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 currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
Can you tell I’m trying to read some thrillers and dark books because we are nearing Halloween? But it’s been such a weird year – I don’t even feel like it’s Fall (it’s also hot here too). Anyway, what are you reading?
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This week’s topic is:
Super Long Book Titles
Title definitely got longer when they started doing the “A_ of _ and _” trend!
Categories: Historical Fantasy, Witchcraft, Family, Romance, Young Adult/New Adult, Demons
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Emilia and her twin sister Victoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Victoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to discover who did this, and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.
Then Emilia meets Wrath, the outlier among the seven demon brethren, always choosing duty over pleasure. He’s been tasked by his master with investigating a series of women’s murders on the island. When Emilia and Wrath’s fates collide, it’s clear this disturbing mystery will take a bewitching turn…
Thank you to JIMMY Patterson and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
My Attention: engrossed
World Building: 19th century Sicily, there are practicing witches, there are hot Princes of Hell, scary demons, a murderer on the loose, and so much FOOD
Writing Style: a quick moving story, great dialogue
Bringing the Heat: 🔥🔥
Crazy in Love: slow burn in hell…ha!
Creativity: this whole story is dark and delicious
Mood: witchy
Triggers: violence, gore, rituals, death
My Takeaway: Hooking up with a Prince of Hell might be a bad idea…but it sounds pretty hot.
Let’s start with aesthetics – the cover is to die for. A pre-Halloween publication date? A cover like that and this story has witches and demons? Come on! It is perfection.
Speaking of witches and demons…whew! Emilia and Vittoria are twins and have been learning witchcraft since they were born. Their Nonna is the one who taught them all the spells they know and how the Malgavi will return to collect on a blood debt. As far as these Princes from Hell, they are exactly as Nonna said they would be: Trouble.
The setting of Sicily is fantastic and made me crave all kinds of pasta and cheese ALL week. I felt like I was there, or I wished I was. I wanted to be eating at the Sea & Vine and tasting Nonna’s delicious meals.
This story is dark and doesn’t shy away from gore. Someone is murdering girls and ripping their hearts out of their chests! Ugh…but why? There is a mystery. Emilia and a hell prince named Wrath is trying to put the pieces together to find out who it is before another girl dies.
Wrath and Emilia’s growing relationship is an enemies to lovers romance- or should I say…we shall see if they ever become lovers? They are enemies but start working together. Their dialogue is fun since they drive each other crazy.
At times I thought this book was going into New Adult territory – it totally could with the hotness factor of the Princes and Emilia’s scandalous thoughts about one in particular haha.
I wanted this to be fast paced because of the danger at every corner that Emilia was being exposed to but at times, the mystery (and this is a personal thing for me – always happens with mysteries)…made it go a bit too slow for me at times.
There is a cliffhanger.
Kingdom of the Wicked is the perfect book to read for fall! It has danger, gore, hot Princes and food…so much good food. I loved the family and community bond Emilia has in her home town. I could feel the warmth of her Nonna’s love and glares! We get a little bit of everything in this story and it is quite entertaining. This book will put you in a very witchy mood.
Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Gods, F/F Romance
Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colors. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences.
Nirrim keeps her head down and a dangerous secret close to her chest.
But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away who whispers rumors that the High Caste possesses magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted.
My Attention: read in 2 days
World Building: interesting world or Ethin – there is a caste system, there is a wall that separates the wealthy and poor, but there is a mystery also…why is there no history about Ethin, Nirrim and Sid tries to find out.
Writing Style: beautiful, lyrical, delicious
Crazy in Love: slow burn
Creativity: a place that doesn’t know it’s history? How is that possible – well the Gods are involved, that’s why
Triggers: violence, physical and emotional abuse, oppression
The writing is so delicious, I felt like I was eating this book up, word for word! It’s what kept me reading even though there are so many mysterious elements to this story – like the Elysium bird, Nirrim’s past, and Sid. The world of Ethin alone is mysterious.
The world-building was like peeling an onion layer by layer, very slowly. We are introduced to Ethin, a beautiful city but split into castes. There is the High Kith who live behind a wall in decadence, then the Middling and Half-Kith. The only thing about this is that we are limited to Ethin, though Sid is from beyond the sea…it made me want to learn more about the places around Ethin – but if Nirrim doesn’t know it’s history, then no one else does either – hence the limitation.
Nirrim is a complicated character. She is abused by her foster mom, Raven but she believes it’s love even when so many people tell her it isn’t. Also she has a male lover, not that she loves him – but she gives into him because she thinks it’s what she’s supposed to do. But when Sid comes along, everything about her life comes into question.
There is a running theme in this story, “It is as it is.” But when Sid asks Nirrim questions about Ethin, about it’s rules, or why there is no history, Nirrim starts becoming unsatisfied with the saying “It is as it is.” That’s when secrets about Nirrim’s life and Ethin are revealed.
Now the slow burn between Nirrim and Sid was so good because the flirtation, on Sid’s part was packing heat. From the moment they met, Sid in all her flirtatiousness, mystery and wild reputation was so enticing, how could Nirrim stay away?
A lot of the mystery gets revealed at the very end of the book – so finding out information was a bit frustrating because we get bits and pieces. Who is Sid and where is she from? Is she telling the truth? Who is Nirrim’s mother? What is Ethin’s secret? So many questions…some were answered, a few others I hope will be revealed in book two.
Raven, Nirrim’s foster mom abuses her and it’s awful when Nirrim believes it’s love. But is it realistic? Very. It’s the only “mom” she’s ever known, but wow – Raven was something else. Glad Nirrim stood up to her eventually.
I didn’t know this was somehow connected to the author’s previous work The Winner’s Trilogy which I read so long ago – I did not recognize any names at all if they were in The Midnight Lie haha. But I don’t think you need to read that trilogy to enjoy this book.
I devoured the lyrical writing of this story, though sometimes it was frustrating because I wanted more information about Nirrim, Sid and Ethin. I get it all by the end and then some! The story covers some hard topics like abusive relationships but Nirrim goes through quite a transformation from the start to the end of the book. I look forward to reading the next book in this series if just to enjoy the way this author puts sentences together.
Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Royalty, Feminism
Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:
1) Woo the Shadow King. 2) Marry him. 3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.
No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.
But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?
My Attention: took me one week to read
World Building: the court of The Shadow King
Writing Style: easy to read, but it lagged in the middle
Crazy in Love: slow burn
Creativity: The MC starts off as one of the villains…it’s definitely intriguing.
Triggers: murder
I love that Alessandra, our MC, is a confident, cunning, sexually empowered, murderess. Not that murder is a good thing – but Alessandra is smart, she knows what she wants (power) and she has a plan to achieve her goal. It helps that she’s beautiful, bold and quite a charmer as well.
Alessandra has a few skeletons in her closet. Apparently having random lovers also means risking being attached to some unsavory characters, like Myron, who tries to blackmail her. Also, she did kill her first love and that comes back to haunt her in the end. The story intrigued me enough to want to see if she accomplishes her goal and how she gets out of tough situations.
The whole feminist vibe of this story is great. It’s fascinating to see how Alessandra uses her skills to catch the eyes of Kallias, the Shadow King. She stands out by ignoring him and she does everything opposite of every other lady at court. Alessandra designs her own fashions as well, like wearing pants with a skirt. She’s not shy about what she wants – she wants to be Queen.
The slow burn was too slow for me. The beginning started off well, but the middle just dragged for me. Kallias was barely with her so I didn’t feel any attraction between them until the later half of the book, which was way too late for me. The letters between them did nothing for me. Like Alessandra said – it was all talk, no action. She really wanted to be Queen though, so she stuck it out, which shows determination. Thing is I forgot she had even brought poison to kill Kallias! That’s how much my attention was lost in the middle.
Throughout the story there is political intrigue about who is trying to kill Kallias, but I didn’t feel like it was an urgent matter in the story.
Kallias as the Shadow King was confusing for most of the book. We barely get to know him and his shadows? Like what is it and how did he get them? We learn about it way later in the book. He wasn’t mysterious and dangerous enough for me and with a name like The Shadow King, I wanted danger.
World-building? We are basically stuck in Kallias’ palace, but I needed more.
Usually if it takes me a long time to finish a book, I’d rate it lower, but I did like Alessandra as a character and watching her try to get out of her mess. I did genuinely want to know if she would eventually be Queen in the end or some other skeleton would pop out of her closet. This author is an auto-read for me, but this is not my favorite of her books. Overall, I think this was an okay read, but I was expecting more.
Happy Aloha Friday everyone! My son’s Fall Break comes to an end today – well technically Sunday and back to the remote schooling grind. I wish we had a chance to do something fun like go on vacay but it’s not meant to be this year like a lot of things. That’s okay…we can hope for next year right?
New Books Acquired:
NetGalley ~
Netflix:
Emily in Paris – I binged this show in one night! I could not stop. Just seeing Paris on screen made me miss traveling and everything pre-COVID. Anyway it’s a show with a lot of eye candy and it was a definite escape for me.
Adulting News:
Counting down to election day here win the USA. My birthday is the day after election day so I HOPE I get a good birthday present! I told my hubby I may have to be inebriated the night of the election but I haven’t drank alcohol in so long because it makes me sleepy. 🤦🏻♀️😅
It was Fall break for my son this week so we went to the playground, the pool and tomorrow he and his sister are getting flu shots! 😬 She’s quick about it, scared to get a shot but happy to get a bandaid 🤷🏻♀️ but my son screams the whole office down.
And since our state is opening up from lockdown again, I’m going to also do dentists appointments this month for them and myself. Also, I need a haircut! Who knows if we will shut down again in a few months, so I better get everything done.
Stay safe out there, wear a mask and social distance!
Categories: Historical Fantasy, Alchemy, Young Adult, Madness
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thea Hope longs to be an alchemist out of the shadow of her famous mother. The two of them are close to creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone—whose properties include immortality and can turn any metal into gold—but just when the promise of the Stone’s riches is in their grasp, Thea’s mother destroys the Stone in a sudden fit of violent madness.
While combing through her mother’s notes, Thea learns that there’s a curse on the Stone that causes anyone who tries to make it to lose their sanity. With the threat of the French Revolution looming, Thea is sent to Oxford for her safety, to live with the father who doesn’t know she exists.
But in Oxford, there are alchemists after the Stone who don’t believe Thea’s warning about the curse—instead, they’ll stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone. But Thea can only run for so long, and soon she will have to choose: create the Stone and sacrifice her sanity, or let the people she loves die.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
My Attention: Took me 3 days to read.
World Building: this is historical fiction, it starts in France, 1792 on the verge of revolution – then we travel to Oxford, England, but the fascinating bit is that we are following a character who is an alchemist.
Writing Style: flowed beautifully, engaging
Crazy in Love: not crazy, but it gets complicated
Creativity: to make the Philosopher’s Stone, you have to be prepared to go mad…
Triggers: violence, torture, harassment, descent into madness, self-harm, cheating/affair
My Takeaway: My sane mind vs. the power of the Philosopher’s Stone? I’ll chose my sanity! Haha
Thea is not the typical “likable” character. She grew up with no father and a mother who was more into alchemy than being a mother. Thea grew up alone except for Will who was her mother’s apprentice. Thea is smart, she’s talented at alchemy, can speak several languages but really has grown up differently compared to other girls her age.
The Philosopher’s Stone – this book really delved into it and what happens when someone is close to making the legendary and somewhat mythical Philosopher’s Stone. It’s supposed to grant the owner immense power – but first, Thea sees there is a pattern, people that attempt to make the stone, succumb to utter madness. They hear voices, they get violent, they see things. It’s terrifying and asks the question if the stone is worth making.
Thea gets threatened to make the Philosopher’s Stone, and she has to make some hard choices. Ultimately she wants to save a few people like her mom, her friend Dominic and her old friend/love, Will. This girl just needed some love.
Thea’s actions and choices when it came to Dominic was kind of suspect. She didn’t know him well, but he was her first friend outside of Will, who was an old friend she hadn’t seen in awhile. But poor Dominic – he got a raw deal!
Thea’s dad – glad he tried at the end, but their beginning was so pathetic on his part. Poor Thea, she basically had no one!
Would have like more world-building, especially because it takes place during the French Revolution! But I get that Thea was basically trapped in a house, in England, trying to make the Philosopher’s stone. But it wouldn’t been nice to get a feel for the time and place.
The descent into madness trying to make the Philosopher’s Stone makes you question if having the stone is worth it. For Thea, a smart but very lonely girl, she realizes the stone is worth it to save the people she loves – but she loses her mind to it, literally. Overall, I enjoyed this entertaining, quick, dark story about alchemy.
🖤 ~ Yolanda
About the Author:
Samantha Cohoe writes historically-inspired young adult fantasy. She was raised in San Luis Obispo, California, where she enjoyed an idyllic childhood of beach trips, omnivorous reading, and writing stories brimming with adverbs.
She currently lives in Denver with her family and divides her time among teaching Latin, mothering, writing, reading, and deleting adverbs. A Golden Fury is her debut novel.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This week’s topic is:
Book Covers with Fall Colors/Vibes
Some dark covers and some reds/yellows/oranges to round it out! Perfect for Fall. 🎃💀🖤
Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sibling Fiction
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
“A fabulous interweaving of fantasy, politics, and sisterhood – this unusual, tense tale will have you on the edge of your seat!” –#1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce on Crown of Coral and Pearl
The Cruel Prince meets Ash Princess in this thrilling fantasy, the much-anticipated sequel to Crown of Coral and Pearl.
Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister’s place, she’s wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon.
As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart with the help of Prince Talin and Nor’s twin sister, Zadie. There are forces within the world more mysterious than any of them ever guessed—and they’ll need to stay alive long enough to conquer them…
Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
My Attention: read in three days
World Building: In this sequel we get to venture into the land of the Galethians
Writing Style: easy to read, descriptive
Crazy in Love: definitely
Creativity: We learn more about magic in this sequel.
Triggers: blood magic, manipulation, violence
My Takeaway: You can be more than beautiful on the outside.
I liked that the story ventured to Galeth and we get to meet new characters like Roan and Adriel. I especially thought Roan was an intriguing character. Adriel brings more knowledge about magic and healing, so now Nor can actually learn something about her rapid healing abilities and about blood magic.
Zadie, Nor’s twin sister comes back into the story and it’s nice to get to know her a bit. She’s very much in love with Sam still and the book focuses on traveling to Galeth to find him.
Nor and Talin is very much in love still though the business of taking Ceren down interrupts their happy ever after. We get to meet Talin’s mother and sister in this book as well.
Nor’s personal journey on becoming more than just the most beautiful girl/wife in the world was the main message for me in this series. She wants to travel, she has skills as a healer, there is so much she wants to do and I thought it was noble of Talin to let her realize those dreams.
The beginning was a bit slow for me. This had more political intrigue between the kingdoms of Galeth, Ilara and Varenia. Prince Talin and his mom need people to join their fight to take the throne from Ceren so they have to work on convincing the Galethians.
Ceren doesn’t really show up a lot in this book. He’s still evil and want to keep his throne. We get glimpses of his childhood because he is bonded to Nor. But I felt the ending with him was anti-climatic.
Honestly, I thought Roan was going to change Nor’s mind about Talin! Haha…it would have made the story maybe a little more interesting. Talin was his usual princely self, but it seemed like for a moment there, there would be some problem in their relationship.
Overall, I enjoyed the first book more than book two because I was so amazed with Varenia. Also, Ceren’s character made the story so intriguing. In this sequel we get more of Nor and Talin’s romance, some new characters and much less Ceren. Ultimately, Nor’s journey from flawed beauty and a future as a perfect wife to a healer and adventurer has a great message. We are more than our beauty. This is a solid end to an enjoyable, and creative duology.
💕 ~ Yolanda
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 pushing 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.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 