kailey_luminouslibro's reviews
3794 reviews

Annis Wychwood is a lady in her late twenties who has been labeled a spinster. She is independently wealthy and sets up her own home in Bath with her cousin Miss Farlow as a chaperone. Young Miss Lucilla is barely out of the schoolroom and has not yet been presented to society. When her carriage is upset on the road, Annis comes to the rescue and offers Lucilla a place to stay until her family can arrive to help her. But Lucilla doesn't want her family notified of the accident because she is running away from an undesirable engagement! When Lucilla's guardian, the bad-mannered Mr. Carleton, arrives to protest Annis's interference, the verbal sparring may soon turn to flirtation.

I loved the light-hearted writing style in this book! I also enjoyed the Regency setting that reminded me a little of Jane Austen books. The flirty squabbles between Annis and Mr. Carleton are fun to read, because they both really enjoy being rude and brutally honest and teasing each other, instead of having to be constantly polite as they do with the rest of society.

I was put off by the way the characters just accept that gentlemen can have various mistresses as if that were completely normal and accepted. There are many references to the "light muslin crowd" meaning mistresses or prostitutes. Everyone warns Annis that Mr. Carleton has had several mistresses and is known as a playboy, but she doesn't seem to care.

The plot is hilarious and charming. Lucilla is a handful. She wants her own way in everything, and Annis starts to wonder if she is taking on too much trying to chaperone Lucilla around a big city like Bath.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

A group of people are invited to the theater to welcome the new American Ambassador and his wife. They are able to secure the Royal Box and have refreshments with the principal actors between acts. Lady Laura Whitford and her daughter are escorted by an attaché with the American Embassy and a French count who are both interested in Lady Laura's daughter. The Ambassador from a Middle Eastern country tries to take the American Ambassador aside to talk about oil deals and political unrest in his country. The Ambassador's wife embarrasses herself with her crass manners and drinking. At the end of the night, one of them is dead and everyone is a suspect.

I liked that there are many different layers to the mystery. As the detective interviews each suspect, we learn that almost all of them had connections that they want to keep a secret. More than one lady is hiding a child born out of wedlock. There is a secret engagement that was broken off years ago, secret political deals that fell through, and several affairs that have been hushed up.

I thought the interview process, which took up half the book, was boring though. Just people sitting around talking; no action at all, just lots and lots of flashbacks. And the writing is unnecessarily verbose and long-winded. This book could have been half as long without losing anything.

There is also some profanity from certain characters during their interview. I could see how it was calculated to tell us something about that particular character, but it still annoyed me.

I didn't like most of the characters. They are all sort of mean and selfish. There are only two characters that I really liked, Hilary and Althea, and they are very minor characters with only a few lines. Some of the characters are downright nasty, and I just didn't care about their storylines.

Overall, an interesting mystery, but it was too long.

Pong was born in prison, and he escapes with a tattoo that marks him as a criminal. A kindly monk takes him and covers the mark with bracelets. Each bracelet represents a blessing. Pong hides in plain sight, joining the monks in their prayers and charitable deeds.
Nok, the daughter of the prison warden, is determined to prove herself by tracking down the escaped prisoner and bringing him to justice. However, she begins to realize that justice and the law might not always agree.
The Governor of the city has a magical power that provides light for the whole city, but that light is costly and only the wealthy can afford it. The poor sit in squalor and darkness in the slums of the city, and both Nok and Pong start to wonder what kind of justice allows innocent people to suffer.

I loved this beautiful retelling of Les Mis! The plot does have several elements and characters that mirror Les Mis, but most of the book takes its own direction with many surprise twists. This world has a soft magic system, and although some characters are able to intuitively tap into magical power, magic is very rare.

The best part of this book is the character development for both Pong and Nok. They are on opposite sides of the law at the beginning, but their experiences change them and eventually they recognize the true nature of right and wrong. Pong only cares about having freedom. He thinks if he can just run far enough, he will be able to outrun the darkness. Nok wants to be the perfect daughter. She thinks if she can just be perfect enough, she will never be afraid or feel like she doesn't belong. Through their internal struggles, they learn that the Governor's laws do not divide the world into dark and light, and they have to decide for themselves what is truly right and good.

The writing is fabulous! It really pulls you into the enchantment of this world and the adventures of the characters.

In this second book, Kie is grieving for the losses her nation suffered during the chimerae war of the previous book. She has terrible nightmares of the people she saw killed in the war, and her greatest fear is that she will again be placed in a position to relay more orders that send skysteeds and their riders to their deaths in battle. When she is asked to accompany the prince on a diplomatic mission to the wild skysteeds, Kie is hopeful that they will be able to convince the king of the wild skysteeds to help them defend their land against the chimerae. However, Kie's skysteed N'Rah disagrees with her. For the first time, they have a serious disagreement and they have to learn to navigate their delicate relationship in a new way.

I really loved that there are lasting consequences from the battles of the previous book. The characters don't just skip off into the sunset and go on more adventures. They are grieving. They are afraid. And because we see them dealing with these difficult emotions, the plot is really meaningful. We get to explore these deep themes along with the characters, and the writing has weight because the risks they take have real consequences for them. But there is also a message of hope and healing in the midst of their grief. I found it really inspiring!

I also loved the deeper exploration of the relationships between humans and skysteeds. Kie learns that N'Rah had a whole past life before they met. She never knew where he grew up or who his family was, and she begins to realize that she ought to be trusting N'Rah more and treating him as an equal. When they meet the Sky King who commands all the wild skysteeds, Kie and N'Rah have to work together to convince the wild skysteeds that they can trust humans again.

The magic and the legends get even more enchanting and beautiful in this second book! We learn more about how humans and skysteeds first bonded through magic that allowed them to hear each other's thoughts. Kie discovers that the original magic from the legends of hundreds of years ago is still lingering in some parts of the world, and still working to protect them from chimarae.

Kie has more wonderful character development as she learns to trust her friends with her inner fears. She has bottled up her grief, but the Sky King encourages her to express those feelings with her friends. Together they find comfort and healing by crying together and telling stories about their friends who have been killed in the wars. They strengthen each other through those difficult times and become closer as a team.

The best part of this book is discovering more about the wild skysteeds and the ancient legends! The world building is delightful, the writing is full of zest and mystery, and I loved all the new pegasi characters we meet!


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

In a land where human riders can communicate telepathically with their pegasus steeds, one man has made a special study of how the ancient peoples fought off a scourge of monsters called chimerae. When the chimerae return, he entrusts a book full of his research to his niece, Kie. She and her stysteed, N'Rah, must take the book to the capital city and somehow convince the emperor to use these ancient battle techniques. Kie has been practicing using special weapons that her uncle taught her about, and she is hoping to demonstrate how effective they are against the monsters.

The best part of this book is the strong bond between the humans and their skysteeds. These are complex relationships with hundreds of years of tradition and outdated laws governing how they communicate and work together; but at the end of the day, the relationship between rider and skysteed is very personal and intimate as they hear each other's thoughts. It was so interesting to explore the different aspects of these relationships, since every human and every skysteed is so different. They don't always communicate easily or understand each other, so there was a lot of room for the story to expand around these delicate and multi-layered connections between them.

I loved Kie's character! She is really smart, but doubts her intelligence because she has trouble reading due to dyslexia. She has some great character development as she gains confidence in herself and her own abilities. Every person she meets is impressed with her courage and practical good sense, and when they express their appreciation and show that they trust her, Kie finally begins to recognize these strengths in herself.

The plot is really well-constructed as different threads from different characters begin to come together and overlap. I really loved that the focus is on Kie, but we also see a lot of supporting characters with excellent arcs that dovetail beautifully with Kie's adventures.

There are lots of battles, and legends, and magical mysteries, and training, and more battles. Kie has to navigate the difficulties of politics and she confronts some high-born people. She makes some enemies, and makes some friends.

Overall, I enjoyed this book so much! The friendships, the magic, the legendary monsters, and all the beautiful world-building swept me away into a fantasy land that I can't wait to dive into again in the second book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

DNF at page 92
I found the plot really slow and boring. I didn’t like any of the characters. There was some profanity that got on my nerves.

Princess Tilda thinks that her townspeople hate her because they believe her deformed foot is unlucky or cursed. She hobbles around the castle on crutches, and the maids make a sign against the evil eye behind her back. Tilda wishes she could run away from her princess duties and be free to write her own book as a scribe. When her cousin tries to steal the family lands, Tilda is rescued by two dragon slayers and they start tracking down a dragon to kill. The only problem is... these dragon slayers have never actually killed a dragon.

I loved how this book starts out with a basic fairy tale land, and then the plot takes unexpected turns and the legends get more and more legendary! I just never knew where this story was going to go, and it was one surprise after another in every chapter. They meet the Wild Hunt, make bargains with magical creatures, fight off an evil sorcerer, and discover that dragons are much more complex than anyone in their world realizes.

Tilda has some wonderful character development as she begins to come to terms with her disability and recognize that she has her own unique kind of strength. She has this all-or-nothing thinking in the beginning, and she matures as she finds out that the world is full of nuance and balance. It's not all good or all bad; life is usually a mixture of good and bad in every situation.

The writing is really exciting and funny! I flew through reading this book because I was completely immersed in Tilda's magical world.

Hannah's father has disappeared and the police don't seem to be doing much to solve the mystery. Hannah and her friend Sam are determined to find out what happened and find Hannah's father. Although Sam claims that he has seen a ghost that looks like Hannah's father, Hannah is not ready to admit that her father could be dead. They begin exploring the occult, using a Ouija board to try to contact the ghost.

Meanwhile, Hannah is struggling to concentrate in school, and the school counselor keeps pestering her. Hannah feels like her world is falling apart, but she wants to keep her perfect student persona intact, so she pretends that she is fine. Finally Hannah discovers that admitting that you are struggling is not a bad thing, but a great step to getting others on your team supporting you in meaningful ways.

I really loved the descriptions of Hannah struggling with ADHD. Her brain goes in these wild directions as her imagination and creativity unfold in new ways, but it makes it difficult for her to concentrate or sit still during class. She's incredibly smart and spunky. I just loved her character!

The writing is good, but I felt like the story lagged in the middle. The mystery could have been wrapped up a bit more quickly. It is interesting to see some elements of Hamlet included in the plot, but it's not a direct retelling. I liked that the story had its own direction.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

Dally is grieving the death of her beloved grandfather. In his will, he left her a mysterious map that leads to a Secret Library, a library full of books that, when opened, will transport the reader back in time to learn a secret. Dally begins visiting the library every day. She goes back in time and sees her father when he was young. She sees the day that her parents first met, and she meets her ancestors who used to be pirates. But once she knows each secret, Dally has to decide what to do with that knowledge.

This book started out so fun, and it quickly devolved into a platform for the author to preach their own ideology. It ruined my enjoyment of the book, because the story was obviously constructed specifically to address certain issues that the author wanted to bring to the forefront. I wish authors would just focus on telling a good story, instead of forcing their political views onto the reader.

I ended up skimming through the last third of the book just to be done with it all.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

I couldn't take all the nastiness in this book. There's underage children buying and selling drugs, doing drugs, gambling, cursing, smoking, drinking alcohol, sleeping around. There's a lot of sexual harassment, and several F-bombs. 
So disappointed in this book.