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ROMANTIC.
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This was pretty good! I enjoyed some aspects, but had some issues with others. Overall, I’m excited to see where this series goes. I love Elisa Kova’s work and was definitely excited for a new series from her.
I was smitten with Eldas. My brooding, dark king with a soft side. His character development went beautifully over the course of a shorter standalone. He was the gem between him and Luella. Because Luella, Luella annoyed me. Ugh. I liked her on and off throughout. Her naivety (read: stubbornness) about many things made wish she would catch on a touch quicker. Luella communicated well, but not at times she should have that came off as just an attempt to lengthen the story.
The story was great. I love elves and faeries. I am always here for a fantasy romance. I enjoyed the quick pace and that it didn’t feel too rushed. The romance was developed well and I definitely was shouting at my book by the time we got to the there’s only one bed scene. I would have really loved even more scenes with Eldas and Luella because they had great chemistry and banter that I couldn’t get enough of. This made the middle kind of drag and have some sub-plots that took too long to workout, but otherwise, a good read.
Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses / make-outs; a few low detailed love scenes
- Violence: drug addiction, physical altercations, magic attacks, animal attacks
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This was pretty good! I enjoyed some aspects, but had some issues with others. Overall, I’m excited to see where this series goes. I love Elisa Kova’s work and was definitely excited for a new series from her.
I was smitten with Eldas. My brooding, dark king with a soft side. His character development went beautifully over the course of a shorter standalone. He was the gem between him and Luella. Because Luella, Luella annoyed me. Ugh. I liked her on and off throughout. Her naivety (read: stubbornness) about many things made wish she would catch on a touch quicker. Luella communicated well, but not at times she should have that came off as just an attempt to lengthen the story.
The story was great. I love elves and faeries. I am always here for a fantasy romance. I enjoyed the quick pace and that it didn’t feel too rushed. The romance was developed well and I definitely was shouting at my book by the time we got to the there’s only one bed scene. I would have really loved even more scenes with Eldas and Luella because they had great chemistry and banter that I couldn’t get enough of. This made the middle kind of drag and have some sub-plots that took too long to workout, but otherwise, a good read.
Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses / make-outs; a few low detailed love scenes
- Violence: drug addiction, physical altercations, magic attacks, animal attacks
SUB-PLOT TAKEOVER.
Regency romances are hit and misses for me, but I always keep going back because I really do love them. This one was a bit of a miss for me, but I’m hopeful for the next in the series.
I liked the main characters, Selena and Lucius. And there was dual POV!! My absolute favorite in any romance. I love getting both sides of the story and this was no exception.
What dragged me down was how thoroughly the lesser plot took over the main plot. Selena was entirely engrossed in her duties and that was seemingly the only thing she could ponder on. Which is usually fine, when the whole book isn’t a romance. If that’s the whole idea I want the plot to further the romance, not feel like it’s own separate entity.
The moments Lucius and Selena were together were fantastic! Great banter, a bit swoony, all the things I love in a regency (I love any time a regency romance puts the couple together without anyone around, THE SCANDAL). But there weren’t enough interactions for me to feel fully invested. Things fell flat by the end when some really sweet sentiments were passed between them.
Overall audience notes:
- Regency romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent because of gambling addiction and alcoholism
MADE ME SMILE.
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I was out there searching for something light, could make me smile and just be a simple read. A friend recommended this and I wasn’t disappointed. Texas Cooking is nothing special, but it made me laugh, I was into the relationship and I just felt good after reading it.
Many of the remarks and antics in this book had me busting up. It really did feel like being in small town Texas. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the wide open spaces this setting brought on. It made me want to run to the countryside and see some true stars for the first time in awhile.
This romance was sweet natured and full of heart. Honestly, this easily read as a Hallmark movie. I loved Colleen and True’s interactions were cute. They both got to learn about each other and got some laughs and great kissing moments along the way. I love how it worked out and the conflict wasn’t over blown.
A very quick read and romance (took place over a week). I gratefully didn’t find it to be too insta-love because of the way it flowed into the story. The political/scandal happening where Colleen used to work felt out of place at times and kind of stuffed in there to add drama. I’m curious about the other books in this series though so I may check them out.
Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses / make-outs
- Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of losing a child (by drowning); racism
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I was out there searching for something light, could make me smile and just be a simple read. A friend recommended this and I wasn’t disappointed. Texas Cooking is nothing special, but it made me laugh, I was into the relationship and I just felt good after reading it.
Many of the remarks and antics in this book had me busting up. It really did feel like being in small town Texas. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the wide open spaces this setting brought on. It made me want to run to the countryside and see some true stars for the first time in awhile.
This romance was sweet natured and full of heart. Honestly, this easily read as a Hallmark movie. I loved Colleen and True’s interactions were cute. They both got to learn about each other and got some laughs and great kissing moments along the way. I love how it worked out and the conflict wasn’t over blown.
A very quick read and romance (took place over a week). I gratefully didn’t find it to be too insta-love because of the way it flowed into the story. The political/scandal happening where Colleen used to work felt out of place at times and kind of stuffed in there to add drama. I’m curious about the other books in this series though so I may check them out.
Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses / make-outs
- Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of losing a child (by drowning); racism
AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE FIRST.
Ohhhhh my gosh. My heart. Ada. Jamie. Susan. The whole dang cast. READ THESE BOOKS. What an absolute gem for all ages.
I didn’t know if a second book was going to have enough plot in Ada’s life to further an entire second book and I stand completely corrected because this had everything it needed. I love the growth in Ada and yet how you could still feel her age. And not in that annoying, roll your eyes, kind of way. In that raw, going through grief and big changes and big emotions, kind of way. I loved it. It was executed so perfectly for this kind of book.
This was definitely a read that made me cry (iykyk). Many times I was brought through a flurry of emotions because of the travesty of war and heartbreak it causes. Yet, I love the hope that’s also infused. The love shown for those different from ourselves and extending needed hands of friendship and compassion. Many, many good things in this duology y’all. I will recommend it up and down. One of my new all time favorite World War 2 historical fiction books.
Overall audience notes:
- Middle grade historical fiction
- Language: none
- Violence: surgery
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a loved one, debilitating sickness resulting in hospitalization, war themes
MY HEART.
I don’t hug books very often. They have to really hit me, this was one of those books that I hugged afterwards because I just needed the comfort that things worked out okay. BECAUSE WOW THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE.
I loved everything about this finale. The pacing was on point, I thought it moved well and always kept me interested. This isn’t a fast read, it’s a building battle that culminates over time. And the action had my heart in my throat more times than I could count. People I thought wouldn’t die did, people I expected to did. A mix of many twists and turns that make your heart race.
The roooomance y’all. While I would obviously always love more, this fit the theme and plot well. These star-crossed forbidden lovers, Ali and Athan, tore me apart. With so many tough choices before them, both made mistakes and both found a way to create change in their countries. I love them and I love how it all worked out in the end for their story. It was the kind of bittersweet, yet positive ending that fit the book so well I couldn’t find a complaint.
The whole cast was vast and diverse. Many characters with rolls to play and I found that I was attached to many of them. Everyone was built incredibly well. The world was built incredibly well and this whole series is such a hidden YA gem that I beg of you to try it out!!
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy + Romance
- Language: some light
- Romance: kisses to closed door scene
- Violence: physical altercations
- Trigger/Content Warnings: implied sexual assault, loss of loved ones, gun violence, battle scenes, war crimes
Thank you to the author for an eARC!
LET THERE BE DRAGONS.
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Ohhhh I’m pumped for the last book now! Another great read for this series. I am wrapped up in all of these characters and the story.
I love these characters. So much. There’s incredibly growth each time for Lyana, Rafe, Xander and Cassi. Everyone is on their own journey and I love how they criss-cross and support one another. Nobody is always right. Yes, mistakes are made. But wow, do I appreciate the real feel of every one of them.
The only thing I could really ask for is more romance!! It was such a big point initially and now has fallen to the side a bit. Just a dash of a few more quiet moments between my ships would be *chefs kiss*. I want all the happy endings. AND I BETTER SEE THAT IN THE LAST BOOK. Quietly panicking that the last book is going to take one of them.
Diary/Journal aspects are sometimes a miss. Here? Not at all. The addition of journal entries from someone in the past (who I have some theories on now) was just what this needed! It added perfectly to the story and gave a much more well rounded background to how the islands are floating and how they even got there in the first place. I realized I was really caught up in these side characters by the end. That’s how this beautiful writing took me in.
It’s a very action packed novel with plenty of political intrigue. Many angles are being addressed and the desire to save the world is clear. I can’t wait to see how this finale wraps up because I have so many answers I need.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses to closed door scenes
- Violence: physical altercations, magic, small battle scenes, earthquakes
LET THERE BE DRAGONS.
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Ohhhh I’m pumped for the last book now! Another great read for this series. I am wrapped up in all of these characters and the story.
I love these characters. So much. There’s incredibly growth each time for Lyana, Rafe, Xander and Cassi. Everyone is on their own journey and I love how they criss-cross and support one another. Nobody is always right. Yes, mistakes are made. But wow, do I appreciate the real feel of every one of them.
The only thing I could really ask for is more romance!! It was such a big point initially and now has fallen to the side a bit. Just a dash of a few more quiet moments between my ships would be *chefs kiss*. I want all the happy endings. AND I BETTER SEE THAT IN THE LAST BOOK. Quietly panicking that the last book is going to take one of them.
Diary/Journal aspects are sometimes a miss. Here? Not at all. The addition of journal entries from someone in the past (who I have some theories on now) was just what this needed! It added perfectly to the story and gave a much more well rounded background to how the islands are floating and how they even got there in the first place. I realized I was really caught up in these side characters by the end. That’s how this beautiful writing took me in.
It’s a very action packed novel with plenty of political intrigue. Many angles are being addressed and the desire to save the world is clear. I can’t wait to see how this finale wraps up because I have so many answers I need.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses to closed door scenes
- Violence: physical altercations, magic, small battle scenes, earthquakes
4.5 stars
WORTH THE HYPE.
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Without a doubt. If you’ve been on the fence about reading this one (like I was), give it a try.
I feel like this review will be hard to put into words because there’s so much here!! Holy cow, I wanted to highlight every other paragraph in this book. I loved the internal conflict and resolutions, the characters, the story and drama, how the further I went the more enamored and unable to put it down it became.
It does start off a little slow yes, but I found the more I read it settled in. This is a journey, more than the story itself, of Addie, Henry and Luc. Goodness, I can’t help it, I LOVED Luc. I really wish there was more to his background. What a complex character from the get-go. Henry was fantastic as well. He and Addie fit together like puzzle pieces and it was hard not to fall to pieces by the end. I adored Addie too. The resilience to go 300 years with the deal she made was unbelievable. These three working together and apart brought it home. This is a heavily character driven story. The wider plot isn’t as much there as it is about what these characters mean to each other.
Addie had absolutely beautiful writing. It draws you in immediately. Filled with so many moments that will pull at every heart string. I was feeling every little thing by the time those last few chapters rolled around. It’s an interesting conclusion that left me with some questions, but also satisfied. I closed the book knowing just how magnificent of a story I’d finished.
Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy / Historical Fiction / Romance
- Language: a little throughout
- Romance: kisses / make-outs; a few closed door & a few little detailed open door
- Trigger/Content Warnings: attempted assault, abuse, loss of a loved one, substance abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide
WORTH THE HYPE.
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Without a doubt. If you’ve been on the fence about reading this one (like I was), give it a try.
I feel like this review will be hard to put into words because there’s so much here!! Holy cow, I wanted to highlight every other paragraph in this book. I loved the internal conflict and resolutions, the characters, the story and drama, how the further I went the more enamored and unable to put it down it became.
It does start off a little slow yes, but I found the more I read it settled in. This is a journey, more than the story itself, of Addie, Henry and Luc. Goodness, I can’t help it, I LOVED Luc. I really wish there was more to his background. What a complex character from the get-go. Henry was fantastic as well. He and Addie fit together like puzzle pieces and it was hard not to fall to pieces by the end. I adored Addie too. The resilience to go 300 years with the deal she made was unbelievable. These three working together and apart brought it home. This is a heavily character driven story. The wider plot isn’t as much there as it is about what these characters mean to each other.
Addie had absolutely beautiful writing. It draws you in immediately. Filled with so many moments that will pull at every heart string. I was feeling every little thing by the time those last few chapters rolled around. It’s an interesting conclusion that left me with some questions, but also satisfied. I closed the book knowing just how magnificent of a story I’d finished.
Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy / Historical Fiction / Romance
- Language: a little throughout
- Romance: kisses / make-outs; a few closed door & a few little detailed open door
- Trigger/Content Warnings: attempted assault, abuse, loss of a loved one, substance abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide
A SOLID DUO.
This was a good duology!! I thoroughly enjoyed both books. And even though this one didn’t have the same pop as the first, I still liked it and the final conclusion.
It’s such a cool magic system. I love the vast options that magic has in the world and that tattoos play a huge part in their lives. What type of events they’ve gone through, if they’ve fallen in love, or mastered a magic. It’s interesting and one of the best parts of the series.
Saskia is a main character I liked a lot. A bit stubborn, and occasionally making mistakes made her feel real. She was also tender and loyal to those around her. I would have looooved a bit more romance like there was in the first book. Nothing really happened until the end and I wish it had flowed through the entire story more.
At times I thought the plot didn’t matter or fit the revenge plot idea from the first book. The further the book goes, things seem to round out. The tasks that Saskia and her friends are asked to do start to converge with the final showdown.
It’s a great duology with easy, magnetic writing. Even if I was struggling with the plot at times, I still never felt the need to skim. A lesser known duo to definitely look into!
Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: physical altercations, magical weaponry, attempted murder
COWBOY TAKE ME AWAY.
This was more charming that I was expecting, even if the book wasn’t the five-star hopeful I was going for.
What I really enjoyed was the romance, so that’s a positive. It’s pretty instantaneous, but with the time period + layout of the story, it worked well. Matt is a stoic ex-cavalryman trying to assuage his guilt and Josephine is a doctor trying to get the respect she deserves. I love the way these two hit it off and anytime Matt grasped her for a fierce, will he survive, kind of kiss, I swooned big time.
There was a severe lack of dialogue. The more I read the more I started noticing that the pacing kept sloooowing down. I wanted more conversation and banter between anyone. The story then started to feel about 50 or so pages too long. The plot was entirely focused on something that I didn’t realize was going to take up so much page time. It’s not that it was bad, with the combination of other issues, just made me want to skim to the good parts.
I loved the setting because I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a Western historical romance (and I need to change that ASAP). And I also admittedly love a good lover distress moment where someone needs rescued. Cue a racing heart and daring getaways.
Overall audience notes:
- Christian Western historical romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: gun violence, physical altercations, kidnapping for ransom
- Trigger/Content Warnings: the prologue is a recounting of the battle of Wounded Knee from the eye’s of Matt, loss of family, sexual harassment
IT WAS INTERESTING.
This was a unique combination for a book that I didn’t think I would ever come across. Pride and Prejudice with a dash of murder.
I really liked seeing all of the classic characters in their new rolls for this novel. It was fun seeing how the author chose to portray them and I felt they worked well within the plot. The addition of pieces of writing for Austen’s original story tied in to this retelling in a way that fit. Seeing Darcy and Lizzie fall in love over working together to solve a murder was somehow charming and light-hearted.
I’m a pretty big stickler for the classic and I think that’s also a downfall here. While I loved all of the originals of the story + the general originality of the story I got bogged down in listening because it wasn’t what I was expecting. It took me a bit longer to go through because I wasn’t always hurrying to pick it back up.
The final reveal of the murderer and story was great! I honestly was surprised at some of the pieces of the tale and so that’s always a nice addition to any mystery. I want to feel like I didn’t pin down everything exactly and that’s how it worked out here. I’m curious how Price will twist other stories in the future.
Overall audience notes:
- Retelling
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: murder, gun violence