lisaluvsliterature's Reviews (4.19k)

I loved the first book in this series, House of Ash and Shadow, and when I saw this was available to ask for the e-galley, I immediately requested and downloaded. This is a series that I really like! This one was another quick and intense ride. *Spoiler if you haven’t read the first one yet!* We had left off with Ariyon stranded in the kind of underworld for this world. He and Fallon’s powers had switched as well. Which worked out for him because he was going to have to fight while he was down there. Fallon experienced his healing powers and it turns out what she experienced made an impression on him at the end when they were able to see each other again. Fallon has to swear her loyalty to the queen in public in order to get the queen to give her a chance. Everyone expects Fallon will have no choice but to go bad as they say everyone in the Bane family did. There are a lot of history lessons in this about her family and the queen’s family. Of course each side has their own version, and it is easy to see how what happened to them could definitely affect how they saw those memories. But it also makes it harder to know who to believe and trust in. When Fallon finds out who actually cursed her it is a big deal. Once again the story ends on a cliffhanger, I won’t give it away. I’m a little worried though because I thought I already had the third book, but it is archived on Netgalley, last month even thought it isn’t supposed to come out till June, and then it is a request only on Edelweiss. So I hope I can get it!

I won this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. The fact that it compared the story to the tv show The Last of Us, which I enjoyed, is what got me interested. I do enjoy a good zombie/post-apocalyptic story. This had a lot of really interesting aspects and unique details. The story is told through the POV of both Mara and Rory. Mara was infected with the Tick, or the virus that created the zombies. But somehow the scientists have found a type of drug that can help the Ticks become human, mostly, again. Mara is one of them, and is being sent to live with her godparents. Her own parents are dead, she killed them. She has an older sister, but she won’t take her. Mara’s godparents are Rory’s parents. But Rory has been dealing with living through this new world. She’s felt like her parents didn’t take care of her at times and she now calls them by their first names. She lost one of her younger sisters to the Ticks, and then had to kill her sister herself to keep her from turning.

Mara and Rory had been best friends, maybe more, before all this happened. So the two of them are learning whether any of that friendship or more is still there. But of course you know in a world like this the guys running the towns aren’t always as good of guys as you think there are. And there are also all the people who don’t trust that this medication will actually help the Ticks, or even if it does, they still think they all deserve to die because they killed people before. Also Mara’s older sister wants her dead too.

Seeing the way the world had changed was interesting and I liked both the things that reminded me of favorite shows and movies, as well as the newer takes on things the author had. I liked the characters’ growth and how they came to figure things out. There was also a unique change in what happened when the medicine wasn’t given for several days, and how different zombie/ticks reacted to not having it. Definitely a good read!

I chose this from my freebie e-books to try to get another TBR book read. And it was short, so I figured I could fit it in at work in times where I couldn’t do much besides sit at my desk and wait for the next student to come in with a laptop problem. I enjoyed this enough that I did pick it up between finishing other books as well. I liked the neurodivergent main character, Hunter, who reminded me a bit of Sheldon. There were a few things that were a little cringey, like the sex in the lab and the gloves and a microscope slide. I get what the author was trying to do with that, but still it was a bit ewww for me. And one point with Abigail’s ex was a little darker than I expected as well. But not that it was bad, just not expected. The town was a fun little place and I could see enjoying more books by this author in the future.

So I thought this one came out in March, the ARC said March 5th. Then on Goodreads it said March 24th, so I postponed reading it for a week or so because it was so long. And then as I went to write this review, I saw it doesn’t come out till May 7th now! So I’m writing this in March, but you won’t be reading it actually here on the blog until closer to pub date.

This was a looooooong book. And when at first it didn’t grab me, I almost put it down to add to my DNF list. However, I kept giving it a chance, and did eventually get hooked into the story and seeing what would happen. The magical world was very creative and interesting. And there were a ton of twists and turns, betrayals, but then maybe it wasn’t as much of a betrayal, and then lookout because there was yet another person who was not really on their side. There were quite a few characters to keep track of on that side of who was good and who was bad and who was family, etc. Lots to keep track of at times that I know I missed when I’d have to reread a paragraph to understand something a person was doing. 

But, as I said, the magical world was so unique in so many ways. I liked the different types of powers or magic the people had. Venus, the main character, had so many different aspects to her own, and how it changed in ways throughout the story kept me reading to see what could actually be done and how. The political design of this world was similar to what is real, but also had enough changes to make it interesting and not as infuriating in some ways. Their is representation of culture and sexuality in the characters as well. There is really something for everyone who enjoys a good fantasy with a bit of realistic contemporary/urban setting. Just know that it is a long book and settle in for a bit of time spent reading.

Of course I’d been seeing this one around, it has been pretty popular, so I decided to give it a shot. When I looked for the audiobook on the library Libby app, I had a long wait ahead of me. The first time it popped up as available I was in the middle of a review audiobook so had to drop my place in line. It came back right as I was finishing my last audiobook so went ahead and checked it out. I really, really enjoyed it! I’ve been getting into books that have a bit of a Dungeons & Dragons aspect, which while this is fantasy, I feel like it had that aspect to it as well. I loved the idea of opening up the coffee cage that Viv wanted, and I love how the stone she had used to help things get rolling might have actually ended up doing the things it did. I loved all the characters, especially the little baker Thimble. One thing that did bother me is that a couple of the characters had similar sounding names, Tandri and Pendry for instance. But other than that it was really good, and I definitely recommend the audiobook!

I’ve wanted to read this author for a while, and now after reading and loving this one, I know I need to go back and get to the ones I missed. This was a very emotional story, with really a lot of angst because both characters wanted to be with the other. But both knew or had reasons that they thought they shouldn’t be together. Reading about Sam’s past, how his dad had been to him, for the most part there were no immediate scenes describing the abuse. Just the after effects like bruises and injuries that Nova noticed, or him trying to figure out how to cover them or stay safe.

Now Nova’s life wasn’t bad. She just moved a lot with her mom’s job taking them places constantly as she helped on company then moved on to the next when that job was done. Nova had always seemed to like it. I mean, how much fun to be able to reinvent yourself in each new place and try out what life could be like in a different clique/group of high school. However all the reinventing made it so she didn’t really know what she actually liked and what she’d just participated in because of her found friends. She also ended a relationship that she’d thought was more than it was and was reeling a bit from that, thinking she now just needed to be herself in this latest place. Especially as the need to figure out what she wanted to do for college became a high priority both at school and with her mom.

Sam had been adopted by his aunt and uncle and it was a good life now. He was a star football player, dating a cheerleader, living the high school dream of so many boys, especially in Texas. But underneath it all he doesn’t quite know if he’s happy. He doesn’t know that he actually wants to do football for the rest of his life, even as scouts and colleges are promising him full rides and his new parents celebrate with him and are so proud. And even though he’s not really shown any signs, there’s just always the fear that he might become like his own abusive father. Not to mention he doesn’t want to disappoint either his parents or his girlfriend, and isn’t it a happy enough life the way it is, to follow these expectations?

But Sam and Nova had made a promise promise to each other when he left that they’d find each other again when they were 18 years old. It may be a year early for Nova, but when she happens to move in to his school, in fact his very neighborhood, all sorts of things start to connect. Then a personality test the school has all the students take on the first day Nova is there shows the two have a 99% compatibility, the highest of anyone else in the school, even Sam and his girlfriend aren’t that close! Even as I said, they both try to fight it.

I was totally in for this will they won’t they story. My only issue was the tiny bit of cheating it involved, even if it was really just spending time that they felt guilty about even as just friends. And the one kiss at a dance. Sam’s girlfriend Abigail was such a good person. Not your stereotypical cheerleader mean girl. I imagine her character was very similar to how my younger sister who was a cheerleader actually was in school. My sister was never a mean girl, well except maybe to our younger sister, but that’s a sibling thing. And I like getting a story where the cheerleader can be shown differently than the stereotype.

So really this was overall a great story and one I can’t wait to share with my students!

I think this is probably going to be my favorite one in the series so far, especially as I do love a good hockey romance! Overall this was a really sweet romance. One thing I really liked is that any drama seemed real. While this was a somewhat fake romance type of story, in that he needed to get married to save the family castle, it also wasn’t fake, because they both were kind of interested in each other to start with, and while it wasn’t an immediately easy thing to come out and tell the other one how they felt or that they loved them when it came to that, they still showed it and didn’t lie just to save face. What I mean by it seeming real is that I feel like the way they behaved wasn’t drama just for a story’s sake. They didn’t go over the top ignore the other one, deny any possible feelings, etc.

And Xavier was a sweetie. The way he got to know Penny and accepted her the way she was with no hesitation. The way he learned what she liked, knew what she was good at, showed up just to see her play her harp, etc. He was what you’d think of as the perfect guy in that way. And Penny was really such a strong woman, working so hard to do what she wanted, and for the most part, didn’t let what other people thought affect her. Except when it came to her stutter. And so that was something she was working on, something that brought her and Xavier together as the story began.

Because all of these stories are sweet romance, this one was too. I’m used to quite a bit steamier when it comes to my hockey romance, but in a way this was nice too. Even if occasionally it was a little too squeaky clean for me. It almost wasn’t even something you could called closed door, as it sounded as if all they did was kiss. Literally. No mention of anything other than kissing, and hugging, and maybe sniffing hair or smelling their shampoo/body products. One mention of a feeling in her stomach that she’d never had before.

Lots of other people in this world, other hockey players on Xavier’s team of course, other friends of Penny’s, etc. A fun world that I could see more fun stories in!

Once again Angel is back and it seems that as she keeps trying to get further ahead in her new chance at life, be it zombified or whatever, things keep conspiring to push her back and cause her problems. I can’t promise no spoilers if you haven’t read the first two yet, so be cautious as you read on!

The Big Bad in this one is kind of new, but as with the last book, we have some of the bad guys who show up once again. And once again there may be some possible switching of sides, which we may not know about. First Angel almost gets hit by a truck at the local high school where they’re filming a zombie movie. She’s saved by the zombie she was forced to make in the last book, Phillip. So it seems like maybe he’s not a bad guy? But that opinion doesn’t last long when he is part of some other events that make him out to be still an enemy.

The doctor that was so evil in the last book is also back, maybe working for the bad guys this time. Angel is still having to deal with her boyfriend/zombie daddy Marcus’s often overbearing overprotectiveness, as well as his condescension at times. Her father is also a wild card, she can’t quite tell if he’s really working on not getting drunk all the time, and his attitude at times doesn’t make it seem he is. Fortunately Marcus’s uncle Pietro seems to be more someone that Angel can count on.

And it’s not only the bad guys she knows, but a new family and maybe a spy, as well as mother nature taking a swipe at Angel’s life as well. I enjoyed this one for sure, and am looking forward to seeing just what happens in the next book between the latest villains and how the people closest to Angel say they are working on things, and if they’ll actually do that.

The concept of wedding objectors was so much fun! Even if technically Max didn’t want to be called “The Objector” and Sophie used it as a fun name for him, making me giggle each time she called him that. As usual this author brings some of the best banter, as well as fun situations, and unique side characters to life in her latest romance. This was a bit of a “he falls first” story for sure, but neither Max nor Sophie wanted to fall. While Max did believe there was love and Sophie said she didn’t, that didn’t mean he was looking for that as part of his life.

However both of them had something riding on them finding a significant other. So finding each other led to a perfect fake dating plan, which of course went awry when those pesky little things called feelings found their way in despite all protests to the contrary. I adored Sophie’s quirky roommates, not at all what you’d expect when you first heard the way they behaved and things they’d said. But all the scenes with those two were ones I looked forward to when they popped up.

The different weddings they attended were fun, and all unique, which made for a new experience each time instead of it being like a repeat scene. The sexy scenes were there, but not too much, and it was a very quick read, kept me turning pages until I could see how they would solve their problems and finally give in to what they were feeling. Another quick and fun read from Lynn Painter!

I have adored this whole series, so when the author mentioned this one was coming out I was so excited! And it definitely did not disappoint at all! It really even tied quite a bit into my own tour bus experience last summer in some ways, making me wish I could afford to do one just like they did in this story!

Both of our main characters were in the past books in the series, as well as the author brought those couples back into the story since they were friends. Just like the other two books this was a quick and easy read. It had funny banter, wonderful side characters, interesting history/science aspects, as well as another good “villain” someone to hate. And what I especially love is how the author makes sure the bad guy gets their deserved karma and we get to see it as part of a story. 

While I had a bit of a feeling what might be the catalyst for the big blow up at the end, I like that it wasn’t necessarily an issue between TJ and Emilia, and it did also come about a little differently than I was predicting. I like being surprised! Visiting all the historic places even just in passing as part of the story was a lot of fun too. What was going on with Emilia was unbelievable that it could get to that point, but I also feel like that might be more how it is in other countries, especially even my own family’s ancestral country of Italy.

I also adored this cover as much as the first two, especially with the pink! I’ll have to buy this to add to my shelf when I can!