spin off – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Thorn Kissed and Silver Chains (#1)

Author: Shannon Mayer and Kelly St. Clare

Format: ebook (KU)

Pages: 271

Publication Date: 11/28/22

Categories: Romance, Fantasy, Series, Faerie, Reverse Harem

A continuation in the world of Honey and Ice . . .with new characters, new loves, new enemies . . .

Underhill is my ruthless mother. Her realm is my deadly home. The brutal creatures here are both foe and friend.

But the group of fae that just attacked me? They’re all foe. Dragged from my game of hide-and-seek with a dragon, and my home of twenty-one years, I’m thrust into a weak, ugly realm.

Earth.

Something is taking the fae children of the Irish court, and an Oracle has declared I must find them. Nope. Not my problem. Bye. Except a three-year-old girl they suspect is the next Queen of All Fae was taken too. She’s crucial to the success of my mother’s work and the wellbeing of all, including these simpering fae who’ve forgotten who they are.

Now they have my attention.

The child-snatching darkness flickers in and out of sight, spreading in secret, reaching through cracks and fissures to seize and steal the innocent. Yet I earned each breath in my life by understanding that which seeks to kill me. I will learn the ways of this enemy and find its lair, ideally without the Seelie and Unseelie males who only slow me—even if they’re not quite as stupid as most Earth-dwelling fae.

All I’m sure of is that Underhill is testing me. My mother is testing me in her typical, brutal fashion. And I will not fail.

Well, I wasn’t planning on reading this spin-off but I was bored and wanted to make use of my Kindle Unlimited subscription so why not! Plus I did enjoy Honey and Ice series a lot. So here is what I thought:

+ Our main character is nameless until one of her potential love interests names her Silver. She is feral and her mother is Underhill. If you read the Honey and Ice series you would know who/what Underhill is. Anyway, Silver is not anyone to mess with, she is powerful, strong, brave and reckless but it’s fun to see her kicking butt.

+~ There is a reverse harem situation or menage a trois thing going on with Silver, Aaden who is a Seelie Fae and Cormac, who is an Unseelie Fae. Honestly didn’t know this going into the story, because I was definitely rooting for bad boy Cormac but it seems like for now she’s vibing with both guys. Thing is, I’m not the biggest fan of reverse harem but at least there isn’t five guys for her to choose from, two I can deal with. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending of this book yet – but it’s definitely not what I expected.

+ This is a very quick read at under 300 pages long. It’s definitely pure escapism especially if you love the world of Faerie. By the way I loved her bat companion Orry, she’s funny, she’s my favorite character I think.

~ I really need to know what the deal is with the thorns. There are so many questions and no answers yet.

~ Silver is feral and speaks that way. She doesn’t speak in long sentences until later in the book when she all of a sudden does? I kind of felt like that was distracting because then she reverted back to simple speech. That threw me off.

~ If this is a reverse harem/menage give us some steam. This one definitely is only a teaser of things to come. But there was always something stopping these three. Aaden is okay – he doesn’t intrigue me much. Cormac, definitely is the one I wanted her to end up with but I guess the theme of this book is “balance”…so we will see what will happen with this threesome.

Tropes: feral girl, reverse harem

Why you should read it:

you liked the Honey and Ice series
there is a reverse harem romance brewing with a feral girl, alpha male and a sweet male

Why you might not want to read it:

not into any mentioned above

My Thoughts:

I found the start of this series quite entertaining but I’m not sure how I feel about the romance aspect of it yet. I like Silver and her being feral, but it would be nice if she stayed in character especially with her speech. Orry was my favorite part of this book for sure. I’ll definitely give book two a try and see what happens after the cliffhanger ending we got in this book.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A Court of Honey and Ash by. Shannon Mayer and Kelly St. Clare | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A Throne of Feathers and Bone by. Shannon Mayer & Kelly St. Clare | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Crown of Petals and Ice by. Shannon Mayer, Kelly St. Clare | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Last Legacy

Author: Adrienne Young

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 322

Publication Date: 9/6/21

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Fantasy, Spin Off/Standalone, Romance, Family

When a letter from her uncle Henrik arrives on Bryn Roth’s eighteenth birthday, summoning her back to Bastian, Bryn is eager to prove herself and finally take her place in her long-lost family.

Henrik has plans for Bryn, but she must win everyone’s trust if she wants to hold any power in the delicate architecture of the family. It doesn’t take long for her to see that the Roths are entangled in shadows. Despite their growing influence in upscale Bastian, their hands are still in the kind of dirty business that got Bryn’s parents killed years ago. With a forbidden romance to contend with and dangerous work ahead, the cost of being accepted into the Roths may be more than Bryn can pay.

New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with The Last Legacy, a captivating standalone about family and blood ties, reinventing yourself, and controlling your own destiny.

Content Warning: violence, abuse

This book is set in the world of the Fable series – which I loved and honestly I feel like this could have been a new duology or trilogy but it is a standalone. Not gonna lie – I love this world of merchants, pirates, traders – it’s so intense and gritty. Let’s take a look at what I thought of the book:

+ I love that this is set in the same world as the last series, Fable. It has the same intensity – the feeling that everyone is playing a dangerous game and it’s not clear who to trust. Since this is a standalone spin-off I felt like it was more high stakes because the story was going to have an ending.

+ Bryn Roth – she’s on the outside looking in and she wants to belong. She’s been waiting all her life to be worthy of the Roth name, but when she finally gets her chance it isn’t as easy as it seems. And she has to make a hard choice at the end…

+ Ezra and Bryn are electric. It’s an attraction that becomes a forbidden love scenario. I wish we had more time for their relationship to grow but it’s a standalone. I just wanted more of them together on the page.

~ I really liked how Bryn is so determined to belong and become a Roth but she isn’t going to take the way how the kids are treated and trained in this family. Her uncle is their leader, and he rules the family with an iron first – and yet the family bond is strong but all around its toxic. Bryn knows she can’t change it though she tries but I’m glad she stands up for herself and others.

Tropes: forbidden love

Spice Level: 🌶

Why you should read it:

You liked the Fable series – this is set in the same world but instead of pirates we learn more about the merchants, trades and guilds.
it’s intense, a quick read with a strong female lead

Why you might not want to read it:

it’s a standalone and I wish there was maybe one more book so that we get more of Bryn and Ezra.

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but I loved the Fable duology so much that it felt great being back in this world with a new family and new characters to root for. Definitely read it if you are a fan of this author’s works. I look forward to reading more from her!