Book Review: TO KILL A KINGDOM by Alexandra Christo

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Blurb:

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

My Review:

On the Audiobook Narration:

I really enjoyed the Lira narration read by Stephanie Willis, not only did she paint a clear picture of Lira's perspective but she also brought the characters Lira encountered to life. On the other hand, I hated Jacob York's narration of the Elian chapters. Something about his voice didn't agree with me, he made the character sound too cocky and way older than he was supposed to be and the narration he did of the other characters, especially the female ones was just awful. 

On the Book Itself:

Overall, I really liked the story. I liked the distinction the author made between sirens and mermaids and the twist she made to the classic tale of the siren. I could've used more world-building as to the sea kingdom and Midas, it felt like the story revolved around the characters and their surroundings didn't matter. 

The story coasted along smoothly but the ending kind of let me down. I expected more out of the ending of a standalone. 

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Furyborn (Empirium #1) by Claire Legrand

Blurb:

Follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

My Review:

Let me start by saying that I love the cover of this book. Whoever handles the cover art for Sourcebooks Fire always knows what they're doing. 

Furyborn starts off strong and I was hooked on the prologue, dying to find out what happened next. I mean a queen who is hated by her people for killing her husband giving birth to her child then the healer that's helping her is possessed by an evil angel dude and jumps off the balcony to his death? The queen giving her newborn to the healer's son so he can take her to safety just before she's killed in a showdown with the evil angel dude? The possibility that the child and newborn won't make it to safety? Tell me more!

But the story doesn't go that way. It's told in dual perspectives between Rielle (the future queen in the prologue) and Eliana - who is 1000 years in the future. It goes back to two years before the events of the prologue then jumps to Eliana's part of the story. Independently maybe I could have enjoyed Rielle and Eliana's respective stories. Maybe this series could have been made a generational saga or something where the first book was devoted to Rielle and the events leading up to the prologue and then the next book could pick up with Eliana - the child of Rielle who made it 1000 years into the future; but with their stories together this book lost me. 

I liked the premise of Rielle and Eliana being badass female characters but their personalities missed the mark for me and I found them hard to like, although I liked Rielle slightly better than Eliana. Plus, for a YA their attention focused on sex a lot - which for me being nearly 26 didn't bother me but it should be labeled for older teens maybe?

Overall this is not a book for me. The story dragged at times and I found myself wondering why I was torturing myself trying to force myself to read it. 500 pages felt a lot more like 1000 by the time I was done.

My Rating:

🌟

1 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR #3.1) by Sarah J. Maas

Blurb:

The Winter Solstice. In a week. I was still new enough to being High Lady that I had no idea what my formal role was to be. If we'd have a High Priestess do some odious ceremony, as lanthe had done the year before. A year. Gods, nearly a year since Rhys had called in his bargain, desperate to get me away from the poison of the Spring Court to save me from my despair. Had he been only a minute later, the Mother knew what would have happened. Where I'd now be. Snow swirled and eddied in the garden, catching in the brown fibers of the burlap covering the shrubs My mate who had worked so hard and so selflessly, all without hope that I would ever be with him We had both fought for that love, bled for it. Rhys had died for it.

My Review:

It's hard for me not to think of ACOFAS as a "Christmas Book" since its' set at Winter Solstice. A departure from the rest of this series ACOFAS is told mainly in Feyre and Rhysand's perspectives with a few chapters in Cassian's perspective, several in Mor's perspective, and one in Nesta's perspective. With no real pressing threat - except for some distention in the Illyrian camps - this book is mainly about the Inner Circle post-war as they settle back into their lives, help rebuild Velaris, set the groundwork to strengthen alliances with their allies, and prepare for Winter Solstice.

ACOFAS is a quick read, much shorter than SJM's other books and I enjoyed it, although for me it was missing a little something. Action maybe? I know this is supposed to be a ACOTAR series novella but it felt sort of like a filler book - an in-between book before we get to the next book that although nice and enjoyable doesn't really serve any purpose. I mean when Feyre's biggest concern is not knowing what to get her family for Winter Solstice and Rhysand's biggest concern is not having enough time to take Feyre to bed you know there isn't much going on there. 

Overall, I liked this book but I didn't enjoy it as much as some of the author's other books. Of course, my favorite book in this series will always be ACOMAF.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young

Blurb:

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

My Review:

Eelyn was raised as an Aska warrior: fierce, brave, and loyal to her people. But when she sees her "dead" brother fighting with the Riki - the enemy of the Aska clan everything changes. She charges after Iri, nearly getting herself killed and then captured by the Riki in search of answers. 

At first Eeyln hates the Riki, as she was raised to. She doesn't understand why her brother would choose to stay with the Riki and betray the Aska. Bought as a dyr (slave) by Iri's friend Fiske she watches the Riki with as much hate and wariness as they look upon her. But soon she begins to see that the Riki aren't that different than the Aska and she starts to see why Iri cares so much about the family that have taken both of them in.

As Eelyn's feelings for Fiske and his family begin to grow an enemy to both the Riki and the Aska resurfaces and the Aska and the Riki will have to band together to defeat their common enemy - and in doing so will change the way the Aska and Riki coexist once and for all. 

Can two warring tribes defeat their greatest enemy? And if so, where will that leave Eelyn in the end?

Sky in the Deep is fantastically written and I absolutely loved the story. Initially I requested to review this book because I'd heard great things about it and I loved the cover but the story exceeded all of my expectations.

Eelyn is a strong character and her emotions were very well conveyed; I felt betrayed when she felt betrayed by Iri, I felt her sorrow for her family and the Riki during the attacks that brought the clans together, and nervous anticipation during the battle scenes (which I thought were well written).

Sky in the Deep is like stepping into the world of Vikings, which happens to be my favorite show, so I think fans of the show will love this book. 

Overall, I highly recommend this book! It's definitely a book to have on your TBR list this spring. I only feel sad that I've finished the book and have to leave this world behind.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: As She Fades by Abbi Glines

As She Fades by Abbi Glines

Blurb:

From the #1 New York Times- and USA Today-bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach and The Vincent Boys series, Abbi Glines delivers another smoldering, compulsively readable YA romance with As She Fades. 

On the night of her high school graduation, Vale McKinley and her boyfriend Crawford are in a terrible car accident that leaves Crawford in a coma. They were supposed to spend the summer planning for college, for a bright future full of possibility. Together. Instead, Vale spends long days in the hospital, hoping Crawford will awaken. 

Slate Allen, a college friend of Vale’s brother, has been visiting his dying uncle at the same hospital. When he and Vale meet, she can’t deny the flutter of an illicit attraction. She tries to ignore her feelings, but she's not immune to Slate's charm. Slowly, they form a cautious friendship. 

Then, Crawford wakes up . . . with no memory of Vale or their relationship. Heartbroken, Vale opts to leave for college and move on with her life. Except now, she’s in Slate’s territory, and their story is about to take a very strange turn.

Glines’ millions of fans will adore As She Fades, a novel as romantic as it is full of twists and unexpected turns.

My Review:

As She Fades is like a rollercoaster. You're riding along smoothly and you think you have everything figured out and then the bottom drops out from under you, shattering everything you thought you knew. And to be honest, this might be my favorite Abbi Glines novel to date just for its' uniqueness. Plus, Slate is definitely my favorite of her male leads.

The story starts out simple enough, Vale and her boyfriend Crawford get into a major car accident on the night of their high school graduation which leaves Crawford in a coma and Vale sitting vigil in the hospital every day for five weeks. There she meets Slate Allen, a frat brother of her older brother Knox, who is there to spend time with his cancer-riddled uncle. Vale doesn't want to like Slate. She knows his type - the slick, charming, manwhore type and yet as she's shown a different side of him she begins to live again and realizes that her relationship with Crawford wasn't so perfect after all.

As Vale starts college and begins to bring normalcy and routine back into her life she's no longer able to deny her growing attraction to Slate. But Slate's not the relationship type and Vale still has Crawford to think about.

Just as Vale and Slate begin to give into their feelings WHAM, part two starts and turns the entire story inside out. Forget everything, it's like you're reading a completely new story that makes sense but at the same time doesn't; like an alternate reality. 

Some may not like the way this book is plotted with the transition between parts one and two but I actually thought it was well written. The whole story is a departure from the author's other novels and I really loved it. While some of her other novels blend together with their similarity this one will stay with me, haunting me. 

My only issue with this book was where in the blurb it says, "Then, Crawford wakes up . . . with no memory of Vale or their relationship. Heartbroken, Vale opts to leave for college and move on with her life." I kept waiting for that but without giving any spoilers away, that's not the way the book is plotted. I don't know if the blurb was written that way to be purposefully deceptive, but its' a little misleading. But either way, it doesn't really affect the beauty of the book inside. 

Overall, I'm so glad I read this book and I definitely recommend it. The twists and turns were perfect and I couldn't wait to see how it ended, and the ending was satisfying.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco

Blurb:

In The Bone Witch, Tea mastered resurrection―now she's after revenge...

No one knows death like Tea. A bone witch who can resurrect the dead, she has the power to take life...and return it. And she is done with her self-imposed exile. Her heart is set on vengeance, and she now possesses all she needs to command the mighty daeva. With the help of these terrifying beasts, she can finally enact revenge against the royals who wronged her―and took the life of her one true love.

But there are those who plot against her, those who would use Tea's dark power for their own nefarious ends. Because you can't kill someone who can never die...

War is brewing among the kingdoms, and when dark magic is at play, no one is safe.

My Review:

The Heart Forger pulls you back into the mesmerizing world Rin Chupeco created in The Bone Witch. 

Again told in dual the perspectives of the Bard traveling with the exiled Bone Witch, Tea, her resurrected lover, and her collection of Daeva as well as in Tea’s perspective as she continues to unravel the events leading up to her exile. 

In the past a sleeping sickness has fallen over some of the royals in the kingdoms and the gift of a book from the Faceless Dark Asha Tea faced off against in book one as well as the secret bond she has with the azi spell trouble for Tea as she and her friends continue to search for Mykaela’s heartsglass and travel to faraway kingdoms to seek answers.

In the future the Bard begins to understand the reasoning behind the treacherous things Tea is doing as she invades a kingdom and takes over, waiting for those that are after her to find her.

This book was even more amazing than the first book. I had a few questions going in and was afraid I’d forgotten some plot points from the first book since I’d read it but I was able to follow the story as if I’d just read The Bone Witch yesterday.

This story unravels Tea’s past tantalizingly slowly, keeping you on your toes until the end. While some of my questions were answered in this book some will wait to be revealed until the third and final book, but the ending has me dying for the next book already! 

I loved seeing Tea grow in this book and fall in love as well as seeing Fox and the girl who has captured his heart. 

Overall this book is fantastic. The world building is clear and vivid, the characters are well developed, and the heart stopping tension throughout will keep you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommend!

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Of 5 Stars!

#BookTag Saturday: #AceofShades Book Tag

Happy St. Patrick's Day. I'm back and feeling lucky this Saturday as I tackle the #AceofShades Book Tag...

1. Ace of Shades takes place in the very mysterious, very dangerous City of Sin. Name a fictional city with a personality of it’s own!

Velaris in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas. 

2. The City of Sin is home to three ruthless gangs: the Irons, the Scarhands and the Doves. Tell us about your favorite fictional criminal family/gang!

The Dregs (Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo)

3. Enne and Levi are about to be thrown into a deadly game… Name your favorite book in which the characters must play with, and for, their lives.

I guess I'll go with Feyre's challenge of Amarantha Under The Mountain. 

4. The Doves are a gang of assassins… What book would you kill to have in your hands right now?

The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee and Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

5. The City of Sin is full of people with dark and complicated pasts. Name one book or book series you used to like, but don’t anymore.

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers.

6. With complicated pasts abound, we can find many… burnt cinnamon rolls, so to speak. Name a character that has prickly and tough exterior, but is actually a sweetheart deep down!

Varen Nethers, The Goblin King, Rhysand, Sawyer Weston

7. Not only anti-heroes live in the Ace of Shades world! In New Reynes, one can find plenty of villains as well. Which bookish character do you just love to hate?

The Darkling... wait... I love to hate him??? Definitely not. #Darklina

8. You, much like our main character Enne’s mother, went missing in the City of Sin. The main character from the last book you read is the one looking for you… How screwed are you?

LOL That's debatable. I'm reading Chaser by Kylie Scott so if I went missing and Eric thought he was going to get laid... yeah he'd probably come looking for me. 

Book Review: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Blurb:

Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meets the Salem Witch trials in this haunting story about three sisters on a quest for revenge—and how love may be the only thing powerful enough to stop them.

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

My Review:

Every summer the locals of Sparrow, Oregon dread and the tourists delight in the return of the Swan sisters - three sisters who were drowned as witches more than two hundred years ago. Each summer on June 1st they return to get their revenge by invading the bodies of local girls and drawing unsuspecting boys to their watery grave. 

Penny Talbot knows the Swan Season is more than a silly legend or a game, but she has more important things to worry about, like her mother who lost her mind after Penny's father disappeared three years earlier. 

The last place she wants to be is the annual Swan party on the night before the beginning of the Swan Season but she can't say no to her friend Rose. When a newcomer, Bo Carter, saves her from a local bully she reluctantly lets the outsider return to the island she lives on with her mother for a job in exchange for room and board. 

Then the Swan Season begins and soon the bodies begin showing up in the water. Bo doesn't believe in the Swan sisters, but he's about to. Meanwhile, Penny can see which local girls have a Swan sister inside them, but why? What secrets is she hiding? What really happened to her father and caused her mother to lose her mind? And why has Bo really come to Sparrow? 

They both have secrets they don't want to share and they definitely shouldn't be falling in love. Does Penny hold the key to stopping the Swan sisters from coming back ever again? And can Bo ever forgive Penny when he finds out the truth about what she's hiding?

The Wicked Deep is a beautifully written gem of a book. The story grabs you from the first page, mainly told in the perspective of Penny Talbot although there are chapters that take you back two hundred years to the reason the Swan sisters return every summer. 

I loved every minute of this book, it was a quick but powerful read that I didn't want to put down. This book really tugged at my heartstrings, especially at the end. This book is slated as Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meet the Salem Witch Trials, which I definitely saw hints of but it wasn't a take off or a copy of those but it's own breathtaking story. Yes, the Swan sisters were branded as witches and killed. Yes, Penny lives on an island away from everyone else with her mother, but this book is more than that. It's about love and loss and sacrifice. It's about small towns and being judged for being different. It shows that when times get tough, we really haven't evolved much as a society at all.

Overall, this is a book you definitely should read as soon as possible. Shea Ernshaw is an author to look out for because her debut was absolutely perfect. 

My Rating:

★★★★★

5 of 5 Stars!

Spring Into the Season With These 13 Upcoming Spring Releases!

Spring is just around the corner...

so put on your rainboots and dance around in puddles because these thirteen spring releases are almost in the world and you won't want to miss them!

1. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw (03/06/2018)

Why You'll Love The Wicked Deep:
The Wicked Deep is a rich, beautifully written tale of curses, true love, and sisters. It's Practical Magic meets Hocus Pocus meets the Salem Witch Trials. Every summer solstice the Swan sisters return from the dead to "borrow" the bodies of local girls so they can charm boys into joining them in their watery graves. It's their revenge and the town knows all about it; tourists flock to Sparrow every summer for the Swan Season. This book is dark, atmospheric, and you'll gobble it right up!

2. To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (3/6/2018)

Why I'm Excited for To Kill A Kingdom:
To Kill A Kingdom has a gorgeous cover for starters, and tells the tale of a siren who loses her voice and must bring back the heart of a human prince back to the sea queen or else. It appears to be a twisted take on The Little Mermaid. 

3. The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco (3/20/18)

Why You'll Love The Heart Forger:
The Heart Forger continues Tea's tale of how she became banished as she in present time travels with The Bard, her resurrected love, and her horde of beasts to overthrow a kingdom and right wrongs. The story is deeper than The Bone Witch and you'll be dying for the next book!

4. The Continent by Kiera Drake
(3/27/18)

Why I'm Excited For The Continent:
Is it wrong of me to say the reason I want to read this book is because of the controversy last year? I hadn't heard of it before that and if I'm being honest I'm still not sure if its "my kind of book" but it has nothing to do with why people were complaining. I'm not that sensitive of a reader and I look forward to making my own opinion. 

5. Lost Crow Conspiracy by Rosalyn Eves

Why I'm Excited for Lost Crow Conspiracy:
I adored the first book in this series, Blood Rose Rebellion and I'm both excited and unsure about seeing where things go next.

6. As She Fades by Abbi Glines
(4/3/18)

Why You'll Love As She Fades:
As She Fades is possibly my favorite Abbi Glines book to date. The writing is next level, the story has an unexpected twist you won't see coming, and it begs the question, "what if?"

7. Beyond A Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake
(4/10/18)

Why I'm Excited About Beyond A Darkened Shore:
I'm loving all of these Viking inspired novels coming out this year and this one sounds part Norse, part Celtic, and completely awesome!

8. Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young
(4/24/18)

Why You'll Love Sky In the Deep:
Another Vikings inspired book, Sky in the Deep is just everything. It has a fierce female lead, amazingly written battle scenes, mythology, and romance.

9. Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray (4/3/18)

Why I'm Excited For Defy the Worlds:
Defy the Stars was a little out of my comfort zone of reading but I fell in love with it anyway. It was such a quick breeze of a read and the way it ended left me longing to see what happens in Defy the Worlds. 

10. Ash Princess by Lauren Sebastian

(4/24/18)

Why I'm Excited for Ash Princess:
I read an excerpt of Ash Princess online and was hooked on the beginning of the story so I've been impatiently awaiting this book's arrival for months!

11. Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

(4/10/18)

Why I'm Excited for Ace of Shades:
This book seems like such a unique read and I've heard nothing but great things about it!

12. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas
(5/1/18)

Why I'm Excited for A Court of Frost and Starlight:
1. Autobuy author
2. Favorite Series
3. Gorgeous cover...
need I say more?

13. Legendary by Stephanie Garber
(5/29/18)

Why I'm Excited for Legendary:
Legendary is Tella's story and I'm really hoping she's a more worthwhile heroine than Scarlett. I'm still on the fence about this one. 

What books are on your Must Read list this spring?

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #107

This "WIR"-Wednesday I'm digging into an ARC of the sequel of one of my favorite YA Fantasy series. I was so happy that the publisher sent me a copy...

The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco

Blurb:

In The Bone Witch, Tea mastered resurrection―now she's after revenge...

No one knows death like Tea. A bone witch who can resurrect the dead, she has the power to take life...and return it. And she is done with her self-imposed exile. Her heart is set on vengeance, and she now possesses all she needs to command the mighty daeva. With the help of these terrifying beasts, she can finally enact revenge against the royals who wronged her―and took the life of her one true love.

But there are those who plot against her, those who would use Tea's dark power for their own nefarious ends. Because you can't kill someone who can never die...

War is brewing among the kingdoms, and when dark magic is at play, no one is safe.

Why I Requested This Book | What I Think So Far:

Requesting this book was a no-brainer because I loved the first book so much. I wasn't sure I'd get an ARC - in fact I was pretty sure I wouldn't or if I did it would be just an eARC but then one day this book showed up in a plain no-return-address envelope. I was afraid since it had been a while since I read The Bone Witch that I'd have a hard time getting back into the story but I'm pleasantly surprised how seamlessly I was able to get into this book. I continue to love how this series unravels being told in both the present and Tea recounting the past. I can't wait to see how the book ends and I still have plenty of questions about a few plot points.