ARC Review | Nameless Queen

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Nameless Queen

Author: Rebecca McLaughlin

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: January 7, 2020

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult

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

One girl must make a name for herself–or die trying –in this royal fantasy where an unknown peasant becomes the ultimate ruler. But how long can she keep the crown if everyone wants her dead? Perfect for fans of Furyborn, Red Queen, and Everless.

Everyone expected the king’s daughter would inherit the throne. No one expected me.

It shouldn’t even be possible. I’m Nameless, a class of citizens so disrespected, we don’t even get names. Heck, dozens of us have been going missing for months and no one seems to care.

But there’s no denying the tattoo emblazoned on my arm. I am queen. In a palace where the corridors are more dangerous the streets, though, how could I possibly rule? And what will become of the Nameless if I don’t?

Thank you to Crown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

The city of Seriden is ruled by whoever sits on the throne, and its society is divided into three classes: Royals, Legals, and Nameless. Coin, is Nameless, and like other Nameless, they have no names but give themselves their own names. But if she is truly Nameless, how did the crown tattoo, signifying the heir of the throne get passed down to her? How can a King name her if she has no name? Is she a real queen or an imposter and what does this mean for the Nameless in Seriden.

I liked Coin a lot. She is a thief and a grifter, using her stealth to steal and survive but that’s not only why I like her. She’s snarky and never lets things really get to her. Even being thrown in a dungeon or finding out the truth about her name never truly dampened her spirits. She knows how to hide her fears, treating this “gift” of the tattoo as a con and noting all the players in the game. I always had this feeling while reading the story that Coin would be able to get out of any jam or situation that she encounters. She tackles the problem head on.
Coin and her relationship with Esther, the heir apparent, was something I liked because Coin doesn’t have friends except Hat. So seeing Coin have another young woman helping her and eventually in her corner was nice to see. This story has a mostly female cast which was nice.
Interesting world building about the classes of people and how the Nameless are denied rights. I kept reading to try and figure out how Coin fit into the story and how she was going to be able to help the Nameless. It was interesting enough to hold my attention and want to learn more. Obviously the Royals and Legals make out better than the Nameless but I was left with some questions.
There wasn’t a romance in this story and it didn’t need one. Coin seemed engaged enough in making connections with other people that it was okay not to have a romance. Not going to lie, was I looking for one? Always. 😅 But this story was good without one.
The story explores themes in this book about family, who you are if you don’t have a family or a name given to you-the importance of a name and belonging.

Needs more world building because there is mention of neighboring kingdoms and treaties. I kept kind of waiting for some ambassador form the neighboring kingdom to show up or something, isn’t there always some ambassador at court? But relations between Seriden and the other kingdoms aren’t strong…but why?
Esther explains the history of magic in one chapter and I get magic was bound to the one who will rule Seriden but I think I wanted to know what kind of magic did people have. It sounded like a magical world until the kingdoms bound the magic into ink. Do the other kingdoms find their heirs the same way? With magic tattoos? So in Seriden only the crown tattoo bearer can use magic. Also, the Nameless aren’t affected by magic…so Coin is raised Nameless but clearly is not, since she’s Queen now, so she did have a name – it’s a little bit confusing because apparently she’s not affected by magic. 🤷🏻‍♀️ And speaking of magic, I want to see this Seriden with magic unleashed!
The ending leaves it open to a sequel so we shall see what happens there.

If there is a sequel I hope it explains and expand on some things in the book that left me with questions. I really enjoyed Coin and her perseverance. She took what life handed her and rolled with it. Also it’s rare to find a young adult fantasy without a romance, and here we have one that is a pretty good story without one. Overall this is a promising debut!

BLOG TOUR } Husband Material by. Emily Belden

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Husband Material

Author: Emily Belden

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: December 30, 2019

Categories: Grief, Dating, Romance, Women’s Fiction

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

A young widow must face the grief she’s always set aside when an unexpected delivery throws her life into disarray

Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte Rosen has a secret: she’s a widow. Ever since the fateful day that leveled her world, Charlotte has worked hard to move forward. Great job at a hot social media analytics company? Check. Roommate with no knowledge of her past? Check. Adorable dog? Check. All the while, she’s faithfully data-crunched her way through life, calculating the probability of risk—so she can avoid it.

Yet Charlotte’s algorithms could never have predicted that her late husband’s ashes would land squarely on her doorstep five years later. Stunned but determined, Charlotte sets out to find meaning in this sudden twist of fate, even if that includes facing her perfectly coiffed, and perfectly difficult, ex-mother-in-law—and her husband’s best friend, who seems to become a fixture at her side whether she likes it or not.

But when her quest reveals a shocking secret, Charlotte is forced to answer questions she never knew to ask and to consider the possibility of forgiveness. And when a chance at a new life arises, she’ll have to decide once and for all whether to follow the numbers or trust her heart.

Thank you to Graydon House and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

I will say off the bat that if you are looking for a light-hearted rom-com story, this is not it. The cover of this book is misleading, you think it’s going to be cute and fun. Well…stop right there, because this story about a widow, Charlotte, is at times heavy with grief themes. Oh she comes off as so put together, working in L.A. for a social media company and she’s smart too. She made a career being a coder and is developing her own dating app. Charlotte is driven, analytical and doesn’t come off as very nice but she’s hiding a secret. She’s a widow and barely anyone in Los Angeles knows this except her ex in-laws. So what happens when one day the urn of her late husband makes it to her apartment and the past comes back to haunt her? Will Charlotte stay in her controlled, put together life, or will she shatter?

The reason I love this book is purely personal. I felt like I was reading about my life. I was Charlotte but just shy of my 30th birthday when I lost my first husband. So the more I was reading this book, it kind of scared me…I had red flags in me waving “TRIGGER!” But you know what, the author wrote about Charlotte and her grief so well and respectfully. I saw in the Author’s note section in the back that she thanked a few women she interviewed about grief and losing their spouse. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 I love that she did research because I felt it-way deep inside me. For me this book was a like a friend who knew me.
Though Charlotte doesn’t come off likable, I understood her. And I liked her strong voice. Her trying to control things in her life, I got it! She’s developing a dating app but she’s only used herself to test the app. She takes all these elements of dating and put them into an algorithm so she can predict the outcome. It’s scary to want normalcy again knowing at any moment you can get a phone call and have to be making a serious decision, especially when you marry someone thinking it’s forever and finding the ugly truth that it’s not. But Charlotte has lots of dreams about the future and she has focus, sometimes obsessively so. Charlotte is strong, sometimes too strong but I get it. I get Charlotte.
I loved Charlotte’s roommate Casey who is so different from her with her artistic style, and tell it to your face attitude because Charlotte was spiraling and needed a reality check. Thank you Casey for stepping up and being unique and snarky. ☺️
This is a mild romance story, the romance isn’t a focus, it’s about Charlotte and the past haunting her. She needs to come to terms with some secrets that are revealed to move forward again and I will say there is a happy ending and I was relieved for her and everyone involved. But this story is deeper than a romance novel so keep that in mind if you are looking for something that is all romance. This is not.
Speaking of romance, I liked her relationship with Brian, it felt non-threatening and easy going, from like a friendship than anything else. It’s a slow burn, for sure.
Grief therapy scene was really good. I never did go to one but I wish many times I did but I also wanted to be alone too…so…it’s a great scene and glad it was in the book.

This story is more of Charlotte’s self journey to letting go and moving on than a romance novel. Did I want more romance? Yes…totally because the title said Husband Material, I wish they would change the title to something else, it’s misleading.
Brian Jackson is her late husband’s best friend. Now…I’m not usually into that trope, but I know that happens, so I rolled with it.
Charlotte isn’t super likable. I liked her because I understood her but I can see how she’s not the most pleasant person, defense and coping mechanisms maybe? We don’t get to know how she used to be before she became a young widow.
Triggers: grief, losing a spouse, memories of the day of death — this book took me to a lot of closed places in my mind. But thank God I can say…I was okay, it’s why I kept reading.

Was I expecting more romance in this? YES. Obviously there was an attraction to Brian and I wanted more of that but it’s a slow burn because Charlotte has a lot going on in her head. I was misled by the cutesy cover and the title of the book. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Overall the writing was great, I got a sense for Charlotte right away and her journey was emotional. This is more of a heartfelt and heart-breaking story through a widow’s grief than just a regular rom-com.

Author Bio:

EMILY BELDEN is a journalist, social media marketer, and storyteller. She is the author of the novel Hot Mess and Eightysixed: A Memoir about Unforgettable Men, Mistakes, and Meals. She lives in Chicago. Visit her website at www.emilybelden.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @emilybelden.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Husband-Material-Emily-Belden/dp/1525805983

ARC Review | Tweet Cute

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Tweet Cute

Author: Emma Lord

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Categories: Rom-Com, 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.**

A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected.

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

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

Pepper is the over achieving good girl from Nashville and her family owns Big League Burgers, a franchise that is basically found all over the world. Jack is the class clown, born and raised New Yorker, who’s family owns a deli. And the two companies are in a war…a twitter war.

And who is coming up with these tweets in this twitter war? The teens, Pepper and Jack who are both attending the same private school and trying to get into Ivy League colleges. They have lives filled with school activities, and so much homework, but they help the family business by attacking one another on social media! And it’s overtaking their lives.

But with this twitter war, Pepper and Jack, actually get to know each other, they actually become friends and maybe even something more.

Pepper and Jack are two teens in NYC just trying to survive high school and get into ivy league colleges while both trying to help with their family businesses. Pepper is over-achieving, and Jack is the opposite which makes this an opposites attract story. Jack helps Pepper lighten up and I think Pepper grounds Jack. Their characters are fleshed and we see them deal with expectations from their families. Pepper is dealing with a broken family, Jack is dealing with feeling inadequate and in competition with his twin brother – they have a lot of common but they don’t know that until secrets are revealed. Pepper is also top of her class and a swimmer. Jack is a diver but the class clown.
There was a lot going on in this story but it worked. I was never overwhelmed with the drama of school and family life in Pepper and Jack’s life. I was invested in Pepper’s story and was hoping she’d stand up to her mother. As for Jack, I felt for him and wish he didn’t feel like he was disappointing his family because they did seem like cool parents. This story gives us family drama, teenage drama, lots of food and a little romance too!
The romance is an opposites-attract, slow burn, which was nice, you could see the growing attraction between Pepper and Jack during their twitter war. When they finally do make a move it’s so sweet an awkward but totally how I’d have imagine their first kiss because of who they are.
Pepper’s talent for baking made me hungry for all the desserts she baked in the story. I LOVED all the dessert names she and sister came up with. It felt so much more genuine than Big League Burger and their food empire. Honestly when the book ended, I wished for a sequel about Pepper and her sister Paige opening up their own bakery, because that would make a fun story! Maybe a sequel but this time about Paige? 🤔 I’d read it for sure!

Pepper’s mom was a little much. She really expected her daughter to put time and effort helping the social media side of their family business AND keep up her grades and be the best daughter ever? Like give Pepper a break! Her mom also had a secret and one that was a surprise. I wondered how it would be resolved in the end, and like I said it’s happily ever after but it makes me wonder how her mom got over that hurdle of forgiveness because that twitter war got pretty petty quick. The way Pepper’s mom is…well she doesn’t seem like someone who would let that go. She was not my favorite character.

I really enjoyed Tweet Cute. The romance is slow building and super cute. By the end of the story I was cheering Pepper and Jack on! It’s also a story about family, loving them (with all their flaws) and trying so hard not to disappoint them. Pepper and Jack are juggling so much and I was impressed at how they pretty much kept it together, with a breakdown here and there. It’s a feel good story that made me laugh and filled my heart with happiness at the end. This is great debut from Emma Lord and I look forward to reading more from this author.

ARC Review | The Wickerlight

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Wickerlight (The Wren Hunt, #2)

Author: Mary Watson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: November 26, 2019

Categories: Dark Urban Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Druids

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

It’s been two months since Zara’s sister Laila was found lifeless on the village green of the small Irish town Kilshamble, not a mark on her. Vicious rumors circle that she died of an overdose or committed suicide–but an autopsy finds no evidence.

Zara believes somebody must know what happened, and she throws herself headfirst into an investigation. But retracing her sister’s footsteps takes her to David, a member of an ancient magical faction called the judges. The judges are in the midst of an ancient feud with another faction called the augurs, and Zara quickly finds herself embroiled in a dangerous, twisted game. And if she isn’t careful on the path she’s treading, she could end up with the same fate as Laila.

Thank you to Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

FYI: I did not read The Wren Hunt and I should have. Luckily, The Wickerlight is so good as a standalone I didn’t get totally lost. I wasn’t sure what to expect and when I first started the book, I admit I put it down for a few weeks because I had to let it permeate in my head. I picked it up again recently and I finished it in one night. That was totally unexpected.

In The Wickerlight, we get to know this Irish town of Kilshamble, and wow, it is dark, mystery, mystical and magical but not in a happy glittery way. This story is told in dual POV. We meet Zara who’s sister Laila is dead and Zara wants to know how and why. Then there is David, who is a judge (no not the kind with a gavel), he is part of this magical world where augurs and judges are enemies, and there is a silent war between them. I missed a big chunk of David’s background by not reading The Wren Hunt, so read that first. Zara doesn’t know what she’s stumbled into when she digs for clues about Laila’s death, but soon it’s too late to turn back. Zara is learning that maybe Laila was right about magic.

I loved learning about the druids and Irish folklore in this story. We learn about the Augurs and Judges who basically hate each other – they have a complicated history.
This story is set in a modern world but the magic is so subtle that it fits so well, I love how it came together seamlessly. We are Zara, learning about the secrets of this town. Most of the magic is not as powerful as it was long ago but it works in the modern day world of this story. It’s nature, earth magic. Also the folklore stories about monsters in the forest – gives us a creepy background for this setting. 😳 I enjoyed the dark, eerie tone in this story!
The mystery of Laila’s death really kept me in this story. We stumble into this strange magical world that exists in Kilshamble. I love how Zara peels a layer slowly to find out something else about Laila. Laila’s words at the beginning of each chapter adds to the mystery as well! I wanted to find out what happened to Laila for Zara and her family’s sake. Their grief is palatable and this family has crumbled, it wasn’t tight to begin with but Laila’s death has basically broken their family apart. I felt for Zara and her mother. 🥺
Zara and Laila’s stories of the Horribles. I freaking loved it because it was their thing together and the stories made it perfectly okay to not be good and perfect all the time as long as you are not cruel, mean or hurtful. The Horribles were their shadow family and a coping mechanism I think because of their family situation.
David and Zara. David sounds like he was a jerk in The Wren Hunt and in The Wickerlight his character is fleshed out. He’s not a saint, his life is about pain, and feeling pressure from his dad. As for Zara she feels out of place in this new town, her family life wasn’t perfect to begin with and she carries guilt from Laila’s death. Her choice in the end was unexpected! And I really like their slow burn romance.

Obviously if you didn’t read The Wren Hunt like me…I was a little lost in the beginning and thank goodness for the glossary in the back of the book. I had to learn about the Augurs and Judges and once I did get settled in, it was smooth sailing from there.
There is a scene where David gets tortured – so trigger warnings: cutting. It’s not a trigger for me but even I got squeamish at the visuals of the scene. But this book IS dark, the judges do not mess around when it comes to discipline. 👀 The augurs have their own form of torture, but it didn’t involve cutting, just mind bending/mind control.
The business about hoarding words to make a law (like a spell) at times confused me, especially when it is introduced into the story. I think the idea is so poetic and the story is so lyrical that it went over my head at first. But then the practice grew on me, the way words are precious and how different words call to a person. I especially loved when David was hoarding words, haha, I mean that boy felt it!

The Wickerlight is an intriguing, lyrical, deliciously, darkly magical, unique story. It starts with grief and pulls you into the mystery of a death and this world of old magic. Definitely read The Wren Hunt first and then come lose yourself in The Wickerlight like I did.

ARC Review | The Guinevere Deception

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising, #1)

Author: Kiersten White

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: November 5, 2019

Categories: Fantasy, Camelot, Young Adult, Arthurian Legend

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

There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution–send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name–and her true identity–is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old–including Arthur’s own family–demand things continue as they have been, and the new–those drawn by the dream of Camelot–fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur’s knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

I’ve been around long enough to read a fair share of King Arthur and Camelot legends. I remember devouring The Once & Future King by. T.H. White and The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley back in high school! I was obsessed. But it has been awhile since I’ve been interested in the legends and when I heard of The Guinevere Deception, I was intrigued!

This story is told through Guinevere’s perspective and what a view it is! We revisit Camelot through Guinevere’s eyes but deception is everywhere in this book. All is not what they seem at Camelot and magic is forbidden at Camelot, so what does that mean for Guinevere who was sent there for her ability to do magic? Arthur is under threat and she must protect him this time but is she able to or will all her efforts become unraveled?

The familiar characters from the Arthurian legends is nostalgic. It’s hard to resist a story about this boy who pulled a sword out of stone and is now a man and a most beloved, golden king. We have the knights and the villains, the legends have been retold so many times, it was nice to enter the world of Camelot again.
The story of Camelot is really magical with Merlin the wizard, the knights of the round table and Guinevere. I loved the world building of Camelot in this story, it reminded me of why I fell in love with the legends in the first place.
Kiersten White is a talented author and I’ve read a few of her books and love them. Once again, her writing shines and sucks you into the story.
The backstory on the characters is important especially for someone new to the King Arthur legends and I thought it was done well. It helped jar my memory about certain characters I had forgotten.
Love the twists about Guinevere, Lancelot, and even Mordred! I like how this book is reimagined for our current times. The author added LGBT relationships, and tweaked a few things about the story but I really enjoyed the changes.
The book cover is amazing. 😍 I can only imagine what it looks like in real life!

I loved the beginning of the book because we meet Guinevere. But about 15%-20% into the book I felt like I was just waiting for something more to happen. I understand though that the backstories of some characters are important, but after Guinevere gets to Camelot it felt like the story slowed down.
I struggled in the middle of the story because here is Guinevere who is sent to protect Arthur…but her magic seems so minimal. It seems like nothing much happens for a good half of the story, just world building, but the second half has much more action.
I hope we get more character depth in the sequel because outside of Guinevere they were kind of bland. Sometimes even Guinevere was a bit blah…I’d like to see if Merlin comes back into the equation and maybe see Arthur being tested (like he was in other legends) and even Guinevere, the ending shows us there is much to learn about her!

Overall, I enjoyed The Guinevere Deception, but the second half is much more engaging than the first half. It gives a some backstory for newcomers to the Arthurian legends and I enjoyed the changes and twists in the story. It’s a solid debut for this series and I look forward to reading the sequel!

ARC Review | Unnatural Magic

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Unnatural Magic

Author: C.M. Waggoner

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: November 5, 2019

Categories: Fantasy, Mystery, Adult Fiction, Romance

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

Onna can write the parameters of a spell faster than any of the young men in her village school. But despite her incredible abilities, she’s denied a place at the nation’s premier arcane academy. Undaunted, she sails to the bustling city-state of Hexos, hoping to find a place at a university where they don’t think there’s anything untoward about providing a woman with a magical education. But as soon as Onna arrives, she’s drawn into the mysterious murder of four trolls.

Tsira is a troll who never quite fit into her clan, despite being the leader’s daughter. She decides to strike out on her own and look for work in a human city, but on her way she stumbles upon the body of a half-dead human soldier in the snow. As she slowly nurses him back to health, an unlikely bond forms between them, one that is tested when an unknown mage makes an attempt on Tsira’s life. Soon, unbeknownst to each other, Onna and Tsira both begin devoting their considerable talents to finding out who is targeting trolls, before their homeland is torn apart…

Thank you to ACE and Netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read this eARC.

My reason for requesting this on NetGalley was first and foremost the cover. I love it and then the synopsis mentioned magic and trolls? Well it definitely piqued my curiosity!

But when I started this book I thought maybe I had made a mistake and I wasn’t sure I would be interested in even finishing this book. I thought okay, a girl who is trying to get into a school with mostly boys…nothing new there. I put it aside for a few weeks and finally came back to it and wow, I did not stop! Though this story starts off with a teenage girl named Onna – this is not a young adult novel. It has cursing and lots of sexual themes exploring a romance between a troll and a human male. Yes there is troll sex. 😲

There are two main characters in this story. Onna, is a seventeen year old genius wizard and it’s rare for a girl to exhibit these traits. She is trying to get into a school to further her studies but her gender works against her, no matter how smart she is. Tsira is a troll, who is half human, but in her troll community she is too small, and not considered good looking among her people. She leaves her clan to make her own living, earning her own money but Tsira is also conflicted with her cultural rules about begetting a clan.

Though their paths and lives are different there is one thing Onna and Tsira have in common, they are trying to figure out who is the serial killer on the loose targeting trolls.

The world building in Unnatural Magic is so unique! I love how smart Onna is even though at times I didn’t understand parameter spells – it’s basically complicated math, enough said on that. She’s smart! She thinks out of the box and Onna doesn’t give up, which I love about her.

The most fascinating part of the story has to be about the trolls. It was so interesting to learn about their customer and way of life. Females (and some with male parts) ruled the clans! Tsira’s vahn (which I didn’t totally understand right away), vahn being her “wife” but a male wife – in her case, a human male, was totally the submissive one in the relationship. Tsira and Jeckran’s romance is different and unconventional – Tsira is very masculine, and 10 feet tall! So just trying to imagine how they managed to do the deed was…interesting! 🤔 But hey they managed it! Anyway there is a lot to learn about troll life. I was learning along with Jeckran (Tsira’s vahn). In this world for the most part trolls and humans lived together side by side peacefully until the murders occur. Then we start to see how some humans resent trolls and their magic.

There are other colorful characters in this story, one of my favorites being the Lord Mage, Loga, of Hexos. Onna becomes his apprentice and he is quite humorous and flamboyant, I enjoyed his fun personality!

As for the mystery of the troll murderer, I did have my suspicions and I was right. Onna, Loga, Tsira and Jeckran made a great team together hunting down the killer. This book really had a bit of everything and it pushed my imagination in ways I didn’t expect! It has a happily ever after ending as well but also leaves me wondering what will happen to these characters? Will Tsira and Jeckran be okay? The author did a great job of making me care for these characters. 💕

This is a fantastic debut and I hope to read more from this author! Unnatural Magic is an unforgettable fantasy story full of complicated magic, humor, adventure, mystery and romance.

ARC Review | The Weight of a Soul

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Weight of a Soul

Author: Elizabeth Tammi

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: December 3, 2019

Categories: Norse Mythology, Family, Fantasy, Young Adult

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

When Lena’s younger sister Fressa is found dead, their whole Viking clan mourns—but it is Lena alone who never recovers. Fressa is the sister that should’ve lived, and Lena cannot rest until she knows exactly what killed Fressa and why—and how to bring her back. She strikes a dark deal with Hela, the Norse goddess of death, and begins a new double life to save her sister.

But as Lena gets closer to bringing Fressa back, she dredges up dangerous discoveries about her own family, and finds herself in the middle of a devastating plan to spur Ragnarök –a deadly chain of events leading to total world destruction.

Still, with her sister’s life in the balance, Lena is willing to risk it all. She’s willing to kill. How far will she go before the darkness consumes her?

Thank you to Flux and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

This was an interesting read and what kept me reading was watching Lena deal with the grief of losing her sister. But as the story went on and Lena makes a deal with the goddess of death to bring her sister back, I thought Lena was at some points, truly losing it.

Making that deal made her do some heinous things and all because she wanted her sister back. Talk about sisterly devotion.

The Norse mythology with the involvement of gods and goddesses in Lena’s life was something I enjoyed. It definitely made Lena make some interesting choices.
Lena’s love for her sister is admirable and tragic. Everything was motivated by Fressa’s death, or so we think.
The portrayal of grief and how it can make someone spiral into depression and despair was well written. I could totally relate to all of that.
I like the expression of a “weight of a soul” and how it is explained. That was quite fascinating.
I love the cover and the gray palette!

Poor Amal (Lena’s friend), I felt like all he was doing was crying in this book. But his life is so messed up by Fressa’s death and then Lena’s actions. He couldn’t catch a break. But I felt like he could have stepped into the role of future leader of the clan much better. But all we see is someone falling apart as much as Lena is (understandably) – and here I am now not cutting him some slack! Sorry Amal! 😂
I felt like most of the book was just going through Lena’s grief and not much else. It was a bit slow for me in certain parts and some chapters were really short, I don’t know if that was on purpose or an error.
With all the Norse mythology represented, I felt like it was lacking something – not enough mysticism? It was dark for sure but I think I wanted it to delve more into Lena’s darkness. Is it bad that I want this dark book, to get darker? 😅

I mostly liked the book but was left feeling the story was just okay. But the writing is good, I think it’s just I’ve read a few Viking inspired stories the past few months and they were much grittier, harsh , brutal, and you get my drift. So I felt like this book could have gone deeper, especially with Lena’s character. But that’s just my personal preference though!

I think most people who like Viking-inspired and Norse mythology stories will actually enjoy this one.

ARC Review | A Thousand Fires

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Thousand Fires

Author: Shannon Price

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: November 5, 2019

Categories: Self Harm, Mental Health, Gangs, Suspense, Young Adult

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

An extraordinary debut set in an alternate San Francisco and inspired by The Iliad…

Valerie Simons knows the Wars are dangerous—her own brother was killed by the Boars two years ago. But nothing will sway her from joining the elite and beautiful Herons to avenge his death—a death she feels responsible for.

But when Valerie is recruited by the mysterious Stags, their charismatic and volatile leader Jax promises to help her get revenge. Torn between old love and new loyalty, Valerie fights to stay alive as she races across the streets of San Francisco to finish the mission that got her into the gangs.

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

The blurb for this book sounded so intriguing, I mean, it is inspired by The Iliad and The Outsiders. Because of that description I expected this book to be intense and epic. Yes, there were some intense parts and but also lots of parts where they are just chillin’ and waiting around.

The story is set in present day San Francisco, and there is something called the Wars happening in this city. There are three gangs who fight in the Wars. The Boars, Herons and Stags. The Herons are the rich kids, the Boars are everyone else and the Stags are like the middle-man who tries to turn the tide of the war.

Valerie Simons is a girl on a mission and to complete that mission she desperately hopes the Herons recruit her. Also if she is a Heron, she and her ex-boyfriend, Matthew (Heron royalty) can do their one year, in the Wars together. Now not everyone gets recruited to be in any of these gangs, I’m not even sure what the criteria is to be a Heron. 🤔

So how does this whole story play out? The gangs have lots of beef with one another because of events in the past. It grew from there and became something bigger, The Stags want to help make the world a better place by taking down the bigger corporations that are run by The Herons.

Valerie is an interesting character, I was pleasantly surprised to learn she’s half Filipino and I recognized some Tagalog words. She comes from a nice family, dad has a good job, she and her mom are tight, but she did lose a little brother and she’s riddled by guilt about it. Losing her brother sets her on a path of revenge. Also, Valerie is a cutter. Depression is definitely a theme in this story, it is present in various characters.

As for the romance in this story – clearly Matthew, her ex and a Heron, is the perfect guy. Whereas the Stag she’s attracted to, Jax, is so hot and cold. I can’t say their relationships interested me in this story, Valerie was going back and forth a lot, confused about her feelings. I didn’t like either of the boys. 🤷🏻‍♀️

There is a diverse cast of characters in this story which is nice. My favorite character was Micah because we actually learn a lot about him and his history, unlike Jax who remains mysterious. I felt like there was a lot of vague spots in this book. For awhile I kept wondering, what is the deal with these “Wars”? It didn’t seem important at times. Was anyone else confused by it? Or was that just me?

Overall, I felt the story was choppy. There were lulls and then action and though I enjoyed the diversity of the cast and Valerie being half-filipino, the story just fell short of what I was expecting from the blurb. I’d say the ending had most of the action so at least it finished off with a bang, but sadly I wish I liked this more than I did.

ARC Review | The Bear

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Bear

Author: Andrew Krivak

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 224

Publication Date: February 11, 2020

Categories: Dystopian, Literary Fiction, Fable

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

In an Eden-like future, a girl and her father live close to the land in the shadow of a lone mountain. They own a few remnants of civilization: some books, a pane of glass, a set of flint and steel, a comb. The father teaches his daughter how to fish and hunt and the secrets of the seasons and the stars. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last of humankind. But when the girl finds herself alone in an unknown landscape, it is a bear that will lead her back home through a vast wilderness that offers the greatest lessons of all, if she can learn to listen. A cautionary tale of human fragility, of love and loss, The Bear is a stunning tribute to the beauty of nature’s dominion.

Thank you to Bellevue Literary Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

I chose this book to read because it was out of my comfort zone and as I started reading I was like, wow, YES, this is definitely out of my comfort zone. I read romance and ya books, mostly fantasy these days but I like my contemporary stuff too. This story is written like a fable and I put it down so many times I didn’t realize I’ve had it on my NetGalley for more than three months now! Well it was time to finish it.

The writing is poetic and told like a fable but it is sparse and this book only clocks in at 224 pages! It took me three months to finish what I could usually finish in three hours. It was so hard for me to get into the story, I was so bored. There is no plot. There is no punctuation when the characters speak. The characters have no names, on purpose though, but still, it bugged me.

The father and daughter live in a post-apocalyptic world, surviving by living off the land, hunting for their food, preparing it and so forth, same for the next day. The father teaches her lessons, year after year of her life he gifts her something that will help her survive this life. It is a tale of survival, enduring and loss. But because I couldn’t quite get into reading the book, a lot of the message went over my head.

It was definitely different and I did get the message of the book. It’s a story that makes you think, at least to question what the book was trying to say. It wasn’t for me but I think if you like books that read like a fable and don’t get hung up on things like punctuation, you would enjoy this.

ARC Review | The Good Luck Girls

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Good Luck Girls

Author: Charlotte Nicole Davis

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: October 1, 2019

Categories: Dystopian, Fantasy, Western, Young Adult, Human Trafficking, Addiction

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

Aster, the protector
Violet, the favorite
Tansy, the medic
Mallow, the fighter
Clementine, the catalyst

THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS

The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls–they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped in a life they would never have chosen.

When Clementine accidentally murders a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge in a country that wants them to have none of those things. Pursued by Arketta’s most vicious and powerful forces, both human and inhuman, their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one Good Luck Girl to another, a story that only the youngest or most desperate would ever believe.

It’s going to take more than luck for them all to survive.

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

In this dystopian/fantasy western world of Arketta, we have a group of females who are living in a “welcome house”, basically it’s a brothel. They are raised to be sex slaves in The Scab, a mining town in what seems like the worst part of Arketta. But when Clementine, one of the girls, accidentally kills her brag (customer), she, her sister and friends make a run for it. This story then follows these girls on the run from the law, supernatural monster called vengeants, raveners who mess with their minds and other powerful men. What a wild ride this story took me on!

I was so impressed with the world building. I’m not a big fan of westerns so I went into this book just mildly interested. But as I kept reading, I realized this world kept drawing me in deeper. Families in The Scab sell their girls for shine (money) and girls then sell their bodies. ☹️ It’s a tough world for women in Arketta and for the other dustbloods. Dustbloods, are a group of people who had their shadows torn from them because of a debt to be paid. Their children are born with no shadows, and these people are oppressed in a land where landmasters rule. Subject matter wise, it’s a tough one. I got angry about the welcome houses and how the girls are drugged to do their “job”. I was angry at the men and raveners. 😠

But landmasters and raveners are not the only evils out there. Arketta is teeming with vengeants, supernatural like monsters that prowl in the dark. We follow Aster, Clementine, Tansy, Mallow and Violet (yes all named after flowers), as they escape the welcome house. They travel to different towns on horses, navigating dirt trails, camping out at abandoned mines and even catching a ride on a train. Along the way they come across many dangers, meet new people, they plan heists and robberies to survive! All they want is real freedom! 😔 The cast of characters is diverse with people of color and with LGBT+ representation.

I loved Aster, who is the main character and takes a roll as leader of this runaway crew. She’s never been a leader and she makes mistakes along the way but she admits her wrongdoings and tries to fix things. I love how her character leaps off the page. And another thing I enjoyed was finding out the original names of the girls as their journey continues. It was empowering to see them shed their personas from the welcome house and reclaim the names they were born with!

This story is a strong debut from author Charlotte Nicole Davis. It is engaging, exciting and empowering. I look forward to the sequel!