Review: House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Started reading: July 31st 2022

Finished the book: September 21st 2022

Pages: 805

Genres: Fantasy, Romance

Published: February 15th 2022

Source: Bought the book

Goodreads score: 4.52

My score:

Synopsis

Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are trying to get back to normal―they may have saved Crescent City, but with so much upheaval in their lives lately, they mostly want a chance to relax. Slow down. Figure out what the future holds.

The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.

In this sexy, action-packed sequel to the #1 bestseller House of Earth and Blood, Sarah J. Maas weaves a captivating story of a world about to explode―and the people who will do anything to save it.

Review: House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Started reading: July 19th 2022

Finished the book: July 26th 2022

Pages: 803

Genres: Fantasy, Romance

Published: March 3rd 2020

Source: Bought the book

Goodreads score: 4.48

My score:

Synopsis

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.

Review: Tonight You’re Dead (Sandhamn Murders #4)

Author: Viveca Sten

Started reading: July 10th 2022

Finished the book: July 16th 2022

Pages: 411

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery

Published: November 14th 2017

Source: Ebook

Goodreads score: 4.08

My score:

Synopsis

Soon to be divorced, attorney Nora Linde is finding her way as a single mother, and even falling in love again, when she’s asked by her childhood friend Detective Thomas Andreasson to help in a disturbing investigation. Marcus Nielsen, a university student, has apparently committed suicide, but it’s what he’s left behind that’s so suspicious and damning: his research into the Coastal Rangers, an elite military group where, in 1976, a young cadet died under questionable circumstances, a sadistic sergeant went free, and a case went cold.

When two of Nielsen’s contacts are also found dead—and diaries of their tortuous training turn up missing—Thomas and Nora are certain that whatever happened three decades ago is unforgivable. And for someone who wants to keep those secrets buried—unforgettable. Now they must fight against time to expose a cover-up that hasn’t yet claimed its last victim.

Review: Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Started reading: June 5th 2022

Finished the book: June 14th 2022

Pages: 992

Genres: Fantasy

Published: October 8th 2019

Source: Bought the book

Goodreads score: 4.61

My score:

Synopsis

Aelin has risked everything to save her people-but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…
With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they've gathered to battle Erawan's hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation-and a better world.
And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen-before she is lost to him forever.

Review: The God Queen (Rebirth Saga #1)

Author: M.L. Tishner

Started reading: May 2nd 2022

Finished the book: May 12th 2022

Pages: 432

Genres: Science Fiction

Published: October 22nd 2019

Source: Physical copy from the author

Goodreads score: 4.00

My score:

Synopsis

In a backwater Earth town, Rei Ettowa dreams of traveling across the stars to destroy Infiernen - the knight who murdered her brother.
When Rei discovers she is the reincarnation of the prophesied God Queen, she relishes her newfound ability to channel lightning for revenge. Unfortunately, blazing through a battlefield clashes with the Federation’s plan for Rei and the others like her. All the gods are to be trained as diplomatic figureheads to sway voters, not agents of war. Infiernen must remain untouched.
Unable to let go of her brother’s murder, Rei finds Infiernen. But instead of killing him, Rei discovers a secret the Federation has been keeping from her about her brother.
Now Rei is mad as hell. Her enemies must pay. But who are they? And what else is the Federation hiding from her?

Review: Of Tainted Heart (The Quatrefoil Chronicles #2)

Author: Olivia Wildenstein & Katie Hayoz

Started reading: March 27th 2022

Finished the book: April 26th 2022

Pages: 430 / 13:24:00

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Published: July 29th 2021

Source: Audible

Goodreads score: 4.48

My score:

Synopsis

SLATE
Somehow, we survived. It was supposed to be over. No more curses. No more magic. Just a calm, little life in Brume. For the first time ever, I’m ready for calm. So. Damn. Ready. Just so happens that the girl I love doesn’t like to leave things unfinished. Fine. So our little crew will assemble the Quatrefoil and bring magic back to the world. We’ve already faced death. This can’t be worse.
Or can it?

CADENCE I could have let things be. Maybe I should have let things be. My crew is alive. Slate is by my side. And life is returning to normal. Except the university is a giant pile of rubble. Papa is still stuck in a wheelchair. And a girl is dead. If magic can change all that, I want to try one last time to bring it back.
Hopefully, I won’t regret it.

Review: Realm of Night (Mina Murray #3)

Author: L.D. Goffigan

Started reading: January 1st 2022

Finished the book: January 10th 2022

Pages: 296

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires

Published: June 20th 2017

Source: Digital copy from the author

Goodreads score: 3.83

My score:

Synopsis

Mina and her allies have destroyed Vlad Draculesti, but the human world is still in danger from his vampire allies. From Berlin to Paris, major European cities have begun to fall to their followers. To spare humanity from the grip of looming darkness, Mina must defeat one of the most powerful vampires in the world...

A thrilling retelling of a classic tale, REALM OF NIGHT is the third book of the Mina Murray series.

Review: Fortress of Blood (Mina Murray #2)

Author: L.D. Goffigan

Started reading: November 16th 2021

Finished the book: January 1st 2022

Pages: 258

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires

Published: May 21st 2017

Source: Digital copy from the author

Goodreads score: 3.89

My score:

Synopsis

Mina and her allies have found the Transylvanian countryside dotted with empty villages and rumors of monsters who wear human skin. As Mina prepares for the final showdown with her fiance's abductors, the last descendants of the supernatural Draculesti family, she discovers her own shocking connection to the hidden world of vampires...

A suspenseful retelling of a classic tale, FORTRESS OF BLOOD is the second book of the Mina Murray series. If you love action-adventure, romance, and mystery, then pick up your copy today.

Review: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Started reading: September 12th 2021

Finished the book: November 16th 2021

Pages: 689

Genres: Fantasy

Published: September 6th 2016

Source: Bought the book

Goodreads score: 4.52

My score:

Synopsis

Kingdoms will collide.

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.
With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

In this breathtaking fifth installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Aelin will have to choose what—and who—to sacrifice if she's to keep the world of Erilea from breaking apart.

Review: The Beast of London (Mina Murray #1)

Author: L.D. Goffigan

Started reading: August 20th 2021

Finished the book: September 8th 2021

Pages: 238

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires

Published: April 17th 2017

Source: Digital Copy from the author

Goodreads score: 3.77

My score:

Synopsis

Mina Murray once lived an adventurous life, but after a tragedy in the forests of Transylvania, she left it all behind. Now she has settled into a quiet routine as a schoolteacher in London, engaged to the respectable solicitor Jonathan Harker, attempting to fit into the stuffy upper class London society to which he belongs.

Her dark past comes careening into her present when Jonathan is abducted by a group of vampires from a society ball. Determined to rescue him, she teams up with her former paramour Abraham Van Helsing and his colleague, Scotland Yard Inspector John Seward.

As they pursue Jonathan’s abductors from England to the Low Countries and beyond, Mina realizes that Jonathan’s abduction is tied to a larger threat against humanity…

Review: Mother May I

Author: Joshilyn Jackson

Started reading: May 12th 2021

Finished the book: June 9th 2021

Pages: 324 / 12:51:47

Genres: Thriller, Mystery

Published: April 6th 2021

Source: Storytel

Goodreads score: 3.90

My score:

Synopsis

Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned by her single mother that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world.

Until the day she awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window—an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that overcomes her.

Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daugh­ters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened so quickly—Bree looked away only for a second. There is a note left in his place, warning her that she is being is being watched; if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions that will follow.

Review: Out of My Mind

Author: Sharon M. Draper

Started reading: May 29th 2021

Finished the book: June 6th 2021

Pages: 295

Genres: YA, Realistic Fiction

Published: March 9th 2010

Source: Bought the book

Goodreads score: 4.37

My score:

Synopsis

Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people—her teachers and doctors included—don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk.

She can't walk. She can't write. Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind—that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever.

At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.

From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll never, ever forget.

Review: The Brothers Three (The Blackwood Saga #1)

Author: Layton Green

Started reading: May 8th 2021

Finished the book: May 16th 2021

Pages: 330

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Published: March 14th 2017

Source: Digital copy from the author

Goodreads score: 3.96

My score:

Synopsis

All Will Blackwood ever wanted was a little adventure. A fantasy addict and apprentice contractor in New Orleans, struggling to make ends meet, he has long wished for an escape from the real world.

Late one night, he and his brothers receive a surprise inheritance: a staff with a mysterious stone on top, a pair of rogue's bracers, and a sword that Will can barely lift. A man with strange powers shows up to take the sword, and the three brothers barely escape with their lives. Searching for an explanation, it is not until a magical key whisks them across time and space, into a terrifying version of New Orleans ruled by wizards, that Will accepts the truth about his family's past.

It seems Will Blackwood has found his adventure. But this isn't one of his fantasy novels, or a gaming campaign with friends. In his father's world, magic and monsters are real. Choices are life and death. And they have no idea how to get home . . .

Review: War Storm (Red Queen #4)

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Started reading: March 31st 2021

Finished the book: May 8th 2021

Pages: 662

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Published: May 15th 2018

Source: Bought the book

Goodreads score: 3.88

My score:

Synopsis

Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all… starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolishing everything—and everyone—in his path.

War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

Review: Of Wicked Blood (The Quatrefoil Chronicles #1)

Author: Olivia Wildenstein & Katie Hayoz

Started reading: March 15th 2021

Finished the book: April 15th 2021

Pages: 434 / 14:41:00

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Published: February 2nd 2021

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads score: 4.18

My score:

Synopsis

No rest for the wicked... or the cursed.

SLATE
I didn’t mean to steal the Bloodstone from the De Morel’s crypt. Scratch that, I did mean to steal it. Until I realized it was a curse-magnet that only comes off if I, along with a jolly trio, successfully defeat four curses. If any of us fail, I’m dead. I’ve never been a glass half-empty sort of person, but my glass looks in dire need of a refill right about now. The only highlight of this wicked treasure hunt: feisty, entitled Cadence de Morel.

CADENCE
I was raised on tales of magic, in a small town reputed to be the birthplace of French witchcraft. Did I believe all the stories I heard? Absolutely not. I mean, if magic existed, Maman wouldn’t have died, and Papa wouldn’t be stuck in a wheelchair, right? Wrong. The night Slate Ardoin waltzes into my life, wearing a ring he stole from my mother’s grave, I call him a monster. But then I meet real ones, and Slate, well . . . he becomes something else to me. Something frustrating to live with but impossible to live without. Something I will fight for, no matter the cost. *Warning: profuse cursing (and not just the magical kind).

Review: Echoes Between Us

Author: Katie McGarry

Started reading: August 6th 2020

Finished the book: August 23rd 2020

Pages: 384

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Published: January 14th 2020

Source: Ebook

Goodreads score: 4.18

My score:

Synopsis

Echoes Between Us is bestselling author Katie McGarry’s breakout teen contemporary novel about a girl with everything to lose and the boy who will do anything to save her.

Veronica sees ghosts. More specifically, her mother's ghost. The afterimages of blinding migraines caused by the brain tumor that keeps her on the fringes and consumes her whole life haunt her, even as she wonders if it's something more...

Golden boy Sawyer is handsome and popular, a state champion swimmer, but his adrenaline addiction draws him to Veronica.

A girl with nothing to live for and a boy with everything to lose--can they conquer their demons together?

Review: The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy #2)

Author: Katherine Arden
Started reading: March 17th 2020
Finished the book: April 10th 2020
Pages: 363
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Fairy Tale
Published: December 5th 2017
Source: Bought the book
Goodread score: 4.37
My score:

Synopsis

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.
Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.