Book Review: The Thief (The Queen's Thief #1)

Release Date: October 1, 1996
Author: Megan Whalen Turner
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Length: 279 pages
Source: Audible Audiobook

Nothing is overdone and not a word is out of place in this auspicious debut," wrote Kirkus in a starred review of Instead of Three Wishes, the first book by Megan Whalen Turner. Her second book more than fulfills that promise.

The king's scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king's prison. The magus is interested only in the thief's abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone's guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.

Megan Whalen Turner weaves Gen's stories and Gen's story together with style and verve in a novel that is filled with intrigue, adventure, and surprise.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Once claiming to be a thief who can steal anything Gen is now rotting in prison in Sounis when the King's magus comes to retrieve him for a mission where he could gain fame and fortune or a knife in the back. Joining Gen and the magus on their journey are the magus's apprentices Sophos and Ambiades, as well as a soldier and bodyguard named Pol. On this journey, Gen often butts heads with his companions, but along the adventure, he proves to be a capable and cunning thief. I love that Gen's flaws don't come from his profession, something that has been established he excels at, instead, his faults come in his pride and, like most fantasy heroes, his stubbornness. Over the course of the story, I loved seeing Gen come out of his shell as well as learn more about where his true motives lie.

World Building: My favorite thing about this story is that throughout their journey the magus and Gen trade stories about the gods of this world, gods that are very obviously inspired by the Greco-Roman pantheon of gods. The stories are a joy to behold in this tale, while I was a little anxious as I wasn't sure if the stories would be based on Greek and Roman myths or if the stories would be brand new, while most of the stories are original there are of course bits and pieces that are pulled from Greek myths. The stories in this book deal mostly with the creation of the world as well as tales relating to a specific god and the item that our group seeks. There isn't a whole lot of development of this world in the story beyond setting up the three kingdoms that we see, however, there are five more books in this series so there's a whole lot more to explore in the future. As for any romance in this story, well, there isn't any, however, I did think that Gen and one of his traveling companions had slow-burning romance, but by the time the story was over, I realized just how wrong I was.

Predictability: This story isn't particularly long and while there are a fair number of twists, I felt like the characters pointing said twists out in the book lessened some of that gut punch that a good twist will give you. For most of the story, I had a vague idea of where everything was headed but was stumped on how it would end, which we'll get to in a second, the end had the most twists and turns and it was during the cooldown period where I was the most blown away with how everything ended up.

Ending: The final climax of this story is excellent. As the story winds to close things get crazy as our group of adventurers and treasure seekers find themselves in a few sticky situations and they are forced to navigate their way out. I don't want to say too much but there is at least one action scene and there may have been a plethora of emotions unleashed on me as this story not only overcame the final climax but came to a close during the "cooldown" period, I put cooldown in quotes because there are plenty of twists during this point and they didn't exactly cool down the story. The story doesn't end with a cliffhanger, and in fact, you could probably read this as a standalone if you didn't enjoy it, but for me, I can't wait to explore more of this world and the mythology the pulled me in in the first place.

Rating:

I loved this story and the only thing I feel I can complain about is that it's too short, but again, there are more books and more to explore and when I can I'll be diving right back in!

Blog Tour Omnibus Review: Star-Touched Stories (The Star-Touched Queen #2.5)

Release Date: August 7, 2018
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books
Length: 304 pages
Source: NetGalley eGalley

Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Death and Night

He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes.

Poison and Gold

Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Queen Gauri and King Vikram's new reign presents itself, she is thrown into the path of the fearsome yet enchanting Spy Mistress. To help her friends, Aasha will have to battle her insecurities and perhaps, along the way, find love.

Rose and Sword

There is a tale whispered in the dark of the Empire of Bharat-Jain. A tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth?

    

Reviews:

Death and Night

Recommend Reading AFTER The Star-Touched Queen

In a time long before the events of The Star-Touched Queen, Death needs to find himself a consort, but a curse cast on him causes him to seek companionship without love. Then he meets Night, a girl who would never marry without love. At first, I wasn't sure why this story would be necessary, given that most of it is at the very least alluded to in The Star-Touched Queen, however, other than seeing this world expanded even more and learning more about how this world functions, I found myself really invested in the stories of Death and Night. Even though I knew their story, I never really saw them fall in love, at least not the first time, and it was interesting to see how they originally came together. We also get to see more of their personal lives, Death's friendship with Gupta and Night's with Nritti and as much as I hate who Nritti becomes, I have to say that I really enjoyed her here which really only turns my rage for her into sadness, at the loss of what could have been. Still, even if I wasn't surprised by the events of this story, I was surprised by how much I was sucked into it and by how much I ended up enjoying it.

Rating:

Even with how much I love The Star-Touched Queen, I never really expected to love Death and Night as much as I do, going in I felt it was going to be a fluff piece, which in some ways it is, but I didn't expect to get so thoroughly invested in a story that I thought I already knew the ending of.

Poison and Gold:

Recommend Reading AFTER A Crown of Wishes

Aasha, the vishakanya who was given a choice to live two lives in A Crown of Wishes, is back and sets out on her own adventure when Gauri and Vikram need her to train for a new position in the palace. Her training is grueling and her new mistress is fierce, plus she needs to hide her true nature for the protection of her friends as well as herself, and lately, her power to shift between her human and vishakanya forms hasn't been cooperating. At first, I was a bit bummed by how tropey this story can be, I mean, I feel as though I've read stories of characters who suddenly lose control of a new power, and of an apprentice training under a seemingly cruel master or mistress. Then, almost suddenly I didn't care, I mean, that's one of the things this author does so well is to take classic tropes and show them her way, infused with her culture and it totally works on me. I love Aasha so much and her journey in this story is a great one and carries a powerful message. I will say though that I felt the ending was rushed a little bit and I wish that it could have had an ending that didn't feel so sudden.

Rating:

I love this story so much and was happy to see a little more of this world after A Crown of Wishes as I was completely over the moon when it came to that story and I love seeing Gauri and Vikram again as well as learning more about Aasha.

Rose and Sword:

Recommend Reading after A Crown of Wishes

This is a tale told in the past, just before Gauri and Vikram are to be wed, and the present, decades later on the eve of another wedding, though it isn't our main character getting married, it's her sister. Hira is sad that, after her sister's wedding, Meghara will leave to go live with her new husband and his family, so after a fight between the sisters Hira goes to see her grandmother and there her grandmother tells her a story. The story is about before Gauri and Vikram's wedding and the tragedy that shakes the palace. I cannot tell you how much I love this story, it's a story of love, both familial and romantic and how, even in anger love can still burn bright. I love seeing this world open up so much more, yet still, have a focus and a home base in Bharata or now it's called Bharat-Jain. As always the author's writing is lyrical and poetic and every moment feels necessary and full of life, even amongst death. Then there's the end, an end that leaves a small window open for more stories, stories that pray will someday be written, and an end to parts of the story that I never want to say goodbye to, but I know must inevitably come!

Rating:

I didn't have to think twice about this rating, I barely had to think once. I practically melted into this story while reading it and by the end, I was shedding tears, though whether they were tears of happiness or joy, well, you'll have to read this story for yourself to find out.

Overall Rating:

I loved this small collection of stories so much and it really helped to fill in the hole of not having more novels in this series, though the window left open for more gives me hope, my only drawback for this collection, and as you can see it didn't affect my rating is that this collection isn't in hardcover, but c'est la vie!

About the Author:

Roshani Chokshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and A CROWN OF WISHES. Her middle grade debut, ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME, released April 3, 2018 from Disney/Rick Riordan Presents. Her next young adult novel, THE GILDED WOLVES, is slated for Winter 2019. Chokshi's work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Shimmer, and Book Smugglers. She was a finalist in the 2016 Andre Norton Award and the Locus Top Ten for Best First Novel. Her short story, "The Star Maiden," was longlisted for the British Fantasy Science Award.

Book Review: Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch (Villains #3)

Release Date: July 26, 2016
Author: Serena Valentino
Publisher: Disney Press
Length: 196 pages
Source: Library Audio Book

The tale of the sea king's daughter Ariel is a beloved one of losing-and then finding-one's own voice. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the mergirl wants more than her world can offer, and her father demands that she live within the confines of his domain. Her rebelliousness costs the little mermaid her voice and nearly her soul. But the power of good prevails, and Ariel emerges proud and unchanged.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of Ariel's nemesis, Ursula, the sea witch? What led to her becoming so twisted, scorned, and filled with hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives. Here is one account of what might have shaped the sea witch into a detestable and poor unfortunate soul.

    

Review:

Characters: So, obviously this section was supposed to be labeled, "Protagonist" and focus on Ursula and her story arc and character development over the course of the book, however, Ursula isn't really the sole focus of this story, in fact, there are quite a few different perspectives to this story. First of course is Ursula, the Sea Witch sister of King Triton who holds dominion over the Unclaimed Waters. As with other installments in this series, there is an effort made to make Ursula more sympathetic and it did work on me a bit, but that sympathy mostly comes from how harshly she was treated in the past and because this author made a seemingly noble character from the movie into a pretty hands down evil character. We also spend some time with the Odd Sisters, three sister witches who are searching for their missing little sister and come to Ursula for help. Their search for Circe and their love for her do affect them, and while I already find them interesting and mysterious characters, I did find myself enjoying them even more in this installment. Finally, we see from a couple characters I never expected to see again, Princess Tulip and her Nanny from The Beast Within, I mean, I knew Tulip had a small history with Ursula, but I wasn't expecting that she and Nanny would have much, if any role in this story, and yet, here we are. I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed their aspects of the story, particularly Nanny's.

World Building: This has been the hardest section to write because well, there isn't a whole lot of world building that relates directly to Ursula's story. There's so little of this story that's told from Ursula's POV, I mean even the flashbacks we get don't feel as detailed as the ones we see in Fairest of All and The Beast Within, or at least they don't feel as detailed, it's been a while since I read them. There isn't all that much built off of the Little Mermaid movie, other than some adjustments to certain characters and some pretty drive-by exposition relating to Ursula's time in Atlantica and the horrors and prejudices she experienced both on land and in Atlantica. The majority of the world building is spent on the original characters of this series and sort of building out this vast Disney inspired landscapes of kingdoms, which I have to admit it's pretty cool to see Disney's Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Sleeping Beauty all referenced in the same story and really only connected through the Odd Sisters.

Predictability: Because this story didn't quite go the way I expected, I can't quite say that it's unpredictable. I mean, sure the Disney story being retold, that's more or less predictable, but nearly everything else in this story was practically impossible for me to predict. There are some really good twists in this story and there are a couple that I can't believe I didn't see coming, but I didn't and of course, there were some that completely blew me away.

Ending: I wasn't really sure what to expect when I got to the ending of this book, besides some reflection of the end of the Disney movie, I figured the final climax of the story would be nearly the same, if not completely the same as the Disney movie, which it is, but with some fun little twists. The ending though, I wasn't expecting it to feel less like a standalone and more like a traditional series. Even though the story of The Tale of the Sea Witch is done, the ending of this story makes it very clear that more is coming and while the ending doesn't quite feel like a cliffhanger, I'm still eager to read the next installment!

Rating:

This book was so very hard to review, not only because it's so short, but because there are a few different perspectives that divide up this already short book. Still the story itself is fantastic, but the elements that I came to this book for, such as Ursula's past and her side of the whole Little Mermaid debacle, well that's where, ironically, the story felt weakest, I wish we would have seen her past in more detail, and I wish we would have seen her opposition's not take such a severe 180°. Still, I really enjoyed the rest and cannot wait to read Mistress of All Evil.

Blog Tour Audio Book Review: Power of Five (Power of Five #1)

Release Date: May 29, 2018
Author: Alex Lidell
Narrator: Victoria Mei
Publisher: Alex Lidell
Length: 226 pages/ 5 hrs. & 27 mins.
Source: Audible Audio Book Provided for Review

Four elite fae warriors. One mortal female. A magical bond they can’t allow—or resist.

Orphaned and sold to a harsh master, Lera’s life is about mucking stalls, avoiding her master’s advances, and steering clear of the mystical forest separating the mortal and fae worlds. Only fools venture into the immortal realms, and only dark rumors come out... Until four powerful fae warriors appear at Lera’s barn.

River, Coal, Tye, and Shade have waited a decade for their new fifth to be chosen, the wounds from their quint brother’s loss still raw. But the magic has played a cruel trick, bonding the four immortal warriors to... a female. A mortal female.

Distractingly beautiful and dangerously frail, Lera can only be one thing—a mistake. Yet as the males bring Lera back to the fae lands to sever the bond, they discover that she holds more power over their souls than is safe for anyone... especially for Lera herself.

Power of Five is a full-length reverse-harem fantasy novel.

    

Content Warning: This is a New Adult book and does contain explicit sexual scenes, read at your own discretion.

Review:

Protagonist: Lera, a mortal girl living as an indentured servant to a harsh and forward master, finds herself somehow linked in a Fae Quint, an elite team of fae warriors, and travels into the Fae lands to sever the obviously mistaken bond. On the whole, I didn't hate Lera, but there was never really anything that set her apart as a protagonist. She's stubborn, like most fantasy female protagonists, she'll do what she wants, damning the consequences, and that's all well and good, but I really wish there was something more to her. If I'm being honest there's nothing special about her, I mean, I'm sure there's something "special" about her, a reason she was bonded to this Quint, but other than the fact that she's the main character, there wasn't really anything about her that made me care for her as a character.

Romance: So, this is my first Harem story, Reverse or otherwise, and going into it I didn't quite know what to expect. Is it a love triangle, just there are more love interests? Is it going to be a polyamorous relationship? I knew if I wanted to experience a Harem story that it should come from an author who I've enjoyed in the past and who I know can write romance. Here's the thing though, I felt like there was very little actual romance in this story. Sure, there's lust, there's a hell of a lot of lust, but I never felt invested in Lera's romantic or sexual bond with any of the fae males, mainly because with either bond there's no development. From near the very start, it's clear that even if one of the guys doesn't act like they want Lera around, that isn't true, they care about her from practically the beginning of the story and of course since she's described as gorgeous they're also all horned up for her too. Any "development" on the "romance" front is more Lera getting said male to admit they want her around.

World Building: Where I felt the romance and Lera's character was lacking quite a bit, I actually really enjoyed the fantasy aspect of this Reverse-Harem Fantasy, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if there was more of it. Most of this book is dedicated to solidifying Lera's bond with certain characters, or at least I believe that was the point, in actuality all it did for me was let me get to know the males who've fallen for Lera, and while that's not a bad thing, there are four of them and this is a rather short book. So, while I was interested in learning more about the Quint bond, the Faerie Lands, and why Lera was drawn into this bond in the first place, there isn't a whole lot of development with any of that. The book is not boring, far from it, in fact, I LOVE all of the main plot progression that we got, even if I did feel there wasn't a whole lot.

Predictability: I was not prepared for the number of tropes this book had. Okay, I'm not totally serious, though there were a few times when something would be revealed and I would mumble to myself an exasperated "of course," but as I said, that only happened a few times. On the whole, there wasn't a whole lot I could predict about this book, mostly because as I acknowledged in the previous section, this is a pretty short book and a good chunk of it is devoted to fleshing out the love interests. That being said, while I wasn't surprised by some of the twists that happened, I didn't exactly call them either.

Ending: So... the ending to this book is a bit weird to talk about. First off there's the final climax... at least where the main story and action are concerned, which was fantastic and how the characters decide to handle the aftermath actually got a chuckle out of me. There was a lot of tension in the final climax and even though I never really grew to care for Lera as more than just the protagonist, I admit, I kind of got swept away with the scene and thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. Then there's everything that comes after that final climax, and after all of the main story bits are taken care of, well the story ends in a place I've never seen a story end before. It's not quite a cliffhanger, but it's not a plateaued ending either.

Audio Book Notes: Obligatory preface: As I've said in past Audio Book Reviews, I'm still getting used to reviewing audio books and I probably won't be able to fully articulate my feelings for this audio book, please bear with me. So, I really enjoyed the performance here, I mean, the narrator does distinct accents for each of the fae males, and a few other characters as well, and she really puts her all into this performance. She doesn't just read the words she'll act them out and those inflections in her voice, really add a whole new layer to this story.

Rating:

So, even though I did give this book a hard time, I did really enjoy it, while I wasn't so happy with the fact that Lera isn't very special, I did like the fae males, River, Coal, Tye, and Shade who do have a good deal of backstory and characterization, I also LOVED the main plot aspects dealing with the Quint Bond and the Fae world, and I'm excited to see what comes next, and even though I wasn't invested in the romance elements that much I am not so secretly hoping that as the series progresses it gets better, since I have read great romance from this author in the past.

About the Author:

Alex Lidell is the author of Amazon bestsellers AIR AND ASH and WAR AND WIND (Danger Bearing Press, 2017) and an Amazon Breakout Novel Awards finalist author of THE CADET OF TILDOR (Penguin, 2013). She is an avid horseback rider, a (bad) hockey player, and an ice-cream addict. Born in Russia, Alex learned English in elementary school, where a thoughtful librarian placed a copy of Tamora Pierce’s ALANNA in Alex’s hands. In addition to becoming the first English book Alex read for fun, ALANNA started Alex’s lifelong love for YA fantasy books.

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Novella Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.1)

Release Date: May 1, 2018
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Length: 229 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Narrated by Feyre and Rhysand, this bridges the events in A Court of Wings and Ruin and the upcoming novels in the series.

Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated--scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.

    

Review:

Protagonists: So, while the synopsis says that this book is narrated by both Feyre and Rhysand, that's not (technically) true. See, while all of the first person POV chapters are from Feyre and Rhysand, there are chapters, and parts of chapters, that are told in a limited third person POV that follow other members of Feyre's Night Court family. First off, I have to say how amazing it was to see these characters again, and even though it's been a while since I read A Court of Wings and Ruin, the minute I sat down to read this book it was like I never left and that's very much due to how these characters fly off the page. Honestly, there aren't that many characters that have internal conflicts that get even a little bit resolved in this story. Mostly this book felt like a set up for where certain characters will be when the series officially resumes. As you would expect it's Feyre who has the most internal conflict and character development in this story, mostly relating to the aftermath of the war with Hybern and how she'll deal with not only being the High Lady of the Night Court but also someone who suffered the loss of her father at the hands of the King of Hybern. When it comes to Rhys, I loved seeing from his POV, even if he is a big horndog from time to time, it was great to really see what he's going through in this story and really see how much he loves his family and Feyre. When it comes to the other characters, well they all have rather small arcs in comparison to Feyre and Rhys, but even with that third person POV, there's a lot of information about these characters revealed in this story, which is definitely another reason why these characters feel like they come to life when reading this story.

Romances: I was going to start this section about how, while I love the romance and relationship between Feyre and Rhys, it almost seems too stable, as much as I don't want anything bad to happen to this couple, I kind of wish there was some sort of conflict with their relationship, nothing major or threatening, but something normal, something that made their relationship a bit more relatable, however, this is just a short novella and with it not have that much conflict within well, I couldn't fault the author on that. Besides, I did love every freaking minute between those two, it's more that I barely have anything to write when it comes to their relationship, other than how strong it is in this book. As for the other characters in this story, well you'll see where Nesta and Cassian are at, and possibly have a hint at where that tumultuous relationship is headed and I can't wait to see how that all plays out. Then there's whatever is going on between Az, Elain, and Lucien, which again, I feel is more set up in this story than it actually having any development, we sort of see where things lie for these other relationships, but the author's intent is clearly to go deeper into those romances in the upcoming books.

World Building: With this not being a full installment in the series I wasn't exactly sure what to expect out of not only the story but the world building as well. I know this novella is described as a story to "bridge the gap" between the two the last book and the next, but honestly, that's pretty vague since we don't really have a concrete idea of what the next book will be about. In the end, the world building in this book is all about the ramifications caused during the war with Hybern, specifically the fact that the Wall is down and that there are Illyrian warriors who blame the heavy losses of their warriors on Rhys and Cassian. However, I was sort of disappointed to see that there isn't all that clear of a view for where the series is heading from here on out. Sure, we have a few plotlines teed up for the next few books, but I was kind of hoping to see a bit of a bigger picture, and instead, it feels like I got tiny glimpses but nothing close to the full thing.

Predictability: Since this story is so short there isn't a lot of time for big twists, and for most of this story it felt like I was just following along rather than picking up pieces of foreshadowing and trying to figure out some big twist. With that being said, there are a few surprises in this book, but usually, they're very obvious if you're good at picking up foreshadowing it's not hard to see where certain plotlines will go, but that never ruined the fun for me. I still relished every moment of this story.

Ending: Again, with this not being a full installment, there wasn't really much of an external conflict for these characters to overcome, so the ending of this story isn't as climactic as one of the novels in this series, so there isn't a whole lot I feel I can comfortably write in this section without spoiling something. All I'll say is that the last chapter feels a lot like an epilogue and wraps up some of the plotlines in this story while still leaving a lot to be resolved in the upcoming books. Oh, and the last few sentences melted my freaking heart.

Rating:

Have you ever wanted to read a story about your favorite characters (assuming the ACOTAR characters are some of your favorites) having fun and interacting without a whole lot of conflict getting in the way? Then this story is for you. Seriously, there isn't all that much conflict in this story and I didn't think it could be done, as I feel conflict, and its resolution, can lead to an even sweeter ending, but here it really works.

Blog Tour Book Review: The Outcast (Summoner Prequel)

Release Date: May 1, 2018
Author: Taran Matharu
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Length: 400 pages
Source: Thanks to Fantastic Flying Book Club Tours for including me on their tour, click the banner above to see the full schedule!

Enter an immersive world where the chosen few have the ability to summon demons...

Arcturus is just an orphaned stable boy when he discovers he has the ability to summon demons from another world. He is sent to Vocans Academy where the lost arts of summoning, spell craft and demonology are taught to the noble children of the Empire. As the first commoner gifted with this ability, his discovery challenges the nobility and the powers that be and Arcturus soon makes enemies. With no one but his demon Sacharissa by his side, Arcturus must prove himself as a worthy Summoner...

Set before the events of SUMMONER: The Novice this is the perfect introduction to the New York Times bestselling SUMMONER series

    

Review:

Protagonist: Arcturus was just a common stable boy, with dreams of leaving and forging his own destiny, he never could have dreamed he was a Summoner, an elite group of fighters who can summon demon companions and work magic, a group believed to only be among the nobility of Hominum. As the first common Summoner in history, Arcturus finds a lot of disdain at Vocans Academy where he is sent to train his summoning skills, however, there are a few friendly faces among the stuck-up nobles. With tensions mounting between the common folk and the nobility, Arcturus may just get caught in the middle. Of course, I love Arcturus from the main series and seeing this adventure from when he was young is a lot of fun. Honestly, Arcturus felt very much like Fletcher in terms of his personality, I mean he's a brave, moral, and kind person, just like Fletcher, though their adventures are very different.

World Building: Going into this book I wasn't sure what to expect, I've never read the previous Arcturus story, entitled Origins, though from my research I'd say the first sixteen or so chapters of this book ARE Origins, with the rest being an expansion on that story and really the main plot of this book. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to not only see familiar characters from the series, just younger and less experienced, but we also get to see characters that are only mentioned in the main trilogy. I loved seeing the familiar characters and loved getting to know the ones I only knew by name. Still, there were a few characters I wasn't so happy to see, characters who believe if you aren't a human noble that somehow you're beneath them. While this book focused more on the class divide in Hominum from the King's heavy taxes, there is still obviously a racial divide between humans and dwarves as well, even worse so than the main trilogy. If I had one complaint about this book, it would be that there was a tad too much fan service, characters involved in the story who felt sort of crammed into the story or put in the story, just for that feeling readers sometimes get when they recognize a name or a place from the series they know and love. In the end, it was really only one bit of fan service that really bothered me, something that truly felt as if it added nothing to the overall story and felt like it served no purpose other than to be recognized.

Predictability: Even though this is a trilogy, and I know the fate of all of the main characters, not to mention the state of the kingdom at the start of the main trilogy, so I wasn't expecting to be surprised very often in this book and in all honesty that was true. That isn't to say I was never surprised, I mean this story does have a few fantastic twists that really kept me on the edge of my seat. There wasn't anything too mind-blowing if you've read the main series, but the story is still exciting nonetheless.

Ending: For some reason, I was expecting a larger final climax that we got, but honestly once it came it felt like everything fit perfectly. I mean, I couldn't see this adventure ending any other way and while we didn't get a pulse-pounding one on one action scene, the ending still has some action and again, how everything is resolved, for better or worse, makes sense, again especially if you've already read the main trilogy. The final chapter feels like an epilogue of sorts and it's a great one, you can see where things are going, but nothing it too defined, it perfectly ties up this story in a way that only really leaves open things resolved in the main trilogy.

Rating:

This prequel was (nearly) everything I hoped for and more, while I could have done with a tad less fan service, particularly in one area, I still loved this book so much and hope that the author won't leave this world forever, it's just too rich to leave alone.

About the Author:

Taran Matharu is a New York Times bestselling author. He was born in London in 1990 and found a passion for reading at a very early age. His love for stories developed into a desire to create his own during early adolescence, beginning his first book at 9 years old.

Straight after graduating with a First Class degree in Business Administration, Taran was keen to explore a new avenue and get inside the publishing world, landing an internship in Digital Sales at Penguin Random House, from June to September 2013.

Thereafter, while taking time off to travel, Taran began to write ‘Summoner’ in November 2013 at the age of 22, taking part in ‘Nanowrimo 2013’.

Thanks to Wattpad.com and updating daily, its popularity dramatically increased, reaching over 3 million reads in less than six months.

After being featured by NBC News, Taran decided to launch his professional writing career and has never looked back.

His SUMMONER series is published by Hodder Children’s (Hachette) in the UK, Australia and Commonwealth, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan) in the US and Canada, Hachette Jeunesse in France, Heyne in Germany, Planeta in Spain, Crown in Taiwan, Record in Brazil, EKSMO in Russia, Jaguar in Poland, Ecliptic in Bulgaria, Alpress in the Czech Republic, Ithaki in Turkey and Unieboek in the Netherlands.

Book Review: Stormcaster (Shattered Realms #3)

Release Date: April 3, 2018
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 544 pages
Source: Library Audio Book

The third book in the thrilling four-book Shattered Realms series from New York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima

The Empresss in the east—the unspeakably cruel ruler whose power grew in Flamecaster and Shadowcaster—tightens her grip in this chilling third installment in the series.

Vagabond seafarer Evan Strangward can move the ocean and the wind, but his magical abilities seem paltry in comparison to Empress Celestine’s. As Celestine’s bloodsworn armies grow, Evan travels to the Fells to warn the queendom of her imminent invasion. If he can’t convince the Gray Wolf queen to take a stand, he knows that the Seven Realms will fall. Among the dead will be the one person Evan can’t stand to lose.

Meanwhile, the queen’s formidable daughter, Princess Alyssa ana’Raisa, is already a prisoner aboard the empress’s ship. Lyss may be the last remaining hope of bringing down the empress from within her own tightly controlled territory.

Multiple intricately interwoven storylines converge in this gripping novel about a brave, coordinated effort to undermine a horrific tyrant.

    

Review:

Characters: I honestly don't know how to write this section because there are just so many characters that this installment focuses on. I mean, I went into this book expecting it to feel like the other installments, a change in focus, this one on Evan Strangward, his story, and what's going on in Carthis, which we sort of get, while possibly getting a few chapters here and there continuing the previous installment and showing what happened to Alyssa after the end of Shadowcaster, which we also sort of get. However, instead, this installment really felt like the first time this series has come into focus as a new generation of heroes banding together to take down a new foe. While I enjoy the first two installments in this series I really fell in love with this series here, this was the first time that I could truly see the focus of this series, which is mostly the amazing and complex characters that fill this amazing world, and while the story might have been spread a bit thin due to how may POVs there are, but honestly I wouldn't have it any other way it really illustrates the scope of this world and this story.

Romances: So, I'm not going to lie to you, there's very little romance in this book, with the romances from the previous books split up for the entire installment we don't get that much development on that front, other than off-handed references and some not so off-handed references here and there, but no real development for the couple. We do have a new POV in this book in the form of Evan Strangward, who is the focus of most of the beginning of this book, and that long beginning does detail a romance that he has, and while it is an adorable romance that I ship to no end, it's not in the book much beyond the beginning and while I understand why that is, as they each have different parts to play in this story, I just wish we could have seen more of them together in this book.

World Building: As I said before, this book was series changing for me, I would say it's mostly because it actually continues the story we know. While the previous installment did continue the story from Flamecaster a bit, Shadowcaster felt more like a companion novel, telling a concurrent story from a different front. This installment, well this installment feels like a mix of those two plotlines with a dash of Carthis and I love it. While there are so many Points of View that sometimes the plotlines can feel a bit spread thin at times, I never felt a lull in the story. I was hooked from the very beginning that the only times I would set this story aside were to make sure I didn't burn through it too fast, which in a way I kind of did as I'm anxiously awaiting the final installment in this series. This book expands the scope of this story so much and finally introduces us to Carthis, the Empire across the sea where a great many mythical creatures are assumed to live, including dragons. It was hard not to be struck with what exploring this world, even more, would be like, I mean, I would be completely down for a series set in this world that takes place completely, or almost completely, in Carthis because I feel there's still so much left to learn and I'm not sure how much will be able to come out in the final installment in this series.

Predictability: So, I'm not sure how to talk about the predictablilty in this installment as, while there are a good number of unpredictable and surprising moments in this installment, I still feel no closer to the answer to two of the biggest mysteries in this series, the first being the origin of those with mage marks, and while it seems that we get some explanation on that, I don't trust the source it comes from, and secondly, who is targeting the royal family, which again I would say we get "closer" to figuring out who it is, but since I'm pretty sure I figured out who it is near the beginning of the previous installment I was kind of hoping that that reveal wouldn't be drawn out. Again, I will say that there are a lot of amazing unpredictable moments in this installment but I felt they all happened at the moment and I didn't really feel a large build-up to anything unexpected.

Ending: So, since there are a few plotlines this book follows there are quite a few final climactic moments and I'll be honest with you, they're all full of tension, including something I thought would never happen in this series, and a particularly bad ass moment by one of my new favorite characters, even if they didn't need to be put in a situation where that badassery was necessary. Anyway, each of these moments is fraught with tension leading to some of the most intense moments in this series. It all leads up to some rather moments where we learn more about not only what just happened, but what will happen as this series heads into its final installment and it ends with one hell of a cliffhanger.

Rating:

Okay, look, I loved this book, it was nearly impossible to put down and I practically flew through the story. I am so sad that I have to wait for the next installment, and I just pray that it'll be worth the wait!

Blog Tour Book Review: Tracing Shadows (Scout #1) + GIVEAWAY!

Release Date: April 8, 2017
Author: Alex Lidell
Publisher: Alex Lidell
Length: 312 pages
Source: Review Copy for Tour

To protect the throne, seventeen-year-old spy Kali must play a male guardsman trainee by day and royal lady by night.

Orphaned and trained on a spymaster’s remote estate, Kali is a scout who works alone in the shadows. But when a terror group threatens the Dansil throne, the king forces Kali to accept a mission at the palace or forfeit her sister’s life.

Suddenly thrust into the light, Kali must infiltrate high society as the royal Lady Lianna while penetrating the servant ranks as Kal, a male guardsman trainee. It doesn’t help that Trace, the harsh and enigmatic captain of the king’s guard, is soon assigned as both Lady Lianna’s palace escort and Kal’s commanding officer.

As Kali edges closer to the truth behind the violent group’s identity, she uncovers dangerous secrets that could bring her mission to a brutal end. A scout’s job is to observe and report, never to engage . . . but if it means saving her sister and kingdom, Kali may have no choice.

TRACING SHADOWS, by Amazon bestselling author Alex Lidell, is the first novel in the Scout series. Perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce, Leigh Bardugo, and Sarah J. Maas.

  

Review:

Protagonist(s): The majority of this fantasy tale is told from the first person POV of Kali, a young scout, and spy who is assigned to the palace early in the story in an attempt to keep her kingdom from going into all-out war, oh, and her sister's life is on the line. Kali is an adept spy who can easily pass as either male or female which allows her to take up two roles in the palace, both as the king's newly arrive niece Lianna and a new guard recruit Kal. Kali is very much a lone wolf and has been conditioned to never rely on anyone as you can never be sure who is on your side. I really enjoyed watching Kali grow and develop over the course of this story, even at the expense of her pride on most occasions. Kali is a force to be reckoned with and while she makes plenty of mistakes and does a few pretty unlikable things she gets as good as she gives sometimes. Then there's the Violet of it all. See, even though this book is mostly told from Kali's POV, there are third-person chapters from the POV of Violet, the princess of Dansil, who is still struggling with the loss of her mother and the inattention she gets for not being the king's next in line. Violet's storyline goes to some unexpected places and it was really interesting to watch her character arc blossom over the course of the book.

Romance: So, there's really not a whole lot of romance in this book. I mean, it's there, there's no denying that, but it doesn't really factor into the main plot all that much and most of the book focuses on establishing a relationship between the couple instead of diving head in, which I was very happy to see. The thing is though, I'm not a huge fan of the love interest, Trace, there are times when he can be pigheaded, stubborn, and sexist at times in this book, which is completely on purpose as Kali has none of it, but when I felt that a romantic relationship would start to form between the two, well Trace doesn't show his best side and while I'm sure that it's all part of his character development, it's hard for me to see these two together eventually, let alone root for them.

World Building: Okay, so in the recent past I complained about a series's world not feeling unique enough, in fact, that series has a lot of the same tropes woven into as this one, the difference, this world feels so different. First off there's the POV it's coming from, a spy trained to ferret out secrets and who is tasked with being a spy within the palace walls. Then there's the almost cult-like religion, Children of the Goddess, then there are the stand out characters and their own personal arcs, there is so much about this series and this world that completely blew me away. I love the spy angle and the magic system is very interesting even though I don't quite understand it, that's okay because neither do most of the characters. I was actually really bummed when I found out, at the end of the book no less, that this is going to just be a duology, I really enjoyed the little we saw of this world and am sad that we don't get to explore it for longer, though who knows, maybe the author will write a spin-off farther down the road.

Predictability: Looking back over the book I can say, without a doubt, that for the most part, this story did an excellent job of keeping me on my toes. In fact, of everything revealed in this story, I can really only think of one thing that I was able to predict and even then I wasn't 100% sure. I have to admit I was caught off guard by a twist more than I'm happy to admit, but it made for a very engaging and exciting story.

Ending: So... where was the final climax? As this story was headed towards a close I was anxiously awaiting the final climax, whether that be a physical, action-themed brawl, or something more cerebral, I was waiting, and while there is a bit of tension at the very end, it felt like it was more happening around our characters rather than to them and without a true final climax this story just feels like it was cut short. Don't get me wrong the very end is intense and full of conflict, but much in the way a cliffhanger would be, since that's what it was, but without some sort of final challenge full of tension, something that the book had been building toward, it just sort of feels incomplete.

Rating:

I really enjoyed this book, I could barely put it down and was sad to see it end so soon. Luckily the wait for the next and final book doesn't seem too long. For the most part, I love this story, but I did have a few minor problems with it but I'm no less chomping at the bit for book 2.

About the Author:

Alex Lidell is the Amazon Breakout Novel Awards finalist author of THE CADET OF TILDOR (Penguin, 2013). She is an avid horseback rider, a (bad) hockey player, and an ice-cream addict. Born in Russia, Alex learned English in elementary school, where a thoughtful librarian placed a copy of Tamora Pierce’s ALANNA in Alex’s hands. In addition to becoming the first English book Alex read for fun, ALANNA started Alex’s life long love for YA fantasy books. Alex is represented by Leigh Feldman of Leigh Feldman Literary. She lives in Washington, DC.  Join Alex's newsletter for news, bonus content and sneak peeks: www.subscribepage.com/TIDES  

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Giveaway!

3 winners will receive an eBook set of Alex’s TIDES SERIES & an eBook of TRACING SHADOWS, INTERNATIONAL. 

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