The Traitor’s Kingdom is the third (and final) book in The Traitor’s Circle series by Erin Beaty. I have to tell you that I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this book since the end of book two and this was everything I was hoping it would be as a wrap up for Sage and Alex…as well as all their friends. No spoilers ahead for this book.

Sage is now an Ambassador representing Demora in talks with Kimisara to avoid a war and Alex is now a Major leading the Norsari that are tasked with protecting her and the others during the talks. The politics are what drive the story here and I loved how Beaty tied it together with the character’s development. There are still wounds from what happened in book two, but everyone is trying to move forward and make the decisions they think will help relieve the tensions between the countries.

If you know me, you know I love when I can connect to the characters in a book and Beaty did a great job of getting my attention in book one and never letting go. Alex and Sage have both grown so much since book one, both individually and together. In this book, they are both getting comfortable with their new responsibilities and while they love each other, those responsibilities tend to get in the way…even if some exceptions are made for them. There are some difficult decisions that had to be made by both of them and while it might have been really easy to just react, Alex is the one to pull back and really consider the impact of their actions. While difficult to understand in the heat of the moment, I love how Sage didn’t just give up and how Alex let her feel her feelings yet still pushed her to realize how much he loves her. It was actually one of my favorite parts of the book and I know this sounds super vague, but I don’t want to ruin anything so just go read it already.

The secondary characters are well developed in this story as well. We learn more about Queen Zoraya and Huzar which I liked as it was great to be able to know more about their motivations. Lani and Clare are still with Sage, but we also get introduced to Clare’s sister, Sophia who has only been mentioned previously. And then all the other characters as well. They all played an important part in the story and I thought Beaty did a wonderful job of bringing everything together.

As the peace talks are taking place, it becomes clear that nothing is going to get resolved with the group involved so the queen secretly proposes (via Alex and Huzar) that she meet with Sage alone. As the meeting concludes with agreements in place, the group is attacked, and things become even more dangerous for everyone as the queen is injured. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that someone from the Demoran camp is leaking information, but no one is sure who or how and Sage convinces the group to move forward with a plan that she thinks will allow them to figure out who is acting against them.

That's all I can say now without giving more of the story away so if you want more, you have to go pick up the book. I was so excited to get my hands on this and now that I’m finished, I am going to have to go back and re-read the whole thing again. It was such a great wrap up to a series that had me at page one and I can’t wait to see what Beaty writes next. If you are looking for a fantasy series that will pull you in with great characters, a story that is full of political intrigue, and of course, some swoons, definitely check this one out.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review to comeBefore the Broken Star is the first book of The Evermore Chronicles by Emily R. King. I picked this one up on a whim as I was drawn in by the idea of this character with a clockwork heart. From the start, this story grabbed my attention and I found it to be a fairly quick read.

Everley Donovan is living on borrowed time. As the only survivor of her family’s assassination, she is determined to confront the person responsible for taking everything from her. As she finds herself on a cursed island uncovering secrets and finding things she never expected, Everley must figure out if revenge is really the most important thing. As a character, I loved her determination and willingness to sacrifice what she wants for the safety of those around her.

The story and the world building are done well by King and helped get me into the right frame of mind. I know this sounds weird, but I was immediately interested in this idea that women who were arrested were being sent to this penal colony (what is believed to be a cursed island) to essentially marry and populate the island in support of the Kingdom. The idea that these forced marriages would be a positive thing set my teeth on edge and then Everley finds herself married to a man she hardly knows. Don’t get me wrong, I thought Jamison had the right intentions, but it was definitely not what she wanted.

I like the relationship that developed between Everley and Jamison. They definitely don’t fully trust one another but there is something there between them from the very beginning and although they hit some bumps along the way, they do begin to build something.

There is plenty of action in this book to move the story along and quite a few twists that kept me turning the pages. Overall, I enjoyed this book and will definitely check out the next book in the series to see what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review to come

Review to come

I can’t lie – I was immediately drawn to Here There are Monsters by Amelinda Berube because of the cover. When I read the summary, I was even more intrigued. In the end, there were things I liked about this book and some things I didn’t love which ultimately made this one a middle of the road read for me.

The story focuses on Skye, a sixteen-year-old girl who has a younger sister Deirdre. Their family recently moved and now that Skye is a bit older and in a new school, she doesn’t want to be the one to get Deirdre out of scrapes at school or even the person Deirdre relies on to save her. As Skye shifts away from her, Deirdre becomes withdrawn and spends all her time in the swamp behind their house. Because of this and some of the things she does when she is around other people, they think Deirdre is weird and this only causes Deirdre to withdraw even more.

One night, the unthinkable happens and Deirdre disappears. Since Skye was technically supposed to be watching her, she feels guilty and starts to dig into what Deirdre was up to. This is where it gets a little odd because this is when Skye is approached by creatures from Deirdre’s fantasy world and told she is the only person who can save Deirdre. As the story progresses, we find out more about Skye’s history and how that impacts her friendships now.

I thought the relationship between Skye and Deirdre was interesting. It was clear that Skye wanted to change things which I attribute to their past as well as the fact that she was growing up, but Deirdre definitely did not, and she was completely lost and frustrated. I also think that Deirdre created some of her problems…similar to what Skye was reflecting on and using as a reason to distance herself. Despite all of that, when it came down to it, Skye still chose Deirdre…even though it may not have done her any good.

This was a fast-paced story and the characters felt real to me. The parents seemed like your typical, overworked, stressed out parents and Skye’s friends came across as normal teens to me. With that said, I have to connect with the characters and I don’t think there was a single person in this book that I aligned with…maybe Skye’s dad because it felt like he just kept getting beat up (emotionally) by her mom and I felt bad for him about it. Otherwise no one really stood out to me as likeable.

I also think the structure of the book threw me off a bit as I was expecting deeper dives into the specific characters or their POVs with the section headers and that isn’t really what came across in each section. Tie that with the pacing of the story and it just didn’t grab me like I had hoped it would. Some of it dragged while at times there were parts that was thinking I could have just skimmed through. I also thought the ending just sort of came up and the book was done…it didn’t feel finished to me.

Overall, this was an interesting read. Fans of YA horror or creepy, otherworldly books might enjoy this one. While I didn’t love this book, I will definitely be checking out any future stories by Berube as I like the creepy vibe that this one had.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.