Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ikenna is still grieving the loss of her grandfather, and considers taking a reprieve from their shared dream of her joining the elite Praetorian ranks, when she learns the life-altering news. Her grandfather, the former Legatus Commander and highest ranking official in the Republic of Mareen, didn't just die of a heart attack. He was assassinated. Most likely by his own Tribunal.

This information changes the trajectory of Ikenna's life, convincing her to pledge herself as a Praetorian aspirant to get close enough to those responsible for her grandfather's death. Though to become a full-fledged Praetorian, she'll have to face the deadliest trials in the Republic—all while hiding the deadly secret she's been harboring.

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I LOVED THIS BOOK. I could not put it down. This is the perfect book for adults who grew up loving the Hunger Games and Divergent. Davenport brilliantly weaves together fantasy, science fiction, and dystopian themes in her debut novel. And boy are we blessed.

The Blood Trials offers a compelling look at grief, war, race and ethnicity, the patriarchy, and classism in a book that is action-packed, gritty, and fun to read. Ikenna is a heroine who contains multitudes. She's loyal to a fault, fiercely empathetic, stubborn, deadly, and she's on a path for justice.

The cast of side characters are also equally compelling. I love seeing many of the other Praetorians and aspirants grapple with what it means to be a soldier of the Republic. Does a good soldier blindly follow orders, or consider what's best for their nation?

I can already see this being one of the most talked-about books of 2022. Give it all the hype and love it deserves! I look forward to reading it again, as this was definitely an un-edited version.

I might say more when it gets closer to release, because omg. So good you guys.

Holy freaking shite-balls, Batman. That ending tho.

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These Hollow Vows follows Brie (Abriella), a human thief with a general disdain for the fae. Why? Because her mother left her and her sister in the care of their uncle to be with one. And, unfortunately for them, that uncle passed on, leaving them in the worse care of their Aunt Viv. Amit Viv and her two daughters treat Brie and her sister Jas as glorified servants, and makes them pay rent on top of that. (Overall, an interesting Cinderella take that I enjoyed).

But when Jas is taken by fae from the Unseelie Court, Brie strikes a deal to steal 3 artifacts from the rival Seelie Court to win her back.

This book began with some of the most beautifully captivating lines I’ve read in a while. The author’s descriptions in the opening were fresh and poetic, and I was so prepared for the whole book to be that way.

Unfortunately once we get into the thick of the plot, much of the charm and beauty of the prose gets waylaid by Brie’s inner turmoil. In fact, she spends so much time lamenting how her love interests will hate her when they figure out her deception, that she barely does what she’s meant to do. That’s ultimately where the book lost me.

I was all about the love triangle, AND I was all about the tasks Brie was meant to accomplish. But ultimately I felt like she was an incredibly ineffective thief

Branded follows a young boy named Henry, whose world changes abruptly one day. The catalyst for this change? When his friend, Rachel, bursts into his class screaming, looking as though she has had a run-in with a pack of wild dogs. The problem is that no one, save his best friend Charley, seems to remember or care about this. Cue a bunch of crazy monsters hunting them down, in search of the very thing his parents fought to protect (and subsequently gave up their memories for).

Unfortunately, overall, this just wasn't my cup of tea. I feel as though this would be better categorized as middle grade fiction, based off of the prose and general story. I personally felt as though the characters fell flat, and the writing was a bit clunky. This was ultimately the result of a heck of a lot of telling, and very little showing. We were given a play by play of actions and emotions, rather than a vivid landscape of what was happening. Often descriptions of the action would read like, "Henry walked to the door, and opened the door." (And let's not forget excessive adverbs and unusual verb usage.)

To me, it lacked interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Intrepid Pen for providing me with an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the story of a sea postman, who meets a 100,000 year old whale on his route one day. The two are kindred souls, in a sense. We also see his relationship with his wife, who is expecting.

This is a quiet, introspective book, and a quick read to boot. I enjoyed the the opening pages immensely, about the importance of telling stories, and how the sea has no one to tell her stories for her. I think this, above all, is the theme. Especially in the end where we see that the whale's story and legacy carries on in ways she could not have prepared for or predicted, yet the man can only suspect what has happened.

I enjoyed the intimacy of the artwork, and I think that part of the story, more than the words, affected me deeply.

Also, this is flipping sad. I was not prepared.