Mia and Jake have known each other their whole lives. They’ve endured summer vacations, Sunday brunches, even dentist visits together. Their mothers, who are best friends, are convinced that Mia and Jake would be the perfect couple, even though they can’t stand to be in the same room together.
After Mia’s mom turns away yet another cute boy, Mia and Jake decide they’ve have had enough. Together, they hatch a plan to get their moms off their backs. Permanently. All they have to do is pretend to date and then stage the worst breakup of all time—and then they’ll be free.
The only problem is, maybe Jake and Mia don’t hate each other as much as they once thought…
Sometimes I just need a light read and this was it!
Enemies to fake dating to lovers. I think the fake dating trope is so much fun especially when the two characters can’t stand each other, like Mia and Jake in Fake It Till You Break It. They are neighbors, their moms are best friend, they’ve known each other since kids and are best friends without knowing it. It doesn’t help that their moms are trying their hardest to make them fall in love.
Of course they conjure up a plan to give their moms what they want and then break up so they will stop throwing them together. What ends up happening is pretty predictable as with most fake dating tropes, there is a happy ending. But I loved seeing them eventually get there.
What I liked most about this book was Mia and Jake’s interaction with one another. I love how Mia tells Jake things straight up and she can be her messy self around him. And as much as Jake antagonizes her, he knows everything about her. They are just too cute and funny together, I was happy for their eventually happily ever after!
I read this book in a few hours. It is light-reading, adorable, and it left me smiling at the end. ☺️
Categories: Romance, Coming of Age, Young Adult, Contemporary
As everyone at her Brooklyn high school announces their summer adventures, Olivia harbors a dirty secret: Her plan is to binge-watch horror movies and chat with her online friend, Elm. Olivia and Elm have never shared personal details, apart from their ages and the fact that Elm’s aunt is a low-budget horror filmmaker. Then Elm pushes Olivia to share her identity and sends her a selfie of his own. Olivia is shocked by how cute he is! In a moment of panic, assuming she and Elm will never meet in real life, she sends a photo of her gorgeous friend Katie. But things are about to get even more complicated when Olivia’s parents send her to the Catskills, and she runs into the one person she never thought she would see. This sweet and funny summertime romance is perfect for fans of Love and Gelato and The Unexpected Everything.
Happy Messy Scary Love is a cute, light-hearted, young adult romance about a horror movie fan named Olivia who unexpectedly meets her online friend and fellow horror lover, Elm. Instead in real life his name is Jake. There’s a bit of unintentional catfishing going on and yeah, all Olivia needed to do was come clean, but….well, we all have fears right?
Olivia pretty much has a good life, attends an amazing school in Brooklyn, and has cool friends. The only problem she has really is deciding what to do after she didn’t get into NYU. I did relate to her when she didn’t believe in herself enough to start writing the horror movie screenplay she’s been dying to write. When everyone around her seem so focused and ambitious, she flounders and feels like a loser, which is harsh – but haven’t we all been there? Especially in our teen years? Eventually, Olivia learns a few things about being brave at her new summer job and along with Jakes help, starts to believe in herself again.
The romance between Jake and Olivia is cute, and clearly built on lies – but I was rooting for the situation to have a happy ending. It’s rare you see a couple in a book bonding over horror movies, but I enjoyed that and thought it was refreshing! I’m too afraid to watch horror movies, but I grew up in the 80’s and was forced to watch horror movies because of my older male cousins. And even though I hated it, my favorite was Poltergeist. 👻 I know horror movies have come a long way since then!
This book clocks in at under 300 pages, so I got through it in one night. Overall, I thought it was a quick, cute and fun story, suited for horror movie fans and non-fans as well.
Title: Realm of Knights (Knights of the Realm, #1)
Author: Jennifer Anne Davis
Pages: 270
Publication Date: September 10, 2019
Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Reid has spent her whole life pretending to be a man so she can inherit her father’s estate, but when a chance encounter threatens to expose her lie, she is forced to risk everything.
In the kingdom of Marsden, women are subservient to men and land can only pass from father to son. So when Reid Ellington is born, the fifth daughter to one of the wealthiest landholders in the kingdom, it’s announced that Reid is a boy.
Eighteen years later, Reid struggles to conceal the fact she’s actually a young woman. Every day, her secret becomes harder to keep. When one of Marsden’s princes sees her sparring with a sword, she is forced to accept his offer and lead her father’s soldiers to the border. Along the way, she discovers a covert organization within the army known as the Knights of the Realm. If Reid wants to save her family from being arrested for treason and robbed of their inheritance, she will have to join the Knights and become a weapon for the crown.
To protect her family, Reid must fight like a man. To do that, she’ll need the courage of a woman.
Thank you to Reign Publishing and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
I love the cover of the book, it’s what drew me to the story. Plus this is a girl dressing as a boy trope and I like those stories, I mean, Mulan – right? 🤷🏻♀️ After reading this arc, I can say I liked what the story was trying to do and I’m looking forward to book two. I can’t quite describe how I feel about this book thought – I want to read book two right away, but book one left me feeling…just okay.
Reid Ellington, a Duke’s daughter is living as a boy because her father has no male heir. To protect the title and lands, Reid grows up as a boy. Duke Ellington is breaking the law by lying to the court about having a male heir. Then one day the two princes of Marsden, Ackley and Gordon happen to stumble upon Reid, and they think her ability to disguise herself is a skill they need and blackmail her into being a spy for the crown. If she passes muster the princes will tell their brother, King Eldon, to pardon the Ellington family for lying.
What I Liked:
Girl living as a boy trope because I like when the big reveal happens.
Prince Ackley seems really intriguing, what is he playing at? Is he good or bad? I still don’t know. I don’t trust any of them, Reid shouldn’t either! He seems to pull the strings though, or should I say move the pieces. 🤔
When Reid enters enemy territory, Axian, and meets her enemies…the princes there seem more intriguing than the ones in her kingdom! I want to learn more about Dexter and Colbert.
The political intrigue is complicated, more secrets are going to be revealed. I’d like to see how Reid gets out of her current situation.
What I Didn’t Like:
Reid is an okay character. She can fight…pretty good. She can blend in as a girl or boy but she doesn’t have much of a personality other than that she can follow orders. I hope more of her personality comes out in book two! I want her to fight a little more.
The budding romance for Reid is unnecessary because there wasn’t much build up to it at all. There was a hint of something and then feelings! 🤷🏻♀️ But just because I think it’s unnecessary in book one, I hope to goodness there is romance in book two! An enemies to lovers…please. 😂
I don’t know if it felt rushed because of how short the book is (270 pages), but at times I felt like it was rushing from one scene to the next. I wanted some things to build, like the relationships. I couldn’t feel for any of the characters until we are introduced to people in Axian. I keep wanting to say Axia instead of Axian… I don’t know why!
The missions the Knights gave Reid, didn’t seem risky enough. I get they were tests, but I feel like there was no intensity or suspense to the scenes, except when she had to go on a mission given to her by King Eldon.
I don’t even feel Reid is special enough yet to warrant everyone needing her help! And they all seem to need her skill at disguising herself! 🤦🏻♀️ But because I am intrigued about Axian and the cliffhanger ending, I will definitely read book two. Overall, I find this a solid start to a new young adult fantasy series.
When Fionn Boyle sets foot on Arranmore Island, it begins to stir beneath his feet …
Once in a generation, Arranmore Island chooses a new Storm Keeper to wield its power and keep its magic safe from enemies. The time has come for Fionn’s grandfather, a secretive and eccentric old man, to step down. Soon, a new Keeper will rise.
But, deep underground, someone has been waiting for Fionn. As the battle to become the island’s next champion rages, a more sinister magic is waking up, intent on rekindling an ancient war.
There is magic in memory.”
The Storm keeper’s island by. catherine doyle
I don’t read any or many middle grade books only because they never interested me much once I was out of middle grade, and that’s been…years. 😂
But I love Catherine Doyle’s Blood for Blood series so much, and I miss reading something from her so after seeing awesome reviews of her middle grade series I finally borrowed it at the library. I was not disappointed!
Fionn Boyle is staying at his grandfather’s house on Arranmore Island and he finds out all is not what it seems with the island or his grandfather. Fionn learns about the island, about magic and being a Storm Keeper, and the legend of Dagda a sorcerer and Morrigan a villain who remade people into Soulstalkers! The world building is creative and so fascinating! Candles that hold memories? 😱
But Fionn is dealing with other things like not having a father and since he was sent to his grandfather, not having a mother for the moment as well. It hurts watching Fionn question his worth and not having anyone he can turn to. I love, love, love watching his relationship with his grandfather grow.
“Bravery is just a matter of forgetting to be afraid, Fionn. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
the storm keeper’s island by. catherine doyle
And yes it’s one of those stories where I kept writing down quotes because they are inspirational not only for Fionn but for me too and anyone else who is reading the series. The journey of finding ourselves at Fionn’s age does take bravery. There are some heart-wrenching parts in this story especially when it comes to Fionn and memories in the candles that he experiences. I won’t lie, it made me a bit emotional.
“Often the journeys we take inside ourselves are more difficult than the stormiest seas.”
the storm keeper’s island by. catherine doyle
Did I say I love Catherine Doyle’s writing? Because I really do and I look forward to reading the sequel and anything else she writes! The Storm Keeper’s Island is an inspirational story about magic, family, and a boy’s journey to overcome his fears.
Categories: Fantasy, Adult Fiction, Romance, Enemies to Lovers
What if you fell in love with the one person you’d sworn to destroy?
Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil – and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara’s homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom.
But as she infiltrates her new home – a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas – and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore.
Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people?
When I saw this book as an Audible on Amazon, it made me look twice. I thought, didn’t Danielle L. Jensen just release a young adult book this year? I love her books, so I was pretty sure I would have known she was releasing another novel. I didn’t even know about The Bridge Kingdom! It was just by coincidence that I saw it released the ebooks and physical copies on Tuesday. I bought the ebook without a second thought because I didn’t have the patience to wait for the hard copy.
It was everything I’ve been craving lately in a book! It’s like this author just knew I was needing this book. And just to reiterate because she writes young adult novels – this one is an adult novel, so yes there is a sex scene and thank goodness because the tension between Lara and Aren was building up so much. I was going to be irritated if they didn’t hook up. 🤷🏻♀️😅
At the end of chapter one, I was like this…😳 and I think I gasped and said, “what is this?!” Maybe because it described Lara with eleven half-sisters, I was like oooo, is this a Twelve Dancing Princesses re-telling? 😂 This goes to show I knew NOTHING about what this book would be about, I didn’t even really read the blurb, I saw the author on this and bought it without thought. So NO this is not about dancing princesses at all, unless you count spy and assassin skills as “dancing”.
Lara and her half-sisters are daughters of the Rat King, Silas Veliant, the King of Maridrina. Maridrina is a desert country where the people are starving and the king blames the kingdom of Ithicana for all its woes. Ithicana is the hub of trade but it is called The Bridge Kingdom because they have a bridge that is central to this successful trade business and no one has been able to capture it. A peace treaty between the two kingdoms promises a Maridrina bride to the King of Ithicana. This is how Silas wants to bring down Ithicana, by marrying King Aren to one of his trained daughters.
The world building is fascinating and I wish the eBook had a map of the kingdoms. Maridrina like I said is a dry, desert country. Ithicana is in the middle of the sea with high cliffs, a bridge, and islands all around. Because it is a bunch of islands, the foliage is lush, the air is humid and they deal with venomous snakes that populate the island and also sharks that thrive in the waters. There is mention of other kingdoms and maybe we will learn more about them in the sequels.
This book has political intrigue, a steamy slow burn romance, action, bloody battles, and betrayal! By the time I got to the end, and yes I read this in one day, I was kicking myself for not reading this nearer to it’s sequel release date.
I was begging silently for Lara to open her eyes to her father’s scheming ways – ugh because I knew it would only end in heartbreak! I mean, all of it was kind of predictable after the first chapter but it was still so good. I don’t mind if something is predictable as long as it’s still entertaining.
Lara, has been raised in the most awful way. She has been conditioned and tortured to believe Ithicana is their enemy and nothing else matters but taking them down. She’s not sweet, she’s an assassin, a spy, a liar and she’s so good at what she does. We see her plans unravel slowly as she learns about King Aren and Ithicana. Though she has all these skills to deceive, Lara also finds she has weaknesses, like the fear of the ocean that surrounds Ithicana and caring for her sisters. King Aren, on the other hand was raised with the love of the Ithicana people. He is smart, a fierce fighter and strong leader who loves his people. In the end he has a weakness too, Lara. 😭
And then that ending. 😩 It’s a cliffhanger and the way it ends makes me want the second book in my hands right now. I need Lara to use her badass skills for good. I need to see how she can fix things and I need her and Aren to be together – though I don’t know how that will happen right now. 😢 Lara has a tough road ahead but I believe in her. I will count down the days until the sequel is released!
Welcome everyone to my spot on the His Hideous Heart Blog Tour. This is my first blog tour and I’m truly honored to have been given a chance to do it for this book. Thank you to Flatiron Books for inviting me to participate in this blog tour.
Title: His Hideous Heart
Edited by: Dahlia Adler
Contributors:
Kendare Blake (“Metzengerstein”)
Rin Chupeco (“The Murders in the Rue Morge”)
Lamar Giles (“The Oval Portrait”)
Tessa Gratton (“Annabel Lee”)
Tiffany D. Jackson (“The Cask of Amontillado”)
Stephanie Kuehn (“The Tell-Tale Heart”)
Emily Lloyd-Jones (“The Purloined Letter”)
Hillary Monahan (“The Masque of the Red Death”)
Marieke Nijkamp (“Hop-Frog”)
Caleb Roehrig (“The Pit and the Pendulum”)
Fran Wilde (“The Fall of the House of Usher”)
Dahlia Adler (“Ligeia”)
Amanda Lovelace (“The Raven”)
Pages: 480
Publication Date: September 10, 2019
The Cask of Amontillado. The Tell-Tale Heart. The Pit and the Pendulum. Filled with love and loss, vengeance and regret, the dark, chilling stories of Edgar Allan Poe have haunted us for over 150 years. Now, thirteen of YAs most celebrated writers reimagine Poe’s stories for a new generation.
These contemporary retellings will grab readers by the throat and drag them along to surprising and unsettling places, whether they are Poe aficionados or new newcomers to these classics. Tiffany D. Jackson, award-winning author of Monday’s Not Coming, transports “The Cask of Amontillado” to the streets of Brooklyn during the present day West Indian Day Carnival in Brooklyn. Poet amanda lovelace finds new meaning in the classic poem “The Raven” by blotting out words from the original lines. And Kendare Blake, New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series, gives the unreliable voice narrating “Metzengerstein” a contemporary edge.
With the original stories printed in the back of the book, HIS HIDEOUS HEART offers up a fun way to meet Poe for the first time, or for readers to revisit old favorites with fresh eyes. Hiswork reminds us why we love to be scared, whether we get that thrill from watching the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, visiting a haunted house at Halloween, or by reading Poe’s spine-tingling stories.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a copy of this eArc for an honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When I heard about this anthology, I had to get my hands on it. I love Edgar Allan Poe’s work and I saw some of my favorite authors contributing to this anthology. Also this has a young adult twist to it which made me very curious to see how each story would play out.
This will definitely appeal to readers who are not familiar with Poe’s work. There is fantasy, sci-fi, horror and mystery genres represented throughout the collection. The stories have so much diversity with LGBT+ characters and people of color representation which I truly appreciated. This is the book I wish I had in high school when I was studying Edgar Allan Poe! I would have related to some of his stories on a whole new level.
The original works are included in this book as well, which is perfect for new and old fans of Edgar Allan Poe. It gave me a chance to compare the classic and reimagined versions side by side. Another thing the book allowed me to do is get a glimpse of authors I’ve never heard of. I’ll be adding a few books from these authors to my TBR list for sure.
She Rode a Horse of Fire (“Mertzengerstein”) got me spooked, and The Glittering Death (“The Pit and The Pendulum”) scared me as much as Poe’s version did, maybe even more because it was a modern retelling. It’s Carnival! (“The Cask of Amontillado”) had me cackling in wicked delight! Whenever I read one of the stories at night, it gave me the creepy feeling that I always look forward to from Poe’s work.
This is a wonderful reimagined collection and creative endeavor by thirteen talented authors. They took on some of Poe’s most popular works and made it relatable for young adults today. I am definitely adding this to my book shelf!
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dahlia Adler is an Associate Editor of mathematics by day, a blogger for B&N Teens, LGBTQ Reads, and Frolic by night, and an author of Young Adult and New Adult novels at every spare moment in between. Her books include the Daylight Falls duology, Just Visiting, and the Radleigh University trilogy, and her short stories can be found in the anthologies The Radical Element, All Out, It’s a Whole Spiel, and His Hideous Heart, which she also edited. Dahlia lives in New York with her husband, son, and an obscene amount of books, and can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @MissDahlELama.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Welcome to the world of Forgotten Empires from award winning author Jeffe Kennedy that begins with The Orchid Throne.
A PRISONER OF FATE
As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Euthalia will do anything to keep her people free—and her secrets safe—from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland. Guided by a magic ring of her father’s, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her heart, she knows that it’s up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor’s bride. But in her dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world—a man whose spirit is as strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own…
A PRINCE AMONG MEN
Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Euthalia holds so dear to her heart. When the two banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their eyes—nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls?
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eArc.
I almost couldn’t get into this book because of the prologue – it was straight info dump. 😩 It wasn’t what I was expecting and I wondered if that was how the whole book would be written. It was a curious way to start the book. Thank goodness I picked it up again after putting it down!
The kingdom of Calanthe is a mysterious paradise ruled by Queen Euthalia. Euthalia’s world is quite a spectacle. From the moment she wakes up and is attended by her maids and Morning Glories, down to the art of keeping peace with her fiancé, the ruthless ruler, Emperor Anure, it is all done to keep up a façade. Her only desire is to keep Calanthe thriving and she will do so no matter the cost.
What she doesn’t expect is news of a rebel, Conri, and his crew who want to take down Emperor Anure. But to get to the Emperor, they must go through Calanthe first and Euthalia can’t have that.
I loved learning about Queen Euthalia and Calanthe because it is a paradise island with a secret. The secret is revealed in the end and for me it was so unsuspecting, it leaves me even more intrigued. Everyone assumes Euthalia is a frivolous queen obsessed with beauty but there is much more to her than that. Her night court has a reputation for indulging in all kinds of pleasures. She is a virgin queen saving herself for her fiancé but she definitely knows what happens in a bedroom. This is an adult fantasy with a slow burn romance, but eventually, near the end, there are some steamy scenes.
I loved Conri’s story. He was a prince to a slave, to a king of nothing and wanting his revenge on the man who ruined his world. He went through some things in the mines, saw some things in the mines that would give anyone nightmares and still he is a survivor and fighter. I love his relationship with his best friend, Sondra. He’s not much of a ladies man, but that’s what makes him and Euthalia getting together exciting though sometimes it was kind of awkward. 😅🤷🏻♀️
There are magic elements to this story, that I hope will be developed more in the sequel. I want to know how the true Calantheans work their magic! Also there is political intrigue, and enough mystery about Calanthe to keep me engaged with the story.
Now the thing I struggled with sometimes is that it is told in dual perspective, which works great, except it doesn’t tell you at the beginning of the chapter whose perspective it is from. Each chapter is numbered naturally and alternated with Euthalia and Conri’s perspectives, but it was frustrating when I started a chapter and forgot if it was one or the other. So names for each chapter would totally help.
After the prologue which almost killed any desire for me to read this book, I actually got into this story! I’m very curious to see what happens next and how Queen Euthalia and Conri will try and take down Emperor Anure. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Categories: Family, Folklore, Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Seventeen-year-old Ali Chu knows that as the only Asian person at her school in middle-of-nowhere Indiana, she must be bland as white toast to survive. This means swapping her congee lunch for PB&Js, ignoring the clueless racism from her classmates and teachers, and keeping her mouth shut when people wrongly call her Allie instead of her actual name, pronounced Āh-lěe, after the mountain in Taiwan.
Her autopilot existence is disrupted when she finds out that Chase Yu, the new kid in school, is also Taiwanese. Despite some initial resistance due to the “they belong together” whispers, Ali and Chase soon spark a chemistry rooted in competitive martial arts, joking in two languages, and, most importantly, pushing back against the discrimination they face.
But when Ali’s mom finds out about the relationship, she forces Ali to end it. As Ali covertly digs into the why behind her mother’s disapproval, she uncovers secrets about her family and Chase that force her to question everything she thought she knew about life, love, and her unknowable future.
Thank you to Simon Pulse and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eArc.
This book was so full of many things: Ali’s experience living as a Taiwanese girl in Indiana, the secrets her parents are keeping, Chinese folklore, and a budding romance.
I love Ali! She’s outspoken, strong and spirited, she made me laugh out loud, a lot. I mean the girl isn’t even afraid to talk about pooping! 😂👏🏼 But Ali is tired of the racism she experiences in the all-American town she lives in. She’s tired of walking on eggshells at home where her parents never interact with each other and her mom never seems happy. Then one day a new boy comes to her school and he’s Taiwanese too. She was ready to dislike him for disrupting her school life, but having him around opens her eyes to a lot of things.
I felt for Ali and just could imagine how stifling it would be to live in a home where her dad is there but not present. Where her mom’s resentment just infects their way of life. I understood in the end where her mom was coming from but wow, the lengths she went through to ensure Ali’s future happiness, without knowing what would really make her daughter happy…it was a big miss on her part as a parent. Yet, like I said, I understood her mom’s fears, but it just made me sad.
Ali and Chase, are so cute together. It was so nice seeing Ali have someone to relate to because her high school friends were so not it. 🙄 I love Ali and Chase’s banter. Those kung-fu scenes just heightened the tension between them, I loved it. They are so silly together and fun. 😍
As for the larger issue in this book with the Chinese folklore and the history of Ali’s family. That was fascinating and it also made me realize, I don’t recall much about the history between China and Taiwan. You get a little idea of it in the book, but I really need to do some research on it.
This is a wonderful story about confronting family secrets, shame and regret. I really enjoyed reading about Ali’s journey as she faces the truth about her family and herself. Watching her come full circle with her family’s history is inspiring.
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
I saw this book everywhere and was intrigued, so I finally bought it. I can see why so many people fell in love with this book!
I am not a hard-core greek mythology fan. I remember learning about them in school thinking the Gods were just so wild. The way Athena was born was pretty crazy, straight from Zeus head, kinda cool, kinda weird. Also there was nothing relatable to me about the greek Gods. They were all too powerful, their epic battles and adventures were pretty awesome, but I couldn’t relate since I was not a god.
But this book Circe, is relatable. Obviously I am a mere mortal, but Circe is so unlike the Titans and gods in her family or those on Mount Olympus that she almost felt human. How can that be?
The writing is exquisite, the story-telling just sucked me in, much like Charybdis and her whirlpool! I felt like I was there with Circe. Now one of the reasons reading greek mythology challenged me was the family tree. Because they are pretty much related to one another. There is the incest – then again, they are Gods – what is the meaning of sex or sexuality to them? Not the way we mortals perceive sex that’s for sure. But yes, I usually need a visual family tree to follow greek mythology. The author, Madeline Miller, did such a good job telling this story, I didn’t get lost or confused. I mean Circe lives forever – so keeping her story linear through centuries, without boring me or losing me, was impressive. Also there is a helpful Cast of Characters list in the back of the book in case I forgot who was who, but I didn’t. Yay!
Circe is so unwanted. She is not goddess material, or so everyone tells her. She’s not tricky enough, not smart enough, not hard and vicious enough, she was not pretty enough. All her life she is told she is not enough. And it takes her awhile to learn some hard lessons but soon she learns who she is and accepts her strengths.
Just knowing what Circe had been through for centuries, at one point in the story, I agreed with her sister Pasiphaë, Circe was just being walked all over and she didn’t fight enough. But when she does fight back, it is glorious.
What touched me most about this story is Circe is a survivor. Through centuries of not being wanted, of losing her family, her home, her lovers and child even, she comes through. She is quiet and strong and always want to do the right thing. And when she becomes a mother I laughed because Circe is a goddess and even she was tired taking care of a mortal child! Same, I could relate, though I am just a mortal mom! Telegonus, her son, sounded like my son who was colicky as a baby. 😂 Watching their relationship grow, is so bittersweet. Okay wait, I didn’t laugh though, when she gave herself a c-section 😫, I had two c-sections myself and oh hell no would I want to perform that on my own.
This story is truly epic, in story-telling, scope and emotion. It doesn’t shy away from the violence of the gods or that they were incestuous, and had a thing about mating with magical bulls or cows. 👀 These gods and goddesses were often blood thirsty or just cold alien beings. At times I thought, is this story about Circe because she seems to have no power or is it about everyone else who has more power than her? In this book we read about the glorious stories of Daedalus, Odysseus, Helios, Scylla, Perses, Pasiphaë, Achilles, Athena and everyone under the sun and ocean it seems. I enjoyed it because I didn’t know half the stories. But what of Circe? Is she just there to be witness to all their greatness and nothing more?! I was so frustrated for her. Because let’s be honest, they all seemed more fascinating than Circe.
But it was the fine line she walked, wondering if she was a worthy goddess or more like a mortal, that was the most interesting thing about her. She may have seemed weak against goddesses like Athena, but her true voice was brave and strong. She stood up for what she believed in, no matter how they tried to suppress and threaten her. Her love for her child knew no bounds and she took care of herself and the both of them all by herself! You go, woman!
As for immortality and power, would you leave it all behind to become mortal? I ended that book wondering what I would do in her place. In the end, her choice was brave, it made me tear up. It takes courage to chose a life knowing it will be short but filled with love, despair, joy, pain and happiness. And death will be waiting in the end. Brave, that is what Circe is. The goddess and the book.
All my life I have been moving forward, and now I am here.”
A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.
A prince in danger must decide who to trust.
A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.
Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.
In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy..
This book is such a mood. A dark and bloody mood. There is a lot of self-harm in blood magic, so beware if that’s not something you can read. Now I keep going back and forth with my rating of this…sometimes I think okay it’s 3.5 because by the ending I was like hmmm, it was pretty good but for some reason I felt like something was missing…just don’t know what. But 4 stars because I really like the whole gods vs blood magic thing going on? 🤷🏻♀️
Nadya is a cleric living in a monastery in the kingdom of Kalyazi and the gods talk to her, giving her powers when she asks. The Kalyazi worship the gods. Neighboring Travania has been at war with them for fifty years. Travania is home to blood magic and blood mages, they do not believe in gods.
Right away this book throws you into action which I liked. The world-building is detailed as we learn the differences about Kalyazi and Travania which is inspired by Russia and Eastern Europe. This book was more focused on Travania and what a scary place it sounds like with blood mages called Vultures ruling adjacent to the king of Travania. Vultures are the monsters. They are the mages that have delved so far down into their blood magic that they are altered and now are becoming a threat.
High Prince Seferin has been on the front lines for a few years but back in Travania, his father is hatching a plan that could be devastating to both kingdoms. He needs to find out what’s going on and stop his father before his plans come to fruition but he can’t do it alone.
And then there is Malachiasz, who was once a Vulture, and will always be a monster. Is it weird to say that Malachiasz is who I wish the Darkling (from the Grisha trilogy) could be? I know it’s not a popular view, many people loved the Darkling and the Grisha trilogy but I didn’t even finish book three of that series. 🤭 For me Malachiasz was mysterious enough, that I didn’t know how far deep in his rabbit hole he had dug into. We find out later it is pretty far down and not even Nadya can save him from his plans for power. It’s tragic.
Nadya is light, and Malachiasz is dark and though they come from different kingdoms, they agree to work together to take down the king of Travania. Nadya knows that Malachiasz’s use of blood magic feels all kinds of wrong to her. Everything about him feels wrong but he still manages to get beneath her skin. Talk about falling for the bad boy – Nadya, falls for the bad boy, the one she thought she could trust.
Now as for my reading experience – I enjoyed this bloody, stark world these characters live in. But the names were challenging to say in my own head (yes, I shorted Malachiasz’s name to Malachi…because I didn’t know how to say it!) that it took awhile for me to warm up to a few of them. Also this is told in dual perspective between Nadya and Serefin and it didn’t flow easily for me because I was more interested in Nadya’s journey at first so the middle of the story felt like there was a slight lull. Despite the lull I was still intrigued with the whole gods versus blood magic theme of the story, it’s what kept me reading.
I’m intrigued enough to want to keep reading the series. I want to see how much lower Malachiasz can go and what this means for Nadya and Serefin. So if you like dark and bloody, with a pinch of a tragic love story and monsters, you may like this one.
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