Oh my gosh, you guys. This book!!! If you like dark fantasies that have mysterious sects with secret agendas, a questionable king, a brutal training process, and a strong female lead, pick this book up right now. It’s rare that a book grabs me from page 1, but this one did.
Continue reading “The Mountain of Souls (The Chosen, #1) by Marcus Lee”
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
This is a fun YA Fantasy re-telling of Camelot. Arthur is an intelligent bookworm that isn’t much of a fighter. Lancelot is a gay castle guard that was demoted from a page (on track to becoming a knight) after a misunderstanding. Both we content bumbling along until Arthur accidentally pulls the sword from the stone, and now everyone thinks he’s some kind of hero. Emry Merlin poses as her twin brother at court to learn magic and serve Arthur. It’s supposed to be temporary, but nothing goes to plan and she’s there permanently. Princess Guinevere is betrothed to Arthur, but neither wants to marry the other.
Continue reading “The Other Merlin (Emry Merlin, #1) by Robyn Schneider”
This is a good YA Dystopian Sci/Fi Thriller set on the Arcadia, a luxury liner that set sail 40 years ago after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Since that time, it’s been a refugee camp anchored off the coast of the Federated States. The story centers on Esther a loyal citizen, working to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land, and Nik, a rebel planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and the oppressors of the refugees acts despicably toward them, requiring the rebels to alter their plans.
Continue reading “The Stranded (Stranded #1) by Sarah Daniels”
This is a promising first book in a fantasy series. Sole is a princess that survives a tragedy in her land called the Darkness which kills her parents and new husband. Her two sisters are nowhere to be found and Sole finds herself the Queen of Mosa. As she works tirelessly to pull her country out of the tragedy, she is summoned to heal the King of Sundom, the land her people fled to avoid being killed by the evil King.
Continue reading “Rise of a Dark Throne: The Mosa Chronicles by Ligia N. Cushman”
This was a satisfying conclusion to a good YA Fantasy duology. The events pick up a few months after the first book. The girls continue to search for a way to break the curse, but are waylaid by personal issues that distract them from their goal. As they make progress on finding out the origin of the curse, more girls start dying.
Continue reading “The Wicked Remain (Grimrose Girls #2) by Laura Pohl”
This is a very good first book in a new YA Fantasy series. In a dystopian world decades in the future, Blue Haven is a 17 year old who dreams of becoming a warrior. Over 150 years ago the Shadow Elves, humans infected by a zombie apocalypse-like plague, ravaged the world and decimated the population. Blue lives in a small farming community in the Smoky Mountains, where they are the last survivors of their world and not much happens. But Blue’s superhuman sight is showing her troubling images of green-eyed strangers and handsome Shadow Elves. But, that can’t be right because leaders of her village insist the Shadow Elves were all killed and they are safe. As Blue investigates her visions, she discovers the leaders may have lied. About everything.
Continue reading “Blue Shadows Fall (Blue Shadows Fall, #1) by Lenore Stutznegger”
This was a very good first book in a new fantasy series. Joss is one of a long line of executioners in the kingdom. She is required to execute those condemned by the kingdom. Despite her inherited role, Joss and her assistant Henrik work as healers for the surrounding villages. One day Joss and Henrik find a seriously wounded man on the road. They take him home and care for him, but are hesitant to reveal their occupation. The wounded man, Aric, is an assassin who was beaten and left for dead after he failed to kill his last assignment. He also doesn’t want to reveal who he is, especially since the dangerous men that hired him know where he is and want him to finish the job. When Joss and Aric’s duties intersect, decisions are made that jeopardize all of their lives.
Continue reading “All the Dark Souls by A.M. Dunnewin”
Wow. This book was a crazy ride. I started reading and couldn’t stop until I finished it. I thought this was a mystery/thriller, but it’s so much more. There is a horror element to the book that I didn’t know was there going in, but thinking back, it makes sense because I was so tense reading it. There were so many times were I had no idea what was going to happen next and the story had plenty of twisty turns and false leads. The writing was so well done that it kept me second guessing throughout the book. The story deals with tough issues including racial prejudice, domestic violence, and class and wealth inequity. The book requires the reader to suspend disbelief toward the end, otherwise it won’t make a lot of sense. I struggled with this until I realized there were other elements besides a mystery.
Continue reading “Jackal by Erin E. Adams”
This is the second book in a captivating YA Fantasy series. Poppy knows who Hawke, Casteel, is now. He’s the Dark One, the Prince of Atlantia. And he’s got a plan to get his brother back from the Blood Queen that involves her. She knows better than to trust him, but he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. So, they pretend to be engaged to fulfill both of their goals. But Poppy also knows it’s a risk being so close to Casteel, because they definitely have chemistry together that is hard to resist. The closer Poppy gets to Atlantia, the more her power grows. Atlantia is at unrest. Whispers of war are growing, the Descenters want Poppy dead and the King wants to use her to send a message. But the gods may have different ideas.
Continue reading “A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout”
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