…
** Born of Blood and Flames is a medium burn, enemies to lovers, dark fantasy, adult paranormal romance.
Where do I start? I picked this up because the synopsis mentioned witches and a sexy man plus it’s Fall and fall reading is a time for witchy and sexy books!
I love Vivi Graves – she’s a Blood Witch, she swears, she’s snarky and sassy, and she can fight. Vivi is also a bit broken inside. Her childhood was messed up and seems like her school years were pure torture. The Academy of Elders need her for something but she doesn’t want to give them the time of day. But then someone tall, dark and handsome strolls into town and everything between them is lust at first sight and she doesn’t know why – who is he and what does he want? In this book we find out Vivi is more than just a badass Blood Witch and Seer.
First off, the world building is great and detailed. I didn’t know what to expect but we get a detailed account of Thornfall and some info about Underhill Academy where Vivi went to school to learn about her powers. She had a miserable time at the Academy and harbors bad feelings about the place and people. Also we get to travel to the Netherworld where Killian (tall, dark and handsome) is from. The Netherworld is the underworld where Kilian rules but he has his own problems to deal with and we find out more about what those issues are when Vivi is there. I liked learning about Thornfall and the Netherworld and all the types of beings living in both worlds.
The characters really make this book amazing because Vivi is snarky, sassy and broken but she has a best friend, Marlow who is fantastic. She’s funny, level-headed and says the most inappropriate things! Linc rounds out the three of them, he’s a shapeshifter who is in love with Vivi, so it complicates things between them but I really hope they can be friends again. I can’t forget about Calypso, Vivi’s cat and familiar, when no one is around it’s just Vivi and Lippy. And in Killian’s world we have his badass half-siblings, a wild siren named Anise, a dragon shifter named Jagger (love him!), and the gorgon twins, Bane and Dante! They also have a volcano dog named Grim! It’s a fun cast and crew.
Now the romance between Vivi and Killian is full of angst. The attraction happens instantly and it’s hot. There is a push and pull between them, she doesn’t like when he’s being an alpha-hole but she can’t stay away from him either. At least Vivi knows herself and knows she’s always falling for the bad boys – poor girl, I feel her pain. Haha! I do like that when we are in The Netherworld, we get to know more about Killian and his motivations. He is the alpha, he is the heir but Killian loves his mama, his siblings and his people so I look forward to learning more about him in book two!
The ending is awesome – what a way for Vivi to access her powers!
Content Warnings: parental abuse, violence, death
We are in Vivi’s thoughts a lot and for me it got a bit too much in the beginning because it felt like info dumping and emotional dumping. I love that she is someone who expresses herself fully, whether it be happiness with her friend Marlow, confusion with Linc, lust with Killian and rage at Lilia. it’s what makes her amazing, but I think in the beginning as we get to know her background it was just us with Vivi trying to sort her feelings about a lot of things. Once the action starts happening this is a quick read.
The ending was an emotional roller coaster, I was raging and heartbroken with Vivi – I loved it and makes me eager for book two.
The author even puts a note before the story begins of content warnings. Read it! I love that she puts a warning.
Why you should read it:
the romance – it’s hot, sexy and angsty and about to get worse before they can be together
Vivi, Killian and all the other characters make this a fun story
good story about Vivi’s secret past and family
the Netherworld is dark, dangerous and magical
Why you might not want to read it:
Vivi curses, so if you don’t like dirty language, this is not for you
Killian is referred to Vivi as an alpha-hole, but honestly…I’ve read worst, I thought he was a pretty nice guy! lol
death of an animal
My Thoughts:
I’m so glad I downloaded this book. I’m a fan! It’s a quick read full of heat, magic, danger, friendship, secrets, love, rage, destruction, grief, and angst. It’s got a little bit of everything. The ending was unexpected, heartbreaking and so many things need to be resolved. I need book two asap.
#SixforSunday is… it’s really just that. You choose 6 books (normally) that you’d choose to fit whatever the prompt is that week. This meme is hosted byA Little but a Lotand you can follow the link to find the prompts for October to December.
This week’s topic:
Favourite Books by Black Authors
If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison.
Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav’s got everything under control.
Until, that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father.
Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it’s not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he’s different.
When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can’t just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He’ll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.”
But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.”
Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
A girl with no gifts must bargain for the power to fight her own mother’s dark schemes—even if the price is her life.
Heir to two lines of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. Yet she fails at bone magic, fails to call upon her ancestors, and fails to live up to her family’s legacy. Under the disapproving eye of her mother, the Kingdom’s most powerful priestess and seer, she fears she may never be good enough.
But when the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate enough to turn to a forbidden, dangerous ritual. If she has no magic of her own, she’ll have to buy it—by trading away years of her own life.
Arrah’s borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal, and on its heels, a rising tide of darkness that threatens to consume her and all those she loves. She must race to unravel a twisted and deadly scheme… before the fight costs more than she can afford.
With her daughter to care for and her abuela to help support, high school senior Emoni Santiago has to make the tough decisions, and do what must be done. The one place she can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Still, she knows she doesn’t have enough time for her school’s new culinary arts class, doesn’t have the money for the class’s trip to Spain—and shouldn’t still be dreaming of someday working in a real kitchen. But even with all the rules she has for her life—and all the rules everyone expects her to play by—once Emoni starts cooking, her only real choice is to let her talent break free.
Here is the schedule for October and go to A Little but a lot for more info!
October – Celebrating diverse voices (Black History Month UK)
3 – favourite books by Black authors 10 – favourite Black characters 17 – stories which celebrate Black voices 24 – books by Black authors I want to read 31 – Recommended reads by Black authors
Secret royal families. Unspoken alliances. Mysterious murder plots.
When I was approached for this unusual assignment, I wasn’t sure if I should take it or not. It was rare for an assassin to be recruited to protect someone, and even rarer still that an Incubo would reach out to a Mortal for help. The money was good, and the job seemed easy enough. Keep a young Incubo woman alive until her wedding day. Not long after arriving at the stately manor of her betrothed did I realize that there was more to this mysterious species than Mortals were led to believe. If I can manage to stay alive and finish this assignment, it may mean stopping society from toppling.
Under The Black Banners is the first installment to this enticing three-part series. Follow Isa Nera as she learns more about the secrets of the Incubo and learns to defend herself against dangers she never could have imagined possible. This urban fantasy weaves subtle magic and realistic romance into an exciting journey from neutral third party to possibly the only Mortal with the skills to stop a war from devouring and ending an entire species.
What drew me to this book was the cover and then the intriguing synopsis. What’s an Incubo? Are they like an Incubus or what? I had to find out.
The world building was interesting with Mortals and Fata basically being the two “species” in this world and now a third species or being that has made inroads in their society, the Incubo.
I really enjoyed getting to know Isa Nera, who is an assassin for the Black Banners, an elite organization. She is pretty badass…for the most part. She takes on an assignment to protect a high ranking, Incubo royal, Althea. Isa has to protect her until her wedding day.
If you like sexy books, this one gets hot right off the bat. There is no build up – apparently these Incubo men have major powers of seduction, so Isa may be an assassin but even she can’t quite resist Talos who is basically her boss. There is also another guy in the mix, Amil, so there is a lot of steamy scenes in this book. I don’t know if it’s a love triangle because even though Talos feels jealousy it seems he’s open to sharing? 🤷🏻♀️ Now, I do have to mention, Isa starts to train with Amil to resist these seductive mind control powers of the Incubo, so at least she learns something about them that will be helpful if she needs to defend herself from them.
Content Warnings: 18+, violence
I wanted Isa to stay a badass but I feel like her mission to protect Althea was kind of not her priority when Talos was in the room. She held off her attraction better when Amil was around and I do feel like they at least were actively protected Althea but when Talos was around? I was like come on, Isa, get it together sis. Also…a lot of her time spent with Althea was wedding planning and honestly I got bored. I love a good wedding planning book but I wanted to see the assassin in action. I wish the energy the book started with continued throughout – but it didn’t.
I don’t know if it’s a love triangle or polyamorous relationship but I do know I liked Amil more than Talos. Both are dangerous men, of course Talos is the more older and alpha one but Amil to me was just more attentive to Isa’s feelings.
I couldn’t connect to Isa maybe because all she was doing was babysitting Althea, wedding planning and having a good time with Talos and Amil – but there was a matter of someone in her Black Banner family in trouble. She was troubled by it…but couldn’t do much from where she was, I guess. Now the Black Banners sounds really interesting and I’d love to learn more about them! I found Isa more exciting in the beginning of the story when we learned about her assassin life and even met a friend of hers – I want to know more about her friends and found family with the Banners.
Why you should read it:
craving a sexy story
the world building is creative with the Black Banner assassins, the Mortals, Fata and Incubo
assassins
Why you might not want to read it:
Isa’s job got boring – the sex was the exciting part for her
polyamorous is not your thing
My Thoughts:
I didn’t have many expectations going into this one but I did find the world building creative with the different species living together. I would have liked to connect to Isa more than I did. I love that she is an assassin but I just want to know more about her outside of her sex life. Not to say she doesn’t have an interesting sex life, I’m happy she has two men keeping her pleased haha, lucky girl. I want the emotional connection though and to get to know more about her found family the Black Banners and yes I wanted more assassinating taking place. 😅
It’s been a very long time since I did one of these but I feel like I need more blog content on here in case I have no blog reviews to post, since I’ve been slacking a little!
This prompt is hosted by Mandy at Devouring Books so check out her blog for more fabulous bookish content.
Rules!
Share your top 5 books of the current topic– these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
Tag the original post (This one!)
Tag 5 people
The topic today is:
Magical Books
The Hating Gamemeets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in this irresistible romance starring a Mexican American teen who discovers love and profound truths about the universe when she spends her summer on a road trip across the country.
When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.
Most notable is her bunkmate and new nemesis, Santiago Phillips, who is grumpy, combative, and also the hottest guy Moon has ever seen.
Moon is certain she hates Santiago and that he hates her back. But as chance and destiny (and maybe, probably, close proximity) bring the two of them in each other’s perpetual paths, Moon starts to wonder if that’s really true. She even starts to question her destiny as the unnoticed, unloved wallflower she always thought she was.
Could this summer change Moon’s life as she knows it?
~~ I love this book and it’s not magical in the sense of fantasy books are but magical in how Moon deals with all the crap going on in her life. I think her photography skills are magical and her connection to the earth is beautiful. This is one that I would consider magical even if it’s a contemporary story.~~
In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.
As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.
The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost
The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told
The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide.
~~This wasn’t a book where I connected much to the characters but it is full of magic and magicians! The world building is mysterious and dark. And check out that book cover. 🥰~~
Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.
When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
~~ I think everything Laini Taylor writes is magical. Her imagination is wild and full of magic. When I first read this book 10 years ago I was transported to Karou’s world of chimaera and angels and was blown away.~~
She knew her hand in marriage would be sold. She had no idea a fae prince was the buyer.
Katria swore she’d never fall in love. She’s seen what “love” means through the cruelty of her family. So when she’s married off to the mysterious Lord Fenwood for a handsome price, all Katria wants is a better life than the one she’s leaving. Feelings are off the table.
But her new husband makes not falling in love difficult.
As their attraction begins to grow, so too do the oddities within her new life: strange rules, screams in the night, and attacks by fae that Katria never thought were real. When she witnesses a ritual not meant for human eyes, Katria finds herself spirited away to the land of Midscape.
Surviving the fae wilds as a human is hard enough. Katria must survive as a human who accidently pilfered the magic of ancient kings – magic a bloodthirsty king is ready to kill her for in order to keep his stolen throne – and her new husband is the rightful heir in hiding.
The power to save the fae is in her hands. But who will save her from a love she vowed never to feel?
~~Anything with the fae are magical to me! I thought the setting of Midscape was pretty magical.~~
Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish: to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she’ll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in eighteenth-century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age—her tyrannical father has made that much clear.
As Nannerl’s hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true—but his help may cost her everything.
In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Timesbestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.
~~ Music is magical especially in a story like this one!~~
I’m not going to tag anyone but definitely feel free to join in on Top 5 Saturday if you want! Here is the schedule for October:
October 2nd, 2021 — Magical Books
October 9th, 2021 — Bones on the Cover
October 16th, 2021 — Books Set in the Forest
October 23rd, 2021 — Blood on the Cover
October 30th, 2021 — Dark Reads
And if you need more info please check out the host of this prompt at Devouring Books!
Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.
When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.
Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.
But no one has ever survived.
With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.
I wasn’t sure why I bought this book. I was craving something, a dark fantasy, something with a little romance and just a different setting than the fantasies I have been reading. I’ve always been attracted to this book cover and the reviews I’ve read so far have been really good so I took the plunge and bought it.
I read this in one sitting and it had everything I was looking for! It’s a dark story, with Kiva living in a death prison – she is the prison healer so she’s seen it all. The book doesn’t shy away from pain, violence, and all the scary things that would happen in a prison. We get to know Kiva, she is strong, she has lived through trauma and she is a survivor. Kiva also has some secrets she keeps very closely guarded.
The setting of the prison was basically that but I didn’t feel trapped there. I felt like with the mysterious illness going on and Kiva trying to investigate it, we get to explore the prison grounds more. There is also the matter of the Trials of Ordeals that Kiva takes on to help save a prisoner, the leader of the rebel group planning against their kingdom. Tilda, the rebel is barely coherent to take part in the trials so Kiva takes her place. With those two things going on in the story, prison life was definitely not boring.
I enjoyed getting to know the other characters in the prison as well. I love her little assistant, Tipp. Kiva makes new friends with a guard Naari, who is awesome and a new prisoner Jaren, who I love so far. I found Jaren strangely flirty for a new prisoner in a death prison, which made me suspicious of him haha but yes there is a little bit of romance between them but it’s not the focus of the story – Kiva is trying to keep everyone and herself alive. Still, I love how their relationship is a slow burn.
I love the twist at the end – it wasn’t a shocking surprise because throughout the book I was suspecting everything and anything, but it was still cool how it was executed and how it made me second guess certain aspects of the book. Still it was quite a cliffhanger for the story, it makes you want book two asap!
Content Warnings: self harm, violence, torture, whipping, blood, mentions of rape and assault, drug use, death
This is a dark story and it has a lot of stuff mentioned in the content warnings above so beware.
I felt like the Trial of Ordeals was a tad bit underwhelming – not the tasks in itself because some were pretty crazy, they were meant to kill her of course. I just thought she was pretty calm about facing each ordeal but I guess she had a lot on her plate with her secret messages, keeping people alive, trying to find out the origin of the virus taking place and just surviving daily. I wanted some panic and planning at least but I guess she couldn’t do much about it.
Why you should read it:
you enjoy dark fantasy with a little bit a romance
a wonderful cast of characters
a good twist at the end
Why you might not want to read it:
too dark (read content warnings)
My Thoughts:
I absolutely enjoyed this book because it had everything I was craving! I want to know more about Kiva (after that ending) and I love all the other characters so it makes me want to read book two ASAP. I’m lucky that the next book comes out very soon.
Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magicians, 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 Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The competition has come to a disastrous end, and Daron Demarco’s fall from grace is now front page news. But little matters to him beyond Kallia, the contestant he fell for who is now lost to this world and in the hands of a dangerous magician. Daron is willing to do whatever it takes to find her. Even if it means embarking on a dark and treacherous journey, risking more than just his life, with no promise of return.
After awaking in darkness, Kallia has never felt more lost. Especially with Jack by her side, the magician with who has the answers but cannot be trusted. Together, they must navigate a dazzling world where mirrors show memories and illusions shadow every corner, one ruled by a powerful game master who could all too easily destroy the world she left behind — and the boy she can’t seem to forget. With time running out, Kallia must embrace her role in a darker destiny, or lose everyone she loves, forever.
This series has beautiful covers, that’s for sure!
I did like that this second book and conclusion is more sinister than the first book. In the first one, Jack and the whole town of Glorian is a mystery. We do uncover many secrets in this conclusion. We learn about this mysterious villain, the Dealer, who seems more powerful (or so it seems) than Jack. We learn more about the town of Glorian, the Patrons, the mirror and Kallia’s past.
Kallia stays consistent even though missing her powers, she is still full of fight and sass. I liked learning more about Jack. There is a lot of action but it comes at the end of the book.
For awhile I thought Kallia’s friends from the circus wasn’t going to make an appearance in this but they do – of course they do and they help save Kallia.
The first book was about the dazzling performance of magic shows and the circus. In this book it’s about what’s inside the mirror- which is a darker side of everything in Kallia’s world. Usually I need to be in the mood to read about magicians/circus. Well I wasn’t quite in the right mood for this sequel and it’s take on illusions, I think. Some things was hard for me to follow but that might be because I just wasn’t interested. This is is definitely one of those instances that if you love the first book (and I didn’t)…you will love this one. It’s just not the right series for me.
I didn’t connect to any of the characters. Not even Kallia’s journey kept me interested in this one.
I wasn’t into the love triangle. I mean there was a potential for one for sure but I’m glad it didn’t quite go there.
Why you should read it:
You love the first series or liked it enough to find out more
To find out what the whole mystery is
You enjoy stories about magicians
Why you might not want to read it:
Wasn’t into the first book
Love triangle potential
My Thoughts:
I love the books covers, it’s what sucked me into reading the first book. Story wise? I wasn’t into the magician/illusions theme. But I do like that this one is darker than the first book. Not even the romance in this one held my interest though because of the love triangle and I love a good triangle…but I didn’t feel this one. That doesn’t mean others won’t love this story, actually I think fans of the first book will enjoy this conclusion. It just wasn’t for me.
My father once described magic as an invisible beast, an unseen enemy that could snatch our lives away at any moment. As a small, impressionable child, I had imagined a lupine creature lurking outside among the whispering pines, breathing over my shoulder in our garden. For years, I didn’t even leave the house; it was magic that had killed my mother, after all.
I was old enough now to understand that magic didn’t work that way. But as I hurried down the dark road, past the woods that had become my haven during daylight hours, my childhood fears didn’t feel so foolish. I glanced behind me, sure I’d find Belle Sabine, the fabled witch of every young woman’s nightmares, swooping down as silent as an owl, ready to steal my youth and leave an empty husk behind.
To my relief, there was nothing there. My only traveling companion was the wind nipping at my heels, spurring me forward. But in my brief distraction, I tripped over a rock in the road, falling hard onto my knees. Cursing myself for my clumsiness and superstition, I dusted off my hands, wincing as a sharp pebble dislodged from my palm. I couldn’t afford this kind of delay. It was close to midnight, and there was no moon to speak of, which made my situation even more precarious; my exposed skin glowed so brightly that moths circled me like a flame. But my little sister, Mina, was missing. I had to tell Father.
As I rose, I heard the sound of footsteps up the road. I glanced around for a place to hide, but there was no time. A moment later, a figure loomed at the margins of my glow.
Some said Belle Sabine had died, others that she was biding her time until the townspeople became complacent once again. But I was convinced she had come to kill me on the one night I had dared to venture past our threshold.
I shrank back as skirts and slippered feet came into view, followed by a woman’s arms cradling a basket, and finally, the face of Margana, the weaver who lived next door. Not here to kill me, then. But a witch, nevertheless. And one arguably as dangerous as Belle Sabine, given who she worked for.
“What are you doing on the road, Liora? It’s the middle of the night.”
“Mina is gone,” I said. “Father is still at work, and I didn’t know what else to do.”
Margana scrutinized me for a moment. “You’re a witch.”
A chill that had nothing to do with the cool night air crept over my scalp. No one had ever called me a witch to my face before, though of course I knew what I was. My entire life revolved around my glowing skin and the fear that the kingdom’s most powerful warlock would discover it. Lord Darius was employed by the king himself, gathering mages and torturing them if they didn’t do his bidding.
I pulled Father’s cloak tighter around myself, but it was futile. She already knew. I had wasted too much time getting up the nerve to leave the house after I found Mina’s bed empty, wringing my hands at the window, wondering if she’d been kidnapped by drifters or lured into the forest by a ghost lantern. Then, once I was on the road, I had foolishly stopped to look at the devil’s footprints, little white mushrooms that grew in pairs of two, resembling the cloven hooves of a demon. I’d seen them in daylight plenty of times, but never at night. They had caught my eye because their glow was so similar to my own.
Oddly, Margana’s basket was full of the mushrooms. Her cornflower-blue eyes and auburn hair were pale and otherworldly in their light. As if sensing my curiosity, she shifted the basket to her other hip. Margana was one of the few people who lived outside the gates of the ancient village of Sylvan, like us. She was also my best friend Evran’s mother—and the only other witch I knew.
“I always wondered why your father moved you girls out here after your mother died,” she said. “Now it all makes sense. But something tells me your father wouldn’t be pleased to know you’re outside, exposing yourself.” She grabbed one of my hands and turned it over, examining it like a bruised apple at market. Against Margana’s dull skin, mine looked false, as if I wasn’t a real person at all.
I pulled my hand free as politely as possible. “I should go.”
She sighed. “Keep your head down, and pray you don’t meet anyone on the road. Darius’s spies are everywhere.”
My eyes widened in fear, and she chuckled to herself. “Not me, silly girl.”
I swallowed audibly. If there really were spies in Sylvan, Margana was the most likely suspect. After all, she did work for Lord Darius. She might not be his servant by choice, but he was dangerous enough that no mage dared cross him. No mage who had lived to tell about it, anyway.
I was about to step around her when my eyes drifted to the basket once again. “I thought the devil’s footprints were poisonous.”
Her lips curved in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Oh, they are. Highly. Fortunately, I don’t plan on eating them. Good luck, Liora.”
I nodded and hurried to the stone steps leading down to Sylvan, which was tucked away in a gorge, hidden from the roving eyes of river pirates. Above me, a heavy iron chain was suspended between the cliffs. As far as I knew, Sylvan was the only village in Antalla—maybe the world—that could boast having attracted not one, but two falling stars. A fragment of the first had been melted into the shape of a five-pointed star and hung from the chain. At night, it was only a glimmer overhead.
The second star—my star—had disintegrated amid the flames when it landed.
I wound my way silently through Sylvan’s narrow streets, toward Father’s shop. He and Adelle, my older, more responsible sister, were likely the only ones working at this hour. Just as I quickened my pace, I heard a high-pitched shriek from somewhere above me. I looked up to where a lamp winked on in an apartment window, illuminating two silhouettes, then down to the shop on my left. The tailor’s shop.
Mina.
Without thinking, I grabbed the cast-iron boot scraper sitting by the front door of the shop and hurled it through the window. Glass shattered, leaving a jagged hole that gaped like a mouth midscream.
Heart racing, I flattened myself against the alcove by the door as a man shouted and a window screeched open. The tailor, a young man nearly as alluring as the fabrics he sold, poked his head out for a moment, then disappeared, likely heading downstairs to look for the culprit. I scurried to the nook in front of the butcher’s, hoping my light would be hidden there.
“Get behind me,” Luc said from somewhere inside the shop. “The thief could still be out there.”
“You’re so brave.”
I sighed in relief at the sound of Mina’s voice, before fury shot through me like an arrow. I should have known she would come to the tailor’s; she had flirted with Luc relentlessly today, which was how we’d acquired four yards of the champagne-colored silk she wanted for the dress I’d spent all evening working on.
A moment later, they emerged onto the street, Mina clutching at Luc’s sleeve as he lifted his lamp and peered into the darkness.
He tossed his black hair out of his eyes and frowned. “It doesn’t look like they stole anything. Just vandals, I suppose.”
“Or someone trying to send you a message,” Mina breathed, dramatic as ever. “Do you have any nemeses?”
When he turned his dark gaze on her, something tugged at my heart. She was wearing a dress I’d made for myself when I was her age. It hung loose on her thin frame, but the hem grazed her calves, a sure sign she had altered it. She had nothing but a shawl pulled around her shoulders, and from where I stood, it was painfully clear that the tailor was not interested in her the way she no doubt hoped.
“I have to find a member of the night guard and report this. You shouldn’t be here. If your father catches you, he’ll have me hanged. You’re a sweet girl, Mina, but this is inappropriate.”
“But the silk…”
“That was for your sister. Now, please, go home.”
Mina caught her lip in her teeth to keep from crying. With a nod, she hurried away, tears already streaming down her cheeks. I waited for Luc to start up the street before I ran out of the alcove to catch her.
She squealed in alarm when I placed my hand on her shoulder, and I quickly clapped my other hand over her mouth.
“It’s me,” I whispered, lowering my hand slowly when I was confident she wouldn’t scream.
She swiped at her tears. “Liora? What are you doing out? What if someone sees you?”
My anger softened at her concern, until I remembered that she was the reason I was out in the first place. “I might ask you the same questions. If Father had come home and found you missing, he’d have killed you.”
“And what if he goes home and finds both of us missing? Have you considered that?”
I opened my mouth to scold her, but she was right. “You can explain what you were doing once we get back,” I said.
In typical Mina fashion, she stuck her tongue out at me, then turned and ran toward home.
* * *
We were indeed lucky. We made it home not long before Father and Adelle. By the time he came to our room to check on us, we were both in bed. I waved sleepily at him and Mina let out an emphatic snore, but once the door was closed, I threw back my covers and leaped out of bed.
“I hope you have a good explanation for this,” I hissed.
Her voice was muffled by the thick blanket pulled up to her nose, but I could hear the tremor in it when she said, “I thought Luc liked me.”
“And I thought you were dead!” I whisper-shouted, then stalked to the window ledge to keep myself from throttling her. I plucked a pendant from the collar of my nightgown, running my fingers over the five points on the star charm to calm myself. Evran had given it to me, years ago, and its contours were as familiar to me now as the feel of his hand in mine as he pulled me through the Sylvan woods toward home at twilight. Perhaps I was being too hard on Mina. I would risk a lot of things for Evran.
“Luc told me he was having a party tonight,” she said. “I didn’t realize how late it was when I got there. Everyone else had already left.”
I was surprised that the thought of her getting ready for a party, the excitement she must have felt as she sneaked into Sylvan to meet a handsome young man, made me more envious than angry. “I heard you cry out.”
The whites of her eyes flashed in the dark.
“Don’t you dare roll your eyes at me,” I snapped.
“I’m just stretching them, Ora.” The world-weary tone was classic Mina: so eager to be a grown-up, ever since she was little. “A moth got tangled in my hair. Anyway, Luc was a perfect gentleman. And as it turns out, it’s not me he wants.”
The silk was for me. The last of my anger waned as I imagined how sure Mina must have been of Luc to do something so foolish, only to find she’d made a huge mistake. This was his fault as much as it was hers. “He was just being kind because I spend so much money in his shop.”
She snorted. “He spoke about you the entire time. He asked why you hadn’t come to the party, and what you liked to do in your free time, and why he never saw you out in town.”
“What did you tell him?” I dropped the pendant into my collar and pulled back the edge of the curtain just a bit to gaze at the real stars.
“I told him you were making me a dress, that that’s what you’re doing most of the time.”
I sighed and let the curtain fall. For a girl with glowing skin, I sounded unbearably dull. But it was the truth. If I wasn’t sewing, I was cooking, cleaning, or rereading one of our few books.
Father trusted me enough to let me go out on sunny days now. The smallest stars don’t shine at noon, he said, and my glow could be kept dim as long as I stayed in control of my emotions. But the downside of having even just a little bit of freedom was that it came with responsibilities. Father had only given me permission to go to town for errands, never to dawdle, which made taking Mina along particularly frustrating. She had made an art form out of window-shopping. I missed my afternoons in the woods with Evran, those glorious days when I could sneak out unnoticed while Father was working and my sisters were in their lessons.
I climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up, a wave of guilt washing over me. Had I really believed Mina was in mortal peril? Because if not, there was no excuse for my own behavior. What if some part of me had risked going out tonight because I wanted to prove to myself, finally, that my magic wasn’t as dangerous as Father feared?
If that was the case, I had failed spectacularly. It had only taken a few minutes for me to undo all our years of hard work, and I couldn’t blame my sister for that.
“Promise me you won’t sneak out again, Mina. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”
She twisted onto her side to face me. “I’m sorry. I should never have put you at risk like that. I won’t do it again.”
“It’s all right. Get some sleep now.”
Mina responded a moment later with a very genuine snore.
I smiled and tried to fall asleep myself, but I lay awake for hours, thinking about Margana. Would she tell Darius about me, potentially destroying not just my life but those of everyone I loved? I thought of Father and wondered if all this time it hadn’t been me he was protecting, but them.
Because as much as I had wanted to believe that the invisible beast was out there, that if I simply hid myself away like a secret, we would be safe, I had known for quite some time that the beast Father feared most lived inside of me.
About the Author:
Mara Rutherford began her writing career as a journalist but quickly discovered she far preferred fantasy to reality. Originally from California, Mara has since lived all over the world with her marine-turned-diplomat husband. A triplet born on Leap Day, Mara holds a master’s degree in cultural studies from the University of London. When she’s not writing or chasing after her two sons, she can usually be found pushin_g the boundaries of her comfort zone, whether at a traditional Russian banya or an Incan archaeological site. Mara is a former Pitch Wars mentee and three-time mentor.
Title: A Throne of Feathers and Bone (Honey and Ice, #2)
Author: Shannon Mayer & Kelly St. Clare
Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)
Pages: 351
Publication Date: 9/27/21
Publisher: Hijinks Ink Publishing
Categories: Urban Fantasy, Romance, Faerie
Chosen. Framed by my father’s murderer. Running from the fae courts. Fated to never touch the man who sets my blood on fire.
Life was looking up for me not long ago. Now, it’s looking all the way down. This latest shitstorm? Yeah, it takes the cake and the beetroot tickle.
The father who shunned me from birth lays cold and dead. The courts are in turmoil and after blood. My blood. I need to find his killer, yet that mystery pales in comparison to the madness crushing fae in its giant grip.
I’m desperate to find the door to Underhill before true anarchy descends. The answers I seek are on the other side, I’m sure of it.
With two gifted swords, a magic shield, some finnicky power, and dubious spirit for company, I must locate the path to our native realm again. And if I can manage that while resisting the Unseelie fae stalking my every footstep, then all the better.
But I am part human after all.
What is it about snarky young ladies in an urban fantasy? I’m addicted. I’ve loved Kallik/Alli’s snark since book one and it continues in book two especially when she is around Faolan/Lan. Alli is on the run and trying to figure out how to open Underhill but every time she gets a chance something disastrous happens…why? The Unseelie and Seelie are about to fight because of her and now the Outcasts too. Alli needs to figure out her powers and ties to Underhill before more people die.
One thing I love about this series, is who Alli cares and I’m talking about her best friend Cinth who is amazing. If there isn’t family around for a main character in a story, I absolutely approve of besties being there, being their ride or die, and found/chosen family and Cinth is that for Kallik. I love her to pieces. I love how she loves Kallik and tries to be there for her, and tries to be that grounding factor in her life.
And my other favorite thing? When boy and girl are friends, girl falls for boy, boy disappers from her life and shows up again and they kind of hate each other (but not really) but under all that amazing sexual tension is still friendship too…that is Faolan and Kallik. I love how they bicker and joke and fight each other and then fight together against harm. I love how they have history and that they finally talked it out in this sequel. I like that they can be themselves with one another.
The pacing of this is great, the story keeps moving with action, fighting, trying to find out how to open Underhill. There is a battle about to happen between Unseelie, Seelie and the Outcasts. There is betrayal, there are secrets revealed and yes a funny, sarcastic, very snarky Oracle who made me laugh. This series is fun and I want more.
Content Warnings: violence, death
Barely a love triangle – you know it’s Faolan and Kallik as end game. I get that she wants a guy who doesn’t drive her crazy (I mean maybe physically yes, but emotionally – no). But she and Faolan has history, they just needed to sort some things out.
The first two books came out quick one after the other and it seems the third comes out in January, which isn’t too long of a wait. Yay!
Why you should read it:
if you love romantasy (is that what these are called now?) you will enjoy this one
story moves along quickly with action, romance, secrets and betrayal
the snarky females and Cinth, the cinnamon roll (can I hug her?)
Why you may not want to read it:
not into romantasy
tired of books about the Fae
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this story from top to bottom even with the little love triangle because you know it’s just Alli sorting her feelings and pushing Faolan away. I love them together, you can tell they have history and it’s transitioning into something much, much more. I’m so glad Alli and Cinth were reunited as well because Faolan and Alli may be lovers, but Alli and Cinth are soulsisters. 🤷🏻♀️The story was exciting and moved quickly with twists and turns and that Oracle made me cackle. Give me book three!
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
What are you current reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
I’m on a Kindle Unlimited kick right now lol…and it helps that these books are short and I can read them quick! I had a long September of doing a big order for my Etsy, a broken air conditioner and now I’m just catching up on reading! These shorter reads are getting my reading mojo back – there are SO many books I want to read this fall! I hope I can get to them.
How are you doing with your reading? Are you in a slump or on a roll? ~ Yolanda
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 