Author: VE Schwab Series: Shades of Magic #3 Reviewer: Marlou
Summary
Witness the fate of beloved heroes – and enemies.
THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS FINALLY TIPPED…
The precarious equilibrium among four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise.
WHO WILL CRUMBLE?
Kell – once assumed to be the last surviving Antari – begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?
WHO WILL RISE?
Lila Bard, once a commonplace – but never common – thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.
WHO WILL TAKE CONTROL?
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.
I liked this book the least even though I gave it the exact same rating as the rest. It started off extremely quickly and I was scared shitless because there were still hundreds of pages to go and things were going epically wrong already. Eventually it all slowed down and then I got bored. It picked up speed a little in the end. I disliked the pacing a lot as you can see. There was a lot of drama and way less banter and sass than in the other books and that’s a pity because that’s what I liked so much about the others. The characters were diverse and strong and well written but this is a more shaky and unstable 4 stars.
I loved the Shades of Magic books, I really liked the characters and the way it was written is amazing. So compliments to VE Schwab for writing so beautifully.
Author: VE Schwab Series: Shades of Magic #2 Reviewer: Marlou
Summary
It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift–back into Black London.
Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games–an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries–a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.
And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.
Lila is once again being a freaking badass. *heart eyes* She has learned magic (!) and she can’t wait to show Kell what she’s capable of. She’s also afraid to see him again after months on the sea and well, angst ensues.
โShe bent most of the rules. She broke the rest.โ
Kell is not as grumpy as he was in the first book because he gets to let go a little in this book.
Prince Rhy is more involved in this book and that is lovely because Rhy is absolutely lovely. I love Rhy’s personality. He talks himself in and out of trouble countless times. Shows off whenever he can. And he’s bi. Yes people, in this book we find out that Rhy does not have any preference as long as he can sleep with them (I guess he prefers them to be pretty tho).
โThe prince shrugged. โWho needs magic when you look this good?โโ
Alucurd Emery makes an appearance in this book. Holy moly, what a great character. I don’t know whether to hate him or love him. I want to whack him over the head or have a drink with him. I love it when characters are like that.
Favorite quote from the book? Easy choice (for once)
โEveryone’s immortal until they’re not.โ
I liked this book a lot. It was so different from the first book that it did kinda give me whiplash. I didn’t like that Kell and Lila’s path crossed very late in the book. Still a solid 4 stars for this one, too.
Author: Sarah J. Maas Series: Throne of Glass #7 Reviewer: Marlou
Content Warnings
Violence, Torture, Depression, Death, War
Summary
Aelin has risked everything to save her peopleโbut at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing dayโฆ
With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies theyโve gathered to battle Erawanโs hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvationโand a better world.
And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queenโbefore she is lost to him forever.
As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.
This book tore my heart out, gave it back, shattered it, glued it back together, and then burned it to smithereens, never to be seen again.
I have never cried while reading a book. Thanks, Kingdom of Ash, for ruining my perfect record. And thanks, Sarah J Maas, for writing such an amazing book. SJM managed to make me cry, it can’t get much better than that.
“You do not yield.” Don’t mind me, I’m just bawling my eyes out. What a perfect line. It’s right along the lines of “I am Celeana Sardothien and I will not be afraid,” and yet so much more.
Yes, the book was lacking in several places. Unnecessary things were added and necessary things were deleted. It wasn’t a great serie finale but it was still an amazing book that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Let’s talk about the characters since this was the last book of the series and we’ve met a great deal of people:
Rowannnnnn: He shall always have a special place in my heart. *insert multitude of love eyed emojis* Dorian: I’ve loved you from those very first lines: โโItโs clear that you respect me, Duke Perrington, but itโs a bit unnecessary to put such effort into forcing Celaena Sardothien to have the same opinion. You and I know very well she has no love for my family. So perhaps your intent is to humiliate her.โ He paused, and she could have sworn his eyes fell on her face. โBut I think sheโs had enough of that.โ He stopped for another moment, then asked: โDonโt you have a meeting with Endovierโs treasurer? I wouldnโt want you to be late, especially when you came all this way to meet with him.โโ Chaol: I didn’t like him, at all…That changed after reading Tower of Dawn. He’s still not one of my favorites or even close to second but he’s alright. Aedion: Wasn’t impressed at first, but he started growing on me. Eventually I started to really like him, but what I like most of all is his love for his kingdom. He’s as fierce as any lion (see what I did there). LYSANDRAAAAAA: As you can obviously see, I love this chick. Didn’t like her in Assassin’s Blade (but hey, who did?) but omg, Lysandra for the win! My favorite form of hers is her Ghost Leopard form. Manon: I didn’t like her chapters in Heir of Fire. I wanted to skip them. Glad I didn’t. Manon is for me the character with the most character development. Gosh, I love her. The Thirteen: a badass group of ladies that will always be friendship goals. Nesryn: EMPRESSSSSS BADAAAASSSSSSS Sartaq: Oh boy… what a darling… and such a flirt *waving hands frantically because ooh la la* Yrene: “For wherever you need to go – and then some. The world needs more healers.” YAAAAASSSS GIRL YOU MADE IT! Elide: DAYUMMMM you tell him darling, don’t take his BS, don’t be afraid of anyone. FENRYSSSSSS: oh my lovely boyo. I love him so much. He deserves the world. *insert squealing fangirl* Lorcan: You smol baby bean…You can go to Perranth with me. *winks with both eyes* Gavriel: You amazing dad. Aedion loves you, you know…almost as much as I do. *hugs him tightly* And last but definitely not the least: AELIN: fire-breathing-bitch-queen/ fireheart/ Elentiya/ Lillian/ Celeana โit doesn’t matter what name she goes by, she is amazing. Aelin will forever be my favorite character of the Throne of Glass series and one of my favorites from any other book. *applauds for the Heir of Brannon*
I have definitely not mentioned all the characters but my review was getting long enough. Kingdom of Ash was an amazing book and will have a special place in my heart. Thank you, Sarah J Maas, for such an inspiring and lovely series and such an amazing series finale. This book will stay with me for a while.
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.
This book was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Fall in love, break the curse.
We’ve got ourselves a main character with cerebral palsy! We’ve got ourselves a cursed prince! We’ve got ourselves some good banter! And last but not least we’ve got ourselves a relationship that actually builds up properly! YAY!
Okay fangirling aside, this book was lovely. The only reason I gave it four stars is because it’s not my kind of book. This year I’ve been reading some retellings and I’ve noticed that I never give more than 4 stars for them simply because I don’t like to know the ending before I even begin with the book.
A Curse so Dark and Lonely is a spectacular Beauty and the Beast retelling (way better than ACOTAR if you’d judge that book as a retelling, which I didn’t so you’ll find a higher rating for ACOTAR, don’t judge me ๐ ). I started the book not knowing how many pages it was. I received the e-arc from Netgalley and read this book because I’d been putting off the books I got from Netgalley which isn’t fair. Finding out that this book is 500 or so pages was hilarious. It did not feel like 500 pages at all. I flew through the pages of this book so that means the writing was excellent!
Harper is freaking amazing. Bluffing her way through Emberfall and impressing everyone who meets her. Gosh, I love her.
Rhen is so great, too. I thought he was way too manipulative at first, but now I quite like him.
Scary Grey was a nice addition as well. Loyal to a fault, yet also not afraid to have his own opinion, do things his own way.
Author: Natalie C. Parker Series: Seafire #1 Reviewer: Marlou
Content Warnings
Violence, death
Summary
After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, who have lost their families and homes because of Aric and his men. The crew has one mission: stay alive, and take down Aric’s armed and armored fleet.
But when Caledonia’s best friend and second-in-command barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all . . . or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?
โNever underestimate the girls of this world.โ
The idea of this book is great. I just didn’t feel satisfied when I was reading it. I kept feeling like something was missing, be it the characters or the world, I don’t know exactly. I didn’t hate the book, not at all. I’m a feminist, I love me some good female pirates. They just didn’t feel like pirates to me. Maybe I had high expectations after having read Daughter of the Pirate King and Daughter of the Siren Queen.
It took me a while to read Seafire because school got in the way and then Kingdom of Ash was released and I had to read that one first. I was emotionally incapable of starting a new book after that. ๐ The style of writing wasn’t my preferred style so that might have slowed down the reading as well.
Seafire is a good book with strong females but for me there was just something missing and I can’t quite put my finger on it and that makes it even more annoying. ๐ This book gets three stars from me and I must admit I’m still going to pick up the second book just to see where the story leads.
Thank you Faecrate for including this book in your August Deadly Dames box.
For eighteen-year-old Rouen Rivoche, being a fairy princess isnโt about fancy parties and happily ever afters.
Rouenโs people are the dark Fae whose powers of lightning, thundersnow, and all things Winter make them cold, severe, and 100% intolerant of rebellion.
Too bad being a rebel is in Rouenโs blood.
Against tradition, sheโs teamed up with Syl Skye, the sleeper-princess of the fair Faeโa mortal enemy who Rouen should want to kill but only wants to kiss. Plus, to be with Syl, Rouenโs masquerading as a glam goth-rock star and human high school student. Honestly, Rouen doesnโt think things could get any more complicated.
Then, she discovers she must become Queen of the Winter Court or all her people will die. No pressure.
Now, dark forces are amassing in the Winter Court, turning Rouenโs people against her and blocking her path to the throne. Even Syl with all her powers of white flame and Summer canโt stop this new kind of evil.
Because betrayal cuts close when itโs someone you loveโฆ and now it looks like Rouenโs going to be dethroned before she ever becomes queen.
This is my favorite novella in the Circuit Fae series so far. We learn so much more about UnderHollow โ the politics, races that live there, and of Rouen’s father, the current king. There is a larger focus on Rouen in this novella, and that’s definitely a plus for me! Rouen finds herself fighting her father for the crown, with the court divided on who should rule. Rouen ends up in prison with kidnapped dark Fae children while her father is slowly killing Syl (because he, of course, does not approve of his daughter dating a fair Fae princess).
All introverted geek girl Syl Skye wants is to get close to her girlfriend. But when you can kill with a simple touch, a normal date nightโs not really in the cards.
As it happens, Syl is also a sleeper-princess of the fair Fae. Last year after a freak accident, her power Awakened, granting her white flame to purify the darkness.
Rouen Rivoche is that darknessโa dark Fae princess whose power to bewitch mortals is as terrifying as the violet lightning she controls. Rouen is Sylโs total opposite. Her mortal enemy.
Sheโs also Sylโs beloved girlfriend.
And even though they joined forces to defeat the evil Circuit Fae who harnessed the killing magic in technology to take over the schoolโฆthat was so last year.
Now, Sylโs touch could mean Rouenโs death. Her increasing power is spiraling out of control, threatening to burn down everything she and Rouen have built together.
Similar to the first book in the series, Moribund, I couldn’t put this down! I was hooked from page one. The book begins with Syl and Rouen trying to get two seconds of peace to have a normal date. They don’t get many since they are Fae princesses and are busy cleaning up from events after Moribund. Syl is learning to control her newly awakened powers, which can destroy Rouen so she’s at risk every time she’s near Syl. Throughout all this, they are the only two who can destroy the Ouroboros so they have to fight near each other. Enter the fair Fae prince to declare Syl should be his queen and it’s just another obstacle for Rouen and Syl to overcome together.
Syl and Rouen face old and new enemies but always have each other’s back. There’s more action and witty dialogue in this book. Rouen is still teaching Syl how to use her powers and they keep up the flirty banter throughout. As soon as you feel like everything is fine and the characters are safe, bad things happen and Syl and Rouen have to get up and fight again.
This book has one of my favorite scenes in the series (it’s near the end and it’s so good!) and it’s so difficult to put down. There is so much tension and so many conflicts that you just want Syl and Rouen to have two seconds of peace. Like in Moribund, the action rarely slows and there are plenty of action scenes.
A goth-rock show. An innocent train ride. Thatโs all it takes for high school sophomore Syl Skyeโs perfectly normal world to come crashing down. Why? Because this train holds the infamous Rouen Rivoche, a dark Fae assassin bent on murdering Syl. This is one journey that should end in tragedy, not two people falling love. Then again, whenever the Fae are involved, thereโs no telling what will happenโฆ
This novella gives background on the major event that sets Moribund in motion and shows how Syl and Rouen first met (there are literal sparks).
I really enjoyed this novella, mostly because it gives more background on Rouen and I kind of love her sassiness. It shows how she’s been fighting the Contract forced upon her and goes deeper into her relationship with Agravaine. It also shows how Syl has been adjusting to her new life after a few personal changes have happened.
High school sophomore Syl Skye is an ordinary girl. At least, sheโs trying to be. School photographer and all-around geek, she introverts hard and keeps her crush on sexy-hot glam-Goth star Euphoria on the down-low. But when a freak accident Awakens her slumbering power, Syl is forced to accept a destiny she never wantedโas the last sleeper-princess of the fair Fae.
Suddenly hunted by the dark Fae, Sylโs pretty sure things canโt get any worse. Until she discovers her secret crush, Euphoria, is really a dark Circuit Fae able to harness the killing magic in technology. Even worse, sheโs been sent to destroy Syl. With mean girls and magic and dark Fae trying to kill her, itโll take more than just โclap if you believe in fairiesโ to save Sylโs baconโnot to mention, her heart.
I love this series! I’m usually not into urban fantasy, but I got this book when it was free because I wanted to try a new fantasy series. I ended up purchasing the other books in the series before finishing the first five chapters.
In this book, Rouen and Syl deal with figuring out their feelings for each other while Rouen is under a Contract of Blood and Bone to kill all fair Fae princesses. The problem? Syl is the last fair Fae princess. I love the tension this creates between the two. Rouen tries her best to protect Syl but at the end of the day, when Agravaine uses her true name, she has to obey the Contract. That puts Syl in a lot of danger because she just found out she’s a Fae princess and doesn’t have full control of her powers.
The dialogue is witty and I laughed out loud several times. It was difficult to put this book down. I stayed up late because I needed to know how Rouen and Syl got out of trouble. The story moves quickly and the action scenes are amazing.
Most of the story takes place in Virginia but you get a glimpse of the dark and fair Fae worlds (you learn a lot more about these worlds in the later books).
Author: Susan Dennard Series: The Witchlands #3 Reviewer: Community
Summary
High in a snowy mountain range, a monastery that holds more than just faith clings to the side of a cliff. Below, thwarted by a lake, a bloodthirsty horde of raiders await the coming of winter and the frozen path to destroy the sanctuary and its secrets.
The Bloodwitch Aeduan has teamed up with the Threadwitch Iseult and the magical girl Owl to stop the destruction. But to do so, he must confront his own father, and his past.
I donโt even know where to begin with this one. We travel to various places in the Witchlands, get confirmation on some questions raised by the earlier books, and leave with even more questions. I loved Safi and Iseult (again), but I canโt get over Viviaโs story. I admire her more every book. Aeduan is obviously amazing in this book, too, since it centers around his arc. He has some tough choices to make as he struggles against his beliefs and feelings.
Marlou
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Bloodwitch was grandmaโs apple pie, a new pair of shoes, breakfast for dinner, it was the small things in life that bring you joy.
Leslie
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
I was already in love with Viviaโs character from Windwitch, but this book really pushed me off the deep end. She and Vaness, WOW is all I can say. Then, of course you pick up with Iseult and Aeduan (and feisty Owl), and it is everything an awkward thrown together, type of family can be in the best ways. Plus, every character is pushed to their limit, forced to find themselves, sometimes even without or in spite of the magic that has been in their veins since as long as they can remember. I love a little bit of character suffering (okay, maybe more than a little bit) in order to show growth, and this book captured that perfectly.
Inopnion
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
We as readers occasionally experience a giddiness of spirit, you know that feeling. When something tickles you so much you blabber to anyone that will listen, and they look at you like youโre a bit touched. You know that feeling. This book gave me this feeling over and over. Not only does the narrative follow the most mysterious and enigmatic would-be villain I have ever witnessed on a page, but it dares you not to love him. Aeduanโs level of self-loathing, his complete conviction in his own monstrousness is counteracted by vulnerable moments of pure kindness and sacrifice. Just like Merikโs journey in Windwitch made me ache and hope for him, this book revealed the complex depths of a deluded Hufflepuff. Not to mention, this book has even more action, chases, fights, etc. than any of the other books in the series. Itโs non-stop and always with a purpose.
Dream Read Repeat 