***DNF at 18%***

I think this is a classic case of "It's not you, It's me." THE CHARMED LIST by Julie Abe is a YA contemporary romance with an urban fantasy flair. While I typically love urban fantasy, I did not enjoy it here. It's the start of summer break and Ellie is looking forward to a magical convention down in San Francisco that her family attends every year with all the other witches and covens in the area until she learns that her nemesis Jack will also be attending and somehow winds up roadtripping with him down to the convention. This is where the book succeeded in being a YA contemporary romance. There were plenty of romcom moments in the part that I read between Jack and Ellie. Where it failed for me is the magical component. It felt like an afterthought and a gimmick to make the book stand out among all the other YA romances. It was not a fully thought out magical system, like who has magic, why do they have magic, how does it work, etc. If the fantasy component (which was light to begin with) was thrown out, I'd have enjoyed the book a lot more.

I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

When I first saw Caraval on another blogger’s site, I was intrigued. When I received a copy for review, I was ecstatic! Seriously, did you take the time to read the blurb?! “A legendary game” and “dangerous intrigue” grabbed my attention. Caraval is a story about two sisters, an abusive father, and how they finally escape. BUT y’all it’s SO much more than that. It’s a story about magic and distortion of reality. You can trust nothing and everything at the same time….confusing? You bet but it is such an amazing read!

Scarlett is an easy character to like. Her motives are simple. She’s the older sister. It is her job to protect her sister, her duty to marry, and her responsibility to stay her father’s hand. This girl has one focus and one focus only: marry the fiancé she’s never met and take her sister with her. Scarlett is not really living her life. Her fear rules her and it is heartbreaking. She sacrifices much to protect her sister, including her dreams.

I’ll admit Tella wasn’t my favorite character. She was portrayed as selfish, uncaring about the consequences of her actions. Our first encounter with her she is holed up in the wine cellar with a sailor. *rolls eyes* Do you see why it’s hard to like her? Scarlett sacrifices so much for her and this is what we see. However I do love what the author does with her character.

The plot of the story revolves around the events of Caraval. Scarlett has always dreamed of attending and has written to Master Legend every year since her mother disappeared. He’s never responded. Now she is getting married and he finally responds with tickets. That is how the story begins and I’ll be honest I was shocked at how fast the pace moved. I felt like I couldn’t keep up. I loved the mystery surrounding Caraval which reminded me a bit as a cross between an elaborate circus and Wonderland. There isn’t much known about the game except rumor, yet the mystery and excitement holds the reader captive. And the imagery….seriously LOVED the imagery! It is so vivid, the colors and scenes bleed from the page.

As I’ve been writing this review, I’ve been trying to put into words why I loved the story so much and I feel I’m doing a poor job. Caraval is billed as a game, but it isn’t a game like [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447303603s/2767052.jpg|2792775] was a game. There isn’t really competition per se. It’s like a puzzle game, one that no matter how many times you read it, I think you will catch different clues. It isn’t a story that contains dramatic irony, where the reader knows something the character doesn’t. We learn things at the same speed as the character and the author does a fantastic job of keeping us guessing right to the very end. I personally was shocked and awed at every turn. I cried when Scarlett cried, I fell in love when Scarlett fell in love, and my heart broke with hers. That is a true marker of a great author!

Overall I LOVED this book! I can’t say that enough. I found myself engrossed. When I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about the events that had happened so far. Even now that I’ve finished the book, I’m still thinking about the events and characters and can’t help but wonder what life has in store for them next. I think I missed the memo that they are fictional. If you enjoy fantasy, excitement, and a touch of romance, I highly recommend you grab a copy of Caraval as soon as it is on the shelves!

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Better than the first!!! How often can you say that about a sequel?! Usually sequels suffer from second book syndrome, acting as a bridge in a trilogy, a filler really with no necessary information meaning the book winds up quite dull. Legendary however doesn’t suffer second book syndrome. Far from it! Legendary surpassed all my expectations and is better than [b:Caraval|27883214|Caraval (Caraval, #1)|Stephanie Garber|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465563623s/27883214.jpg|45697227] which is a big feat. I loved [b:Caraval|27883214|Caraval (Caraval, #1)|Stephanie Garber|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465563623s/27883214.jpg|45697227], so I really did have high hopes for this book and probably unrealistic expectations, but they were met with flying colors.

Tella’s Turn
Donatella Dragna (what a mouth full!) is the focus of this sequel. Scarlett’s younger sister and whom Scarlett played Caraval for, Tella has a lot to live up to. Not only did her sister win, but they are now free. Free from their abusive father and free from an arranged marriage Scarlett didn’t want. But now it’s Tella’s turn to enter the game as a contestant and not the prize. Tella is the complete opposite of Scarlett. Where Scarlett was calculating and hesitant, Tella jumps in with both feet, fully immersing herself in this game. The only thing that she had going against her was her hardened heart. “I do not love” is her mantra, except she does, fiercely.

In Legendary, Tella finds herself in a new Caraval, a new game for a new city, complete with its own rules. Except she isn’t sure it is a game. She is tasked with finding the real name of Legend, which seems impossible. However she is up to the challenge. Thinking it just a game until things turn sour, Tella realizes she may be in over head.

The Boys and the Magic
There are two boys that enter Tella’s life during this Caraval: Dante and Jack. Dante was in the first book, and I really didn’t like him. In fact, it is hard to separate the character he became for the first Caraval from the character he is in this book. Each player has their own role and in the first book he was a class A jerk. In this one, he is helping Tella. He’s kind and seems to be falling for her as she is falling for him. Well as much as she will let herself. Jack on the other hand is creepy. I’m pretty sure he is some otherworldly being sent to kill everyone. At least that’s how he comes off. It is Jack that challenges Tella and scares her (and if I’m being honest me too!!!).

The magic of this book is just as surreal as the first. I found myself fully immersed into Tella’s world. Entranced by the words, because y’all Garber writes beautifully vivid imagery and Legendary is full of it! The book comes to life on the pages. It is fantastic!

Final Thoughts
Legendary is a must-read for any fan of [b:Caraval|27883214|Caraval (Caraval, #1)|Stephanie Garber|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465563623s/27883214.jpg|45697227], but if you haven’t read the first book you will be lost. So friends if you like lush fantasy, historical settings (think Victorian times), I highly recommend you get a copy ASAP. It does not disappoint! Like I need more of it and will most likely reread the series prior to the release of Finale. Tella and Scarlett are fantastic characters, I love their relationship, and I love the men in their lives. Now I’m ready to get to the bottom of this mystery!!

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

If you enjoyed the movie Life as We Know It with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, you are in for a treat. The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken is, at times, a heartbreaking romantic comedy about two opposites who find themselves raising their best friends’ children after they are killed in an accident. The book begins a few weeks after Colby and Rip take shared custody of their godchildren, and honestly everything is falling apart. Colby is doing her best, and Rip hasn’t grieved so his grief comes out in anger toward Colby. How will these two set aside their differences and do what is best for the kids?

I devoured this book in almost one sitting. In fact, I blame it for my current reading slump as nothing has compared to it. I loved Colby and Rip individually, but together they are magic. The chemistry was a little hard to buy into though. Rip is not nice to Colby from the moment we meet him. She’s constantly trying, trying to be a good mom, trying to be someone she isn’t, trying to please Rip, and she fails at every turn. Rip’s grief is slowly eating away at him. He didn’t just lose his best friend. He also lost his little sister. Now, he has to raise his niece and nephew without them and with a woman who drives him crazy. Cue the frustratingly funny moments.

Van Dyken utilizes two of my favorite tropes in bringing Colby and Rip together: forced proximity and enemies to lovers, though the latter is a lighter version of the trope. After Monica and Brooks die, Colby and Rip learn that the pair chose them to raise the kids in their will, not separately, but to coparent. This makes sense from a parent standpoint. These two people are their best friends, the kids are familiar with them, and their personalities balance each other out. To Colby and Rip, it is a nightmare. Not only are they grieving, but they have to learn to live with one another and somehow help the kids through their grief. While this is a romantic comedy, it is also a found family story showing how the four become a tight family unit.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Godparent Trap. It was easy to root for Rip and Colby from the start, even when Rip was being a bit of a jerk. I loved the kids. They were a fantastic addition to the story. Seeing what was happening through their eyes was heartbreaking, but also uplifting. With laugh out loud moments and times where the tissues are required, The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken is a must read for fans of heartfelt, romantic comedies.

Of all the books we’ve read in the read-along so far, I was the most excited for this one. Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost is the first book in a spin-off series featuring Vlad Tepesh and following Leila, a human with a unique gift. When Leila is kidnapped by a group of vampires looking for Vlad, she finds herself in a position to reach out to the vampire prince for help. The question is if he will answer.

Leila’s ability to harness energy is more curse than gift. When she touches a person, she sees their worst sin and passes an electrical current to them. If they are human, she can kill them without meaning to. However with vampires, she has to touch them longer to do any damage which is how she winds up tied to a chair in a hotel room. Her gift also gives her the ability to see what a person will do if she touches an object linked to them. This is the mistake the vampires who take her make. It is through this object she contacts Vlad.

I was a little disappointed by Vlad in this book. All our encounters with him to this point has been through Cat. He was always helpful and kind towards her, even if he did it to piss off Bones. But with Leila, he was hard to get a read on. He is instantly attracted to her power and the fact that he seems to be the only one immune to her. I love the encounters between them. There is a palpable tension especially with Leila’s ability to see their future. Yet that has to be put to the side for later. Someone is looking for Vlad, someone who wants to kill him, and that someone is hunting Leila.

Overall, I really enjoyed Once Burned. I liked seeing the vampire world from Leila’s eyes. While she was familiar with it, it was interesting to read about the Night Huntress world from a new character’s perspective. I cannot wait to read more about Vlad’s past and his world. I’m also hoping to get some chapters from his perspective in the next book. *fingers crossed* Full of intrigue and danger, Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost is a fast-paced, exciting paranormal romance.

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

It is no secret how much I love the Caraval series from Stephanie Garber. I have devoured each book in less than 48 hours and have no shame in saying that I skipped sleep to do so. Finale is the final book in the trilogy about the Dragna sisters and the mysterious Caraval ringmaster Legend. Y’all if you’ve enjoyed the previous two books of the series, you will love its conclusion.

If you have not read the previous books in the series, there are minor spoilers to those books in this review. Read at your own risk.

Finale begins two months after Tella completed her Caraval and Legend claimed Valenda’s throne. The only interaction Tella has with Legend is in her dreams, where he appears as Dante, the boy she fell for in the last Caraval. Tella knows it was all part of the game, but tell that to her heart! Meanwhile Scarlett is writing to the count, her true fiance, and trying to not think about Julian, the boy who she misses. When he turns up on the day she is to meet the count, Scarlett devises a game for the count and Julian to win her hand. Finale is a whirlwind, unlike the first two books in that it focuses on events that are truly happening as the games have ended and lives are at risk.

I really like Tella and Scarlett. I love their relationship and how the two balance each other. Tella is headstrong and acts without thinking where Scarlett is her opposite, thinking too much and with her heart not her head. Both sisters feel deeply and love fiercely and it’s why I love them so much. Tella is a bit lost in this book. She never intended to give her heart away, and Legend shattered it. Now she hangs back, afraid to offer it again to anyone. Scarlett plays a larger role here than she did in [b:Legendary|36329818|Legendary (Caraval, #2)|Stephanie Garber|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1506803153s/36329818.jpg|54501288]. Scarlett is central to the plot, and I love how Garber weaves her story together. It’s heart-wrenching and beautiful all at the same time.

The plot is two fold as the story is told from both Tella and Scarlett’s points of view. I love the dual POV. It gives a full picture of what the sisters face. In this final installment of the series, Legend continues his work to defeat the Fates who were fully introduced in the previous book. The question and main plot focus is how. Without spoiling the story, the how refers to why Tella, Scarlett, and their mother Paloma fit into Legend’s game. Y’all it is fantastic! I love the history and backstory that is added to this already lush fantasy.

Now I’d be remiss in not mentioning the romance. Y’all we get a double dose in Finale. With the dual POV, we get Tella’s heartache and Scarlett’s romance. It’s a callback to Caraval when Julian had me fall for him the first time. My only complaint about the whole book is the love triangle….really love triangles. In [b:Legendary|36329818|Legendary (Caraval, #2)|Stephanie Garber|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1506803153s/36329818.jpg|54501288], Tella enters into a fake engagement to the Prince of Hearts, Jacks, while pining for Dante, erhm….Legend. Well it carries over to this book and drags out til nearly the end which is frustrating to me. Scarlett’s triangle begins because of Julian’s lie about the count. Now she is torn between the man she used to dream of and the man who holds her heart now. Thankfully, the main plot eclipses the triangle, and it resolves early in the story.

Overall, I love this book! I have enjoyed every moment of the series, even the sad and haunting ones. The vivid imagery, the lush fantasy, the history and world-building that makes Caraval magical is perfection. Finale encompasses everything a fantasy should be while staying unique and memorable. If you’ve enjoyed the series thus far or enjoy fantasy, I highly recommend it.

This review first appeared on Mom with a Reading Problem.

I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim is the finale to Six Crimson Cranes and one of my most anticipated books this year. I adored Six Crimson Cranes and really couldn’t wait to dive into Shiori’s story. However, I don’t know if it was my anticipation or the writing itself that caused my lower rating. In The Dragon’s Promise, Shiori and her brothers are home, and Raikama’s death weighs heavy on them all, especially Shiori. With the promise to return the pearl to its rightful owner, Shiori sets off with Seryu to the dragon’s kingdom, leaving all she loves behind and not knowing if she will return. The story follows her adventures in the underwater realm and the peril she faces with the demons in the mountain.

I love Shiori, and I still do. She is such a strong character. Her love and loyalty to her brothers and the growing love between her and Takkan is beautiful. Her growth over the series is truly evident here in all that she faces to protect Kiata. I love her magic and Kiki, her paper crane. Kiki is fantastic, and basically the inner voice of Shiori. Despite loving Shiori, the story itself struggled.

While I love all the characters and the world Lim has created for them, I did not enjoy this story. There was a lot of rehashing and repetition that occurred. Shiori’s trip to the dragon kingdom is roughly half the book, and as it was alluded to in book one, I expected a majority of the plot to take place here. However, it was disjoined. The events in the dragon kingdom do not bear much weight to what is happening in Kiata. The story with Bandur was truncated and at the same time drug out. Multiple chapters end the same way with little forward progression in the story. As a result, I found myself asking if Shiori’s story could have been down in a longer standalone book instead of a duology.

Overall The Dragon’s Promise was not my favorite read of the year. Despite that, I did enjoy parts. I loved Takkan and Shiori’s continued relationship, her brothers are amazing, and how the story wraps up is beautifully written (like brought me to tears). If you enjoy Asian folktales and legends, I highly recommend it. Lim has seamlessly crafted her own story weaving in threads from Asian culture. The Dragon’s Promise is a beautifully written, slower-paced novel about one girl’s heart and soul and where they belong.

Continuing this month with the second book in Vlad’s series, Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost is an exciting thrill from start to finish. It picks up roughly 6 weeks after the events of book one. Here’s your warning, there are spoilers ahead for book one. If you haven’t read it and want to avoid spoilers, skip to the last paragraph