Tag: series

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

Nevernight Book Review

Megan Nicole

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, Book 1 of the Nevernight Chronicle.

Overall: ****

Romance: ****

Reading Rate: ***

Pages: 464

Purchase on Amazon: Here

Holy cow I was not prepared!!!! Nevernight has been allllll over the book community as a much read since I joined last year. Due to that hype I was a bit nervous to read, but after reading Illuminae and loving Kristoff’s work so much I decided to give it a try.

I actually had a hard time getting into the very beginning of the book and picked it up and put it down a few times over the last few months. Once I made it past the first few chapters I was hooked and blew through the rest of the book.

What I liked:

  • As Jay warns this is NOT a YA book and has quite a bit of wonderful violence and smut, that while is a personal preference is certainly not for everyone.
  • While I was able to predict some of the overall plot points you really never know 100% who is “good/bad” or if anyone is ever safe.
  • Mr Kindley!!! If you have read any of Jay or Jay/Amie works you know first hand how lovable and  they can make there characters and Nevernight brought it 100%.

What I struggled with:

  • The story does tend to jump from past to present a bit. This was necessary for the story line and building out the history but it can make it a little challenging to read.
  • The footnotes can be challenging, I started out trying to read them and then just started skipping. Most of them are really interesting information about the world and funny snips from Jay, but I didn’t feel like I missed out on the story line by skipping them.

Synopsis:

Nevernight is the first in an epic new fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author, Jay Kristoff.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, a sixteen year old Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic ― the Red Church. Treachery and trials await her with the Church’s halls, and to fail is to die. But if she survives to initiation, Mia will be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the only thing she desires.

Revenge.

After the ending of Nevernight I dove right into the second book Godsgrave and pre-ordered the final book in the trilogy Darkdawn (that releases in September).

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

Lord of the Fading Lands Book Review

Megan Nicole

Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson

Overall: ***

Romance: ****

Reading Rate: ****

Pages: 416

Purchase on Amazon: Here

This is a series that has been on my TBR for quite some time. I recently went on a Kindle Unlimited binge of paranormal romance and was having a hard time getting out of it to return to my normal TBR. I decided to go ahead and give this series a try as I know it is very beloved by many. This book gives me a bit of grown up Thrown of Glass vibes… but seeing as this book was published WAY before TOG, it would technically be in the inspired story. A young girl with a mysterious power is declared the truemate of Rain the last Tairen Soul and king of the Fey.

What I liked:

  • You all know I am a OTP kind of girl and this book did not hesitate to get my couple going right from the start.
  • There are a lot of elements going on in the story mages, family drama, courtship drama, the fading Tairen and fay, and not to mention the schemers at court.

What I did not like:

  • The first book was over 400 pages (mass market paperback) but it only covered the span of a few weeks, and the MC didn’t make it very fat into their courtship.
  • I was honestly thinking there was going to be a bit more… romance. Things were heating up in several ways towards the end of the book so possibly more to come further in the series.

This is only the first book of 5 in the Tairen Soul series and I have heard things get better in book 2… which makes a lot of sense due to the amount of world building that needed to occur.

Synopsis:

Once he drove back the darkness. Once he loved with such passion his name was legend.

Once, driven wild with grief over the murder of his beloved, the majestic Fey King Rain Tairen Soul had laid waste to the world before vanishing into the Fading Lands. Now, a thousand years later, a new threat draws him back into the world—and a new love reawakens the heart he thought long-dead.

Ellysetta, a woodcarver’s daughter, calls to Rain in a way no other ever had. Mysterious and magical, her soul beckons him with a compelling, seductive song—and no matter the cost, the wildness in his blood will not be denied. as an ancient, familiar evil regains its strength, causing centuries-old alliances to crumble and threatening doom for Rain and his people . . .he must claim his truemate to embrace the destiny woven for them both in the mists of time.

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

Dance of Thieves Book Review

Megan Nicole

Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Overall: ****

Romance: ***

Reading Rate: *****

Pages: 505

Purchase on Amazon here

These last two months I joined my very first read along. It started with The Remnant Chronicles and end with the Dance of Thieves Duology.

I was actually a little hesitant when starting this series as I was a little meh about the ending of The Remnant Chronicles which this is a spin off of.  I was pleasantly surprised to be immediately sucked into the action with this book. It occurs several years after the end of the original trilogy but since there was already so much back story on the world there was not a lot of building needed.

I also really enjoyed seeing more of the side characters from the first series and learning more about new people and places in the world. I also liked that this story was less “royal” and you got to learn about the Rahtan and smaller regions of the continent.

The story is based on Kazi who is a member of the new and improved Rahtan of Queen Lia from the original trilogy. She ventures to one of the smaller kingdoms to investigate “treaty violations” and hunt for long lost traitors.

  • I felt the main characters were actually quite unlikable, but grew on me over time. As with the first series as well I really enjoyed the side characters and the world/culture building the Pearson does.
  • I would recommend this story over The Remnant Chronicles but I fear you would not understand a large portion of the story line and character arcs without having read the original trilogy first. It is classified as a spin off but is really more a continuation of the story.
  • Because the point of views switch from Jase and Kazi you know so much of each side of the story. Which for me causes frustration in knowing that a lot of the problems and barriers are from each side keeping secrets instead of being honest. I am hoping to see some of this resolved in the second book now that a lot of new character and relationship building has occurred in the first.

AND THAT ENDING! All I have to say is make sure you have Vow of Thieves ready to start reading right after you finish! I devoured the first book in 3 “work” days so that shows you how sucked in I was and I will be diving right into the second book asap.

Also guys let’s not ignore how completely gorgeous this book is! The naked hardback is also gorgeous and has beautiful maps as the end pages.

Synopsis:

A formidable outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations.

A son destined to lead, thrust suddenly into power.

Three fierce young women of the Rahtan, the queen’s premier guard.

A legendary street thief leading a mission, determined to prove herself.

A dark secret that is a threat to the entire continent.

When outlaw leader meets reformed thief, a cat-and-mouse game of false moves ensues, bringing them intimately together in a battle that may cost them their lives―and their hearts.

Have you read this duology? If so, tell me what you think below in the comments!

Publisher: Henry Holt

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

Air Awakens Series Book Review

Megan Nicole

Air Awakens by Elise Kova Book ReviewAir Awakens series by Elise Kova

Overall: ****

Reading rate:*****

Romance:****

Pages: Over 1700 across 5 books

I binged this entire series on eBook in 5 days! and its a 5 book series. I seriously could not get enough of Prince Aldrik and HAD to know what happened next.

I actually skipped over this book on Kindle several times because of the cover art…. do not mean to be cliche but was totally hit by the “Don’t just a book by its cover”.

What I liked:

  • Romance all the way through & Prince Aldrik
  • The books suck you into Vhalla’s world and do not let go. You just keep adventuring from the library, to the Tower of Sorcerers, to a cross continent trek to fight a war and being on the run on the way back!
  • I loved the side characters!! There were so many funny and wonderful additions to the story along the way that really built it out.
  • I enjoyed the differences in the regions that were built out as well as the magic in those regions. The author really built out openings for spin off after spin off.

What I didn’t like:

  • All the “love triangles” that were thrown in throughout the books, I do not like my one true pairing to be questioned lol
  • While I loved Prince Aldrik and the other side characters I never 100% warmed up to Vhalla the female MC. She was a bit all over the place with her feelings and actions.
  • I also feel like there were problems that arose that I saw coming a mile away but the characters were just oblivious too.
  • I felt like the magic system and the crystal still needed a bit more explaining in the end. The author is also writing a spin off series based after Air Awakens that maybe fills in more of those gaps.

If you liked Throne of Glass I feel you will like this series (although no Fae and less smut) the overall story line was still quite similar.

There are 5 books in this series:

  1. Air Awakens
  2. Fire Falling
  3. Earth’s End
  4. Water’s Wrath
  5. Crystal Crowned

Air Awakens Synopsis:

A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond…

The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.

Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all–the Crown Prince Aldrik–she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost her more than she ever imagined.

Have you read Air Awakens? Tell me what you think about it below in the comments?

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

The Bargainer Series Book Review

Megan Nicole

The Bargainer Series by Laura Thalassa Book Review

Overall Rating: ****

Romance: *****

Reading Rate: *****

I blew through this entire series in about 3.5-4 days and then immediately started searching for anything else by Laura Thalassa  that I could get my hands on.

To start this is definitely an adult book with quite a bit of smut and language. The main character “Calli” is a Siren, and I love how dark her character is. I feel a lot of stories start with this pure broken female lead and while she certainly had her demons, she was also a bit of one herself. I cant even with the Bargainer… just “sigh”… he is terrible and I love it!

The first book toggles back and forth from Calli’s present day interactions with Des the Bargainer and her teenage interactions with him. I was a little concerned with the age dynamic early on in the books thinking it was about to go down a road I was not comfortable with, but stick with it and I feel things were pretty quickly cleared up.

There are three books and a novella in the series:

  1. Rhapsodic (The Bargainer) (Volume 1) 
  2. A Strange Hymn
  3. Dark Harmony 
  4. Emperor of the Evening Starts (2.5/Novella)

I really wanted to give this series 5 stars because I enjoyed it so much, but it is not a story for everyone and does have the cliche romance element. If you were a fan of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, I think you would really enjoy this series as well.

Rhapsodic Synopsis:

Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past. For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Only death or repayment will fulfill the obligations. Only then will the beads disappear. Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want … at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects. But for one of his clients, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s just a chaste kiss—a single bead’s worth—and a promise for more. For the Bargainer, it’s more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that’s been awoken. If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.

Have you read this series? Tell me what you think in the comments below.

– Megan

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

Finale by Stephanie Garber Book Review

Megan Nicole

Overall rating: ****

Romance: **

Reading Pace:***

The Caraval series is one of the few times I have read a series as they released. I actually did not know that it was a series until I got to the end of the first book.

I was so so so excited for Finale and to see how the story ended and completely thought that I would breeze through this book in about a day as I did with the others, but it actually took me right at a week to get through. There was a lot more complexity to this book than the previous two. There was a real dive into the characters and how they are felt and tied together versus the hustle and bustle of the Game that you encountered in the first two. As a standalone book I did not like it as much as the first two, but I think it did a great job of bringing everything together to wrap up the story. I think that is a bit of the curse of final books a lot of the time and of course no one is happy to see a series that they love stop, even if they really wanted that ending!

Finale Caraval Book Review

What I liked:

  • Deeper dives into the main characters feelings… and all the great Tella and Legend moments
  • Finally having all of the secrets revealed!!!
  • The author left some amazing opportunities for Spin-offs series or novellas of the Fates… please of please give me some more Jacks!

What I didn’t like:

  • I honestly missed the game in this book, I wish it had been closer to sequences of Caraval and Legendary.
  • This points of view flipped back and forth between Tella and Scarlett, so it was a little harder to get invested in the characters connection for me.
  • There were a lot of people and characters- I really think the dealing with the fates alone could have been split into another two books.

I know people have a lot of strong opinions about this series and it seems to be in extremes. Yes, while I agree that the series is not a work in literary art. They are fun, suck you in stories that leave you wanting more and wondering what on earth is going to happen next. Also, if you happen to follow author Stephanie Garber on social media, she is super sweet, always going out of her way to keep fans informed and thanking them. Honestly just on person alone I would read her work.

Official Synopsis:

Welcome, welcome to Finale, the third and final book in Stephanie Garber’s #1 New York Times bestselling Caraval series!

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Release Date: May 7, 2019

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

A Curse So Dark and Lonely Book Review

Megan Nicole

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer Book Review

Overall rating:***

Romance: ***

Reading Rate: *****

Pages: 484

Buy it on Amazon: Here

I was so so so excited for A Curse So Dark and Lonely to come out! I also got a stunning edition in my Fairyloot Beauty and the Beast crate. I put my whole TBR aside and started reading this right away! This turned out to be a suck you in, fast paced read and only took me two days to knock out. Sometimes I love books like this that send me into a reading rush to cure my hangover from the story.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely Book Review

I admit I thought this was going to be a 5 star read for me, but after much consideration I landed at 3. Just a few pages in I already had a major ship going and as the book went on a love triangle started to come out. I know some folks totally love this angle though, it tends to frustrate me a bit as a reader… I am really a die hard One True Pairing kind of girl.

I thought this was an interesting take on a Beauty and the Beast. Most retellings that I have encountered the “Belle” knows that the Prince is the Beast. In this book the nature of the curse is a bit different in that a new girl is brought to Prince Rhen at the start of a “season” and he has until the end of that season to make her fall in love with him, before he turns into a monster. Once the season has ended, often with a large amount of loss, it resets and a new girl must be found to start all over.

We come in at the start of the last season for Prince Rhen as he is has upset the Enchantress, and she has doomed him to be a monster forever if he cannot make this final girl fall in love with him. That is only where some of the trouble begins as Harper attempts to stop the abduction of the final girl, only to end up in her place….

This is the first book in a series and I feel it will only get better with time now that a lot of the ground work and character building are in place. The second book in the series A Heart so Fierce and Broken is set to be released by Bloomsbury Publishing in January 2020.

Have you read A Curse So Dark and Lonely or have other retellings that you love? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Official Synopsis:

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

 

 

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Book Review

Megan Nicole

Overall Rating: *****

Guys! I cannot say enough about this audiobook!!!! I admit I didn’t even read the synopsis for this book before I started listening and I COULD NOT STOP. I went through an 11 hour audiobook in two days!!

I have heard that the book is a bit harder to read as it is written like a file after the eventsIluminae Files Book Review have occurred. The audiobook is done with a full cast and it comes off wonderfully!!! This book had the Sci-Fi, the end of the world dystopian feel, the zombie land feel, AND the love story. I think I cried 4 times listening to this and have also now ordered a hard copy to have for a follow along reread with the book accompaniment. I would have started the second book right away, however I hit my max of audiobooks on scribd for the month so have to wait a few more weeks for it to be available.

The characters in this book are so well done, I can’t believe I was able to connect with them so much through a “case file” document. I think you love or hate (or can’t determine which feeling you really have) each of the characters detailed along the journey.

One warning- This book has a lot of heart wrenching moments and quite a bit of graphic death. If the story had not been so consuming I would have had a hard time being ok with it.

The book is in the YA section but is more in the NA spectrum, I don’t feel it would be appropriate for a child younger than 15-16 just due to sheer gore factor and sexual references.

Official Synopsis:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

 

I would love to hear your opinions on this story (include spoiler alerts if applicable please) in the comments below! I hear I am going to need a support group after the final book!!!

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater Book Review

Megan Nicole

Overall Rating: ****

I had heard a lot of good feedback about this book but I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this book. The synopsis didn’t draw me in but it was an audiobook on my unlimited subscription so I decided to give it a try any way.
Wonderfully Strange is the best way I can think to describe this book. The way that you meet the characters and the way the world is built out is presented in such a genuine way. The author says the odd little things that people think but usually don’t say out loud, for me it formed a unique bond with the characters.

I hate to even try to describe the plot of the books, it’s almost impossible to tell you what it is really about without giving away too much. This book had all kinds of paranormal elements with a house full of psychics and even a ghost (or two). So many things I may have seen sprinkled here or there in a book but never all together and in such a wonderful way.

This is the first book in the Raven Cycle and I will review the full series when complete. I will say that some might find the writing difficult or the story a bit slow to get into. The story is 100% worth getting through and was way easier with audiobook, this is the only reason I gave the book 4 stars vs 5.

Official Synopsis:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab Book Review

Megan Nicole

Overall: ****

I have heard so so so much about Schwab and this series in particular so I have just been itching to give it a try. When this booked popped up on my Scribd suggestions I knew I had to check it out.

A Darker Shade of Magic Book Review

I am really glad that I kicked this series off with an audiobook due to the amount of world building that occurs, what with the multiple Londons and their different dynamics. I think I might have struggled to get into the book so much if I was trying to read through all of those details versus having them read to me. Once I was in though I was sucked in. I actually ended up finding a gorgeous collectors edition of the book at Barnes and Noble, bought it and finished reading the physical book instead of listening. One thing I will caution to those of you who choose to pursue the audiobook, the narrator was a bit of a challenge. I felt a little bit like I was being read to by Alfred the butler from Batman, and it was hard not to giggle at some of the voice impressions he did. Especially Lilah who happens to be one of the main characters and talks A LOT!

The ideas of the different London’s was very unique, I liked taking the idea of alternate realties and playing it with magic and a “back in time” feel instead of it being sci-fi. Strangely I was satisfied with the way the book ended but also with so many more questions!

I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 just because of the slower start… I have a feeling that the series will be 5 stars overall. I can’t wait to dive into the sequel A Conjuring of Shadows! The collectors edition of this book releases in March!! I also have a book box from Enchanted book box that is based on the V.E. Schwab world… I was a replacement for a prior box I purchased that had to be canceled and I was a bit nervous since I had not read any of her work yet but now I am super excited!!!

Official Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

More to come as I complete the series!