Ahoy there mateys! Apparently this was a 2017 weekly web serial that was later Kickstarted in 2021.  The series is three books that follow Miyara who leaves her life as a princess only to end up hiding in a tea shop.  The first book was fun and I enjoyed each book even if I liked each subsequent book a bit less.  These are cozy reads and contain witches, dragons, found family, spies, assassins, and tea.  I really enjoyed all of the side characters.  Miyara was a bit silly at times because she spent so much time second-guessing herself even when she is basically always right.  She is privileged but somehow is the best to always know what the poor and discriminated against need.  The bad guys were a bit two dimensional.  Glad I read these but will not be buying them for me personal collection.  Arrrr!

Ahoy there mateys! I love, love, love The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic series by this author and reread it via audiobooks this year.  This made me want to try another series by this author.  I picked this first book in The Fractured Faery series.  These books deal with the Fae which normally make me wary but I loved the title and gave it a shot.  I did love how this book started.  Madrona is a silly and fun character.  She begins with amnesia and cannot figure out why everyone is scared of her.  Surely she cannot be that bad? I like the nasty fairies too.  While this book was enjoyable, it ends on a cliffhanger and I do not like the bad guy and his reasons for evil.  I am not sure I want to read more of the series.  I will have to think about it. Arrrr!

Ahoy there mateys!

I loved Rachel Aaron's DFZ series (and I didn't know there is a new spin-off!!).  This is the first book of The Crystal Calamity series.  I liked that this takes place in an alternate 1866 in the West in Montana.  I loved Mary Good Crow.  The blurb makes it sound like she is the only POV but sadly that wasn't the case and I did not love all of the other viewpoints.  I wish we would have had more of Mary.  I did like Rel who works as security for a brothel and saloon.  I also enjoyed the few chapters from Lucas, an officer with the army.  Unfortunately, I did not really care for Josie and thought her character was extremely unrealistic for both the West and the time period even if I took the magic into account.  Sadly as the book progressed, she took up more and more page time.  The crystal magic was compelling at first and I liked the creepy cave system.  But I was not enamored by the explanations of crystals that we did get and I did not enjoy the ending either.  I also thought at 522 pages it was weirdly long in places and then had a rushed ending.  I don't think I will pick up anymore of this series.  But I shall get the new DFZ series spinoff. Arrr!

Ahoy there mateys! Back in the day I read the first four books only to find out the author was writing more in this world.  Arrr!  I love the characters in this series.  There is the detective James, the 1920s ghost Dolly, the fantastic dragon Oz, and the shapeshifter Aliette.  In book 5 James, using a scary deck of cards, has to figure out who is killing the players in a high stakes poker game.  Book 6, the least favorite of the seven, involves James finding a missing shapeshifter and dealing with a cult.  Book 7, deals with James horrible mother and trying to recover stolen artifacts.  These are not books that should be read out of order.  Start from the beginning.  I highly recommend this series.  I will likely reread some of these again in the future. Arrr!

Ahoy there mateys! Aye, I tried another Helen Harper series.  I can't say I really loved this either.  It was fast reading and I finished the book in one day but the world building is kind of nonsensical and thin.  I also thought Mairi was a stupid fool for basically the whole book.  She survives by dumb luck and not intelligence.  There was insta-lust.  Mairi is mute but that gets magically solved at the end.  There are zombie types.  I didn't enjoy the Scottish slang even though I usually don't mind dialects.  It just seemed overwrought.  The climax was quick and Mairi wins against those she shouldn't be able to cause she is a special snowflake.  I don't know if I should try any of Harper's other series or if I should just reread me favorites. Arrr!

Ahoy there mateys! This was a 2023 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Fantasy.  This is not me normal style of fantasy books but the crew was talking about it so I gave it a shot.  This ended up being just okay.  I really enjoyed the female relationships in this and the form of magic that the witches have.  That said, it seemed like the women barely survived the evil man out to kill them all.  I did not really enjoy the ending.  I did very much enjoy the beginning of this book and the set-up.  I found Lucky to be a lovely main character and also enjoyed her grandmother, Stella.  Not sad I read it but the details are not sticking very clearly in me noggin. Arrrr!

Ahoy there mateys! I picked up this book thinking it was something else.  This ended up being an okay mistake.  The novel deals with cardsharp Valen Quinol who is forced into a high stakes game with deadly consequences.  I enjoyed the descriptions of the various games and thought there was a decent overall plot.  Having older characters was nice but I didn't really warm up to the characters. I also felt that there was a bit too much explanation and backstory.  Even with the explanations, the politics and characters still felt a bit thin.  I also did not like the lack of communication and lying between team members.  It felt like the easy way out of creating true conflict.  It was basically a fun popcorn book.  Don't know if I would recommend it overall though. Arrrr!

Ahoy there mateys! This be one of those books where the blurb is extremely misleading and led to some dissatisfaction.  It describes the book as "Stranger Things meets the Golden Age of Detective fiction in a rollicking supernatural detective thriller that introduces Artie Quick, a sales assistant at Filene’s in Boston, who moonlights as a amateur detective."  I did really like Artie Quick, however, she never really feels like a detective of any kind.  She signs up for a criminal investigative class that she does not complete. She hears a scream in the park that she wonders about.  Artie half-heartedly seems to want to investigate to make herself feel useful.  The majority of the book felt like a description of Artie's friendship with Theodore, which I liked.  Maybe the three parts were the problem.  Part one is ‘The Evening Institute for Young Men’  which details the class and friendship.  Part two is ‘The Boston School of Magic’ which discusses Theodore's magic studies and his professor's life.  Part three ‘The Excavated Prison’ is where the mystery is explained and dealt with.  I personally felt that the first two parts were great and the third part felt like a completely different book.  Lots of folks loved this.  Wish I would have. Arrrr!

Ahoy there mateys! The crew really enjoys this start to the trilogy and I did too.  The problem is that I don't have any major thoughts about it.  I really enjoyed the magic system.  I thought the four POVs were likeable and rooted for them.  It was a quick read despite the longer page length.  It used standard tropes but wasn't boring.  Seems like low praise for a book I enjoyed.  I am told the next books in the series are better than the first.  I believe I shall continue the series. Arrrr!

Ahoy there mateys! I loved this novella.  It follows Ester and her giant roc Zahra.  The story is primarily one of relationships - both those of the riders and their birds.  But make no mistake, the rocs are wild animals and dangerous.  I loved the look into the life of the Royal Mews.  I loved getting Ester's backstory.  I loved Ester's growing friendships with other riders.  I loved the world building and descriptions of the kingdoms monsters.  I also rather enjoyed the ending though it took me aback at first.  In general, I feel this novel was the perfect length for the plot.  Arrr!