Tag: Fantasy (Page 38 of 121)

BOOK REVIEW: Evermore (Everless #2) by Sara Holland

December 30, 2018 / Cassie / 1 Comment

Evermore (Everless #2)
by Sara Holland
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Jules Ember was raised hearing legends of the ancient magic of the wicked Alchemist and the good Sorceress. But she has just learned the truth: not only are the stories true, but she herself is the Alchemist, and Caro—a woman who single-handedly murdered the Queen and Jules’s first love, Roan, in cold blood—is the Sorceress.

The whole kingdom believes that Jules is responsible for the murders, and a hefty bounty has been placed on her head. And Caro is intent on destroying Jules, who stole her heart twelve lifetimes ago. Jules must delve into the stories that she now recognizes are accounts of her own past. For it is only by piecing together the mysteries of her lives that Jules will be able to save the person who has captured her own heart in this one.

Thank you Edelweiss, Sara Holland and HarperTeen for my ARC! Evermore will be available on December 31, 2018.

When I was a child, Papa told me my dreams could never hurt me – but he lied. Two weeks ago, the girl tore out of my nightmares and stepped into the world.

Evermore was an excellent bookend to its companion, Everless. I remember flying through Everless, but not 100% loving it. I definitely didn’t have the same feeling this time around, as I absolutely loved this book!

Evermore picks up right after the events of Everless. If you thought life was get any easier and less tragic for Jules, think again. This poor girl keeps losing those she loves to Caro’s (the Sorcerer) desire for revenge on Jules (the Alchemist), which has spanned many lifetimes.

However, Jules is not alone. Liam (who is so definitely not evil) is right by her side, as well as two excellent new excellent characters, Elias and Stef.

Elias’s teeth flash again in that smile. “Don’t you know, Jules? Everything worth doing is dangerous.”

Throughout the book, Jules struggles to what it means to be the Alchemist, and rightfully so. For so many years of her, albeit, short life, she has only known her father and friends and her life as Jules Ember. And then to find out she is so much more, that she is the latest reincarnation of the Alchemist and has flashbacks of her past life, is something she deals with almost the whole book. While I did feel some of the flashbacks slowed down the pacing of the book, it did provide context for the past relationship between Jules and Caro.

If the Alchemist stays sunken in me forever, revealing herself in shards of broken memories, never whole – who am I then? Not Jules Ember. Not anyone.

But as much as I loved the friendships and other relationships, I really loved Jules’ growing love towards Liam. I’ll be honest, I didn’t feel strongly toward him in Everless. But my mind was completely changed in this book. He was sweet and strong and stubborn and smart and a little rash sometimes. But at the end of the day, he cared for Jules and wanted her to succeed and be her own person. I loved Holland making him a big book nerd and getting very excited about research and history. It was a small touch but went a long way in making him his own character.

In this moment, I’m not the Alchemist. I’m only Jules, alone and frightened and hoping and wanting, and Liam Gerling is reaching out to me, a hand across the dark.

I honestly wish this wasn’t a duology. I know there’s a lot of three and four book series, and not so many duologies, but I wanted more time with Jules and Liam and Ina and Stef and Elias. Holland also set up some interesting world-building that there just wasn’t time to explore. But most importantly, I really grew to enjoy these characters and want to know what they will do next. And also more romance, because, again, I am so here for Liam Gerling.

“Nothing is unstoppable, not really,” I say quietly, slipping the dagger into my belt. “You only need to find something stronger.”

BOOK REVIEW: A Curse So Dark and Lonely (A Curse So Dark and Lonely #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

December 12, 2018 / Arielle / 6 Comments

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (A Curse So Dark and Lonely #1)
by Brigid Kemmerer
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

Review:

“I am always surprised to discover that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light.”

Okayyyyy, folks. I’m sitting here trying to figure out how exactly I should approach this review. On one hand, as you can see, I gave it four stars. Obviously that means that I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters, it was SUCH a great new take on a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and the writing sucked me in from page one. However….the ending?????? I just don’t even know where to begin on that so I’ll try to leave any ranting for the very end AFTER I talk about all of the lovely things in this book!

First of all, this is my very first book by Brigid Kemmerer and I can say with certainty that I will be picking up another one of her books in the near future. I realllllly liked her writing and as I said earlier, it sucked me immediately into the story.

The story: Let’s face it, the story of Beauty and the Best has been redone over and over and over again. In my mind, there are really only so many things you can do to change things up and turn it into a new thing that no one else has ever done before. That being said, I think that this story is a prime example of being that something “new.” Rhen is the prince of Emberfall and is cursed to live the fall season over and over again until he can find a woman to fall in love with him and break the curse. At the end of each season he turns into a horrible beast but instead of just sitting around, moping in the castle, he completely loses himself and a lot of people (usually his subjects) end up dying. His commander, Grey, is the only person he has left with him and is the one who crosses over into our world to find women for Rhen to basically court and try to woo each season. Our main protagonist, Harper, was not Grey’s target. No, she had been out on the street, waiting for her brother to return from doing a dangerous job for a loan shark when she sees this random guy seeming to drug and try to kidnap this woman. Naturally our spunky lead picks up a rusty tire iron and tries to stop that from happening. She is instead taken to Emberfall and the rest of the story ensues.

Characters: Aside from being madly in love with both Rhen and Grey, Harper was my favorite character. She has cerebral palsy which gives her a pretty bad limp but that literally never stops her from doing anything. There were actually a few instances of Rhen or someone else saying something about her “broken body” or how she was “crippled” and she was always the first to remind them that she wasn’t broken, she wasn’t damaged. I don’t personally know anyone with cerebral palsy and I know that there’s a pretty big spectrum of how it can affect your body so it was great getting to read about a main character who has it but didn’t let it slow her down. I hope she was a great representation for those out there that read this that also have the disorder.

Back tracking to the two wonderful men…sigh…they were great. You could tell that Rhen had come a long way from where he started during his first cursed season. He became more selfless, he started to care more about Grey, and obviously about Harper too. Her spitfire attitude also re-awakened in him a sense of duty for his kingdom which is great because I felt super bad for everyone outside of the castle who had spent the last five years feeling like their King and ruling family had abandoned them as they starved and were killed off by a rival kingdom and the monster……Anywayssss he was just very kind and sweet and watching him fall for Harper was a treat. Grey reminded me SO MUCH of Chaol which obviously made me love him right away. That’s really all I have to say about that lol.

Lilith…she was the worst and that’s all you need to know for now.

Ending: Well, here we are at the end. I decided that I can’t actually rant about anything because that would reveal spoilers and I can’t do that. Maybe I’ll post more on it after the book comes out…..just know that I was not satisfied with the ending. Like part of me ~kind of~ gets what Kemmerer was trying to do but then another part of me was just left SUPER confused. Like I just didn’t get why this certain main component of the book was so important if things ended like they did…I DON’T KNOW. It made me confused/ annoyed enough that I had to dock the book a star but that’s just me. That epilogue on the other hand had me very intrigued….haha yes apparently my thoughts on the end are very jumbled. Overall though, this is a really good book and I need a second book in my life, please and thanks.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review! ♥

BOOK REVIEW: Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) by Kendare Blake

December 4, 2018 / Arielle / 4 Comments

Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1)
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
When kingdom come, there will be one.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.

Review:

**DISCLAIMER** Do NOT read the novellas until you finish with this fist book. It will ruin a pretty major thing that you find out at the end of this book. I’m pissed I read it first, haha, but that’s on me.

Three dark queens
Are born in a glen,
Sweet little triplets
Will never be friends

Three dark sisters
All fair to be seen,
Two to devour
And one to be Queen

Ummmmm…..why had I been fooled into thinking that this series was only going to be “okay”?!?!? I always seem to get bitten on the ass when I go too deep into reviews on GR for a book or series that I discover that sounds good but doesn’t IMMEDIATELY catch my attention. So, ever so stupidly, I read reviews written by people that I ~usually~ share similar opinions with….that is, until they differ.

I remember seeing this book when it came out and thinking it sounded interesting but at that point I had been caught up in a Sarah J Maas/ Court of Mist and Fury haze. Unless I KNEW that I was going to love it, or it was by an author I already loved, I don’t think I was venturing out too much and reading new things. Then, of course, when that died down, I went to the reviews. So many people had so many problems with this book and said at the first quarter at least was super slow and boring??????????????????????????????? How???????????????????????

If you can’t tell I very much disagree.

The first quarter of this book isn’t action packed, no, but that’s because we have to learn about the three sisters that are eventually going to be fighting to the death to become queen.

–Mirabella, an elementalist, who has been considered the Chosen Queen since she was born because of her great powers

–Arsinoe, a naturalist, who has yet to develop any sort of power or find a familiar BUT has been dabbling is some shifty “low magic”

–Katherine, a poisoner, who also hasn’t shown much affinity for her gift and who has grown up weak, frail, and scarred due to the poisonings that have been administered to her since she was a child to hopefully build up her immunity

Like, you can’t just go into a series about three Queen sisters who eventually have to fight to the death if you don’t know about each one. I’ll admit my favorite right off the bat was Arsinoe. Mirabella is at first painted to be cold and aloof and while Katherine was sweet, I wasn’t a fan of her guardians the Arron’s at all. The world building is incredible and I am so freakin intrigued by Fennbirn and how it’s surrounded by mist—so basically off in its own little world and only lets people in that the island chooses to let in and doesn’t let people leave if it doesn’t want them to. Like….genius. I hope we get to find out more about the “continent” in later books because I really am just so interested in what it’s like, who all lives there, how it’s ruled, etc.

Aside from our three main characters there is a slew of other important and interesting characters. Jules and Camden! Joseph! BILLY ♥! (and others of course but those are by far my favorites. Each play a very important role to the Queens and that’s all I’ll say on the matter.

If you’re looking for love interests, you’re in luck. Every Queen has one, and there’s even sort of love triangle, but not one that you’d expect. It surprised me but I guess I wasn’t super mad about it? I don’t know, you’ll see what I mean.

Plot wise, after the introductions of all the Queens and their foster families and once the book inches closer to Beltane and their sixteenth birthday, things obviously pick up. It was really interesting that Mira seemed to have kept her memories of her sisters which isn’t supposed to happen. It created tension because the name of the game is to kill two sisters and become Queen. Even though Mira is the most powerful, she doesn’t want to kill her sisters. That ends up playing a pretty big role in events.

Things also get pretty dark, too. I mean there are poisonings, there are dismemberments, there is horrific scarring. Like Blake does not shy away from being descriptive with any of these things, either. I thought it really worked well overall. I have never been a fan of books that go too far down the path to the dark side but I thought that what she did with this book was the perfect amount and that it really added to the whole concept of an island being fueled by the blood and death of two if its three Queens.

I have so many questions about so many parts of how Fennbirn works and about certain characters and I cannot wait to keep reading and find out. HIGHLY recommend this series.

BOOK REVIEW: The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi

December 3, 2018 / Arielle / 2 Comments

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1)
by Roshani Chokshi
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Set in a darkly glamorous world, The Gilded Wolves is full of mystery, decadence, and dangerous but thrilling adventure.

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can't yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they'll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

Review:

Well I feel like I need to keep this short and to the point until it actually comes out (January 15th)! This was a good book. That being said, did I expect more? Kind of.

There were so many wants inside him that he doubted there was room for blood in his body.

At this point I honestly don’t know if I didn’t LOVE it because I started reading it a few months ago, put it down and read a ton of really great books in-between, and then just now finally finished it. I do think that this also might suffer from a case of “people said it was super similar to Six of Crows so my bar was set SUPER HIGH” or what. And I get that, it had a cast of misfit and super diverse characters that came together to pull of a heist which was awesome. BUT. I guess there was also a lot I didn’t get. Maybe it was because unlike Six of Crows which is set in a completely fictional world, this was set in France is 1889 and I kept forgetting that. There are instances of people being treated a certain way because of their race and talks of revolution and things of that nature that had me pausing for a second because I honestly have no idea what kind of a place France was during that time period. I do always feel bad too, when books are compared to a series that was hyped up so much and so loved by so many. I’m always nervous like, okay, is this book set up to fail because too many people are going to go into it expecting something exactly like the other series??!?! I really hope not!

“Tristan, my love,” said Laila with dangerous calm. “If you get it the way of a woman’s battle, you’ll get in the way of her sword.”

EITHER WAY, this book has solid bones. The characters, like I said, were really diverse and fun and had hilarious banter with one another. A lot of things really intrigued me about them (like their different powers and mysterious pasts) and I hope that we continue to get more back story on all of them, ESPECIALLY Laila..Also, the ending set the next book up in a way that I NEED IT YESTERDAY. I need more Severin and Laila (they are the definition of tortured romance, folks), I need to know more about last thing that was said about a certain someone being an heir……I just need to know a lot of things. So again, this wasn’t life-changing great like I thought it was going to be, but it was still really good and I will be 100% checking out book two. Chokshi’s writing is as amazingly rich and vibrant as it was in her previous books and I still think this will get a lot of buzz and that a ton of people will fall madly in love with the characters, too.

“When you are who they expect you to be, they never look too closely. If you’re furious, let it be fuel,” Severin said, looking each of them in the eye. “Just don’t forget that enough power and influence makes anyone impossible to look away from. And then they can’t help but see you.”

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to honestly review this eArc! ♥

BOOK REVIEW: Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3) by Libba Bray

November 24, 2018 / Arielle / 2 Comments

Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3)
by Libba Bray
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
New York City.
1927.
Lights are bright.
Jazz is king.
Parties are wild.
And the dead are coming...

After battling a supernatural sleeping sickness that early claimed two of their own, the Diviners have had enough of lies. They're more determined than ever to uncover the mystery behind their extraordinary powers, even as they face off against an all-new terror. Out on Ward's Island, far from the city's bustle, sits a mental hospital haunted by the lost souls of people long forgotten--ghosts who have unusual and dangerous ties to the man in the stovepipe hat, also known as the King of Crows.

With terrible accounts of murder and possession flooding in from all over, and New York City on the verge of panic, the Diviners must band together and brave the sinister ghosts invading the asylum, a fight that will bring them fact-to-face with the King of Crows. But as the explosive secrets of the past come to light, loyalties and friendships will be tested, love will hang in the balance, and the Diviners will question all that they've ever known. All the while, malevolent forces gather from every corner in a battle for the very soul of a nation--a fight that could claim the Diviners themselves.

Review:

In this history, someone wins and someone loses. There are patriots and enemies. Folk heroes who save the day. Vanquished foes who had it coming. It’s all in the telling. The conquered have no voice.

I…..I am left without knowing quite what to say. I stayed up until around 1 a.m. last night to finish this because I couldn’t bear to stop. The story would not let me stop. I know that isn’t really even that late compared to how late I’ve stayed up in the past for a book but I can guarantee you it’s the latest I’ve stayed up reading since having my daughter. This series has had be on an emotional roller coaster the past few weeks. I have not read Bray’s writing in years so I had forgotten how consuming it can be. I’ve been terrified, I’ve been hurt, I’ve been worried, I’ve been in love. Even as I sit typing this, when I think about everything that happened in the last half of the book, my heart starts beating faster. Honestly, this has been the most visceral reading experience I’ve had in a LONG time.

“Aw, Sheba. I didn’t mean anything by that. Look, I know I’m no egghead and I’m no saint. I can’t heal like Memphis or play the piano like Henry. And I sure don’t look like Freddy the Giant,” he said, exposing his own soft wound. “But I got my own kind of smarts, from the streets, and when I go after something, well, just try’n shake me off. I’m an odd fella, but I know I’m an odd fella. What I can’t figure out is why you gotta make yourself crackers trying to be somebody you can’t ever be instead of just letting yourself be the one and only Evie O’Neill.”

I want to do my best to give away as little as possible. I’m always one for reading ahead or looking at spoilers and other than looking to see what happened at the end of Lair of Dreams I was good. I had NO idea what to expect for this one other than having certain gut feelings throughout the book. I want to warn you all, this book—this entire series—is dark. There are horrible ghosts, there is death, there is racism and bigotry. While I abso-posi-tutely loved reading about this era, it was so hard reading about the racism. Like seriously when everything goes to shit at the end with the King of Crows and certain deaths, etc., all I could think about was “yeah sure, they’ll probably defeat him in the next book but Memphis and Theta will still never be able to live peacefully in love. Henry will never be able to get married. Ling will always be judged for both the color of her skin and because of her braces.” GAHHH I hate that that’s the way things used to be…that that’s the way it still sometimes is now. It’s unfair and it sucks and I will never understand why people can’t just let other people be happy. It’s a load of B.S. if you ask me.

“I suppose it’s all in how you define patriotism. Some say that’s only saying good things about your country. Others say that it’s speaking against what you feel is wrong with your country and trying to make a change.”

BUT, I don’t want to make it seem like everything is just a huge suckfest. No. This book has love and joy and hope as well. Just because Theta and Memphis’s relationship is looked down upon, doesn’t mean it affects their love for one another in any way. Nothing stops Henry or Ling from being exactly who they are as well. And as for Evie and the kinda-love triangle….oh baby. My lips are sealed muahahaha.

Seriously though, the second half of this book was my favorite. It’s all like BAM BAM BAM in your face. Here’s a tad of information you might want, but then boom, here’s a little more mystery to add to your ??? files. You learn so much about Project Buffalo that is so messed up but still I have more questions about James and Sam’s mom and the weird blue serum that Marlowe gives to Jericho. It’s just so crazy think about how “simple” things were in the first book –lolol yeah right, but you’ll see what I mean if you read these. Then they were just dealing with one murderous ghost, not an endless supply. One thing that held the test of time, though, is the friendships. In fact, the motley group of characters have become a family, they become the reader’s family. I care so much for each of them that I will be so sad to see them go after the next book…fingers crossed they all live.

He was beautiful to her. She reached her hand toward him, and if she lived for a hundred years more, she would never forget his expression, as if he had been lost in a dark wood for a very long time and she had just opened the door to him, light spilling out to let him know he was home at last.

I am so deeply in need of the fourth book it’s not even funny. After everything that happened in the last half of the book I am left empty and with little hope. There is going to be a great reckoning and I am so nervous to see how everything comes to an end.

LIBBA PLZ GIVE US EVEN A ROUGH RELEASE DATE.

In our shrouds, we look up and watch you. . . You, who ask, “Am I enough?” You, who pray to leave a mark. You, so full of life. You, capable of such moments of transcendent beauty that it shifts the atoms of history into an ecstatic sigh. You, who erect the monuments so that you’ll remember, for a time. You, who will also wither and die. We marvel at your endless capacity to dream and create and, yes, even to love. To keep inventing yourselves. To ignore history’s lessons. To rewrite the story again and again. We wish you love. And dreams. And hope.