magic

Luna Wolf (The Moon Alpha #1) by G. Bailey

This is a decent first book in a new fantasy paranormal series about shapeshifters at war. Nyx is a wolf shapeshifter that can’t shift. When she turns 18 she’s banished from her pack and is recruited to attend Luna Alpha Academy, a school that accepts rejects from packs and trains them to be magical fighters. Nyx is less than thrilled with the prospect, but having nowhere else to go and desperate to become useful so she can return to her pack, she reluctantly agrees.

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June 16, 2022 0

In Every Generation by Kendare Blake

“Into every generation, there is a Chosen One. One girl in all the world. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer.”

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Let me preface this review by saying that I am a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. HUGE. As in I own the entire series on DVD (yeah, remember those old things?) and routinely play them in the background while I’m cleaning, getting ready for the day or to go out, or when I want comfortable coziness. I love all things Buffyverse. Sooooo, when I hear of anything related to Buffy, I leap. That is what I did when I got a chance to read this book. And because I’m such a fan, I will both giddily gush with excitement, and be dramatically picky, about all new things “Buffy” in this review.

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January 20, 2022 0

The Amber Crown by Jacey Bedford

This is a really good stand-alone fantasy book. Although the book is 480 pages, it’s a quick and easy read. Told in short alternating chapters from three main character’s points of view, the story sucked me in at the start and kept a steady pace until the satisfying ending.

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January 11, 2022 0

The Excalibur Curse (Camelot Rising, #3) by Kiersten White

This is the last book in an interesting YA Fantasy Retelling of Camelot. In this book, Guinevere struggles with identity issues and her quest to unravel the mystery of her past may cause all to be lost.

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December 17, 2021 0

All of Us Villains (All of Us Villains #1) by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman

This is an ok YA Fantasy book that pits seven teenagers from powerful magical families in a three-month long champion tournament to win control over a wellspring of high magick. The type of magick the world thought was long gone. Until now, the tournament has been a centuries old secret, but the publishing of a tell-all book about it has garnered world-wide attention. The town is flooded with curious spectators and the champions are provided with new information that may help them win.

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November 20, 2021 0

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher

This was an interesting contemporary paranormal fantasy. Persephone May is an orphan and has been alone her whole life. She wants nothing more than to belong somewhere, but whenever she tries to forge bonds with other people, unexplainable things happen and she finds herself moving on again.

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October 6, 2021 0

Paper & Blood (Ink & Sigil #2) by Kevin Hearne

Another great book in Hearne’s new spinoff of the Iron Druid Chronicles series. This book has Al, Buck, Nadia, an Australian apprentice sigil agent and the Iron Druid tracking down the apprentice’s missing mentor and another sigil agent in the Australian Outback. Once they track the general location where the sigil agents went missing, they quickly run into some very strange monsters that are determined to eat and kill their way through everyone they face.

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August 22, 2021 0

A Cup of Silver Linings (Dove Pond #2) by Karen Hawkins

This is another cute, sweet book in the Dove Pond series. In this story, Ava Dove, 6th of 7 Dove daughters and owner of a landscaping and gourmet tea business is suffering trouble with three teas she made for her regular customers, just before the grand opening of her new tea shop. Frantic to solve the problem, and with growing blows to her reputation and canceled orders, Ava isolates herself and scrambles to fix the problem.

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July 31, 2021 0

Capture the Crown (A Gargoyle Queen, #1) by Jennifer Estep

I loved this first book in a new YA Fantasy trilogy set in the same world as the author’s Crown of Shards books. Here, we meet Princess Gemma Ripley, whose frivolous reputation hides her secret identity as a spy, and her skills as a powerful mind magier.

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July 23, 2021 0