Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford

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Book: Crown of Coral and Pearl

Author: Mara Rutherford

Book Series: Crown of Coral and Pearl Book 1

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For…: romance, cliché ya lovers, fantasy, arranged marriage plot

Publication Date: August 27, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 14+ (romance, slight violence and gore)

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 432

Synopsis: Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.

Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen… and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.

In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.

Review: For the most part I really liked this book. If you’re looking for arranged marriage fantasy books, then this is your book. The characters were well developed and the world building, though it took awhile to get to, was good as well.

However, I did feel like the book was very slow and the plot was very weak. The plot is very classic YA with love triangles and a girl who doesn’t think she’s beautiful who has to chose between them while the world goes to crap.

Verdict: It’s very cliché but it’s good.

Master of One by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett

Disclaimer: I received the e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Master of One

Author: Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: m/m romance, gay main characters

Recommended For…: fantasy, magic, LGBT, romance

Publication Date: November 10, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, romance, slight sexual content)

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 544

Synopsis: Rags is a thief—an excellent one. He’s stolen into noble’s coffers, picked soldier’s pockets, and even liberated a ring or two off the fingers of passersby. Until he’s caught by the Queensguard and forced to find an ancient fae relic for a sadistic royal sorcerer.

But Rags could never have guessed this “relic” would actually be a fae himself—a distractingly handsome, annoyingly perfect, ancient fae prince called Shining Talon. Good thing Rags can think on his toes, because things just get stranger from there…

Review: I really liked this book! The book was wonderfully well written and it has amazing character development. The characters as very well written and I loved our main characters. The interactions felt so genuine and the chemistry was so good! I didn’t even mind that it was a slow burn romance. The world building was also well done and I was intrigued by the plot from start to finish.

The only issue I had with the book overall is that the book had a slow burn romance, which some readers will not like, and the book felt a little cliché here and there. The language was also a bit weird since it felt so modern but the story takes place so long ago.

Verdict: A well done book!

Gift of the Shaper by D.L. Jennings

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author and form R&R Book Tours. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Gift of the Shaper

Author: D.L. Jennings

Book Series: Highglade Series Book 1

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For…: fantasy lovers, ya readers

Publication Date: February 7, 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, kidnapping, gore, war)

Publisher: Indigo River

Pages: 456

Synopsis: For thousands of years, the Breaker of the Dawn has been locked away in the ethereal plane of the Otherworld. Now, a young blacksmith’s apprentice finds himself trapped in a war between the noble Athrani, a subset of humanity gifted with the ability to transmute matter, and the malevolent and powerful Khyth, who seek to free the ancient god from his prison.

When his father, Olson, is kidnapped, Thornton Woods and his childhood friend, Miera, must leave their small village of Highglade to find him. On their way, they are joined by Ynara and Kethras, cat-like humanoids called Kienari, who use their skills as hunter/trackers to follow Olson’s trail. When it comes to light that one among them possesses the key to the Breaker’s release, Thornton and his friends must defy the might of the Khyth as armies on both sides collide in pursuit of the ultimate prize.

Gift of the Shaper chronicles the epic struggle between the existing forces of good and evil, with both sides vying for control of the key that unlocks the Otherworld. The very powers of creation and destruction hang in the balance, and only a heroic effort by Thornton and Miera, backed by the power of the Athrani, can possibly stop the Khyth from unleashing ruin — and the Breaker — upon their world.

Review: For the most part I thought that this book was really interesting. The world building was very well done and I really liked how the author developed the characters. I also thought that the book did well with the plot.

However the book is very slow and I think that really slowed me down in my reading of it.

Verdict: It was good!

Talland House by Maggie Humm

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Talland House

Author: Maggie Humm

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For…: historical fiction fans

Publication Date: August 18, 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Recommended Age: 16+ (romance, slight sexual content)

Publisher: She Writes Press

Pages: 352

Synopsis: Royal Academy, London 1919: Lily has put her student days in St. Ives, Cornwall, behind her―a time when her substitute mother, Mrs. Ramsay, seemingly disliked Lily’s portrait of her and Louis Grier, her tutor, never seduced her as she hoped he would. In the years since, she’s been a suffragette and a nurse in WWI, and now she’s a successful artist with a painting displayed at the Royal Academy. Then Louis appears at the exhibition with the news that Mrs. Ramsay has died under suspicious circumstances. Talking to Louis, Lily realizes two things: 1) she must find out more about her beloved Mrs. Ramsay’s death (and her sometimes-violent husband, Mr. Ramsay), and 2) She still loves Louis.

Set between 1900 and 1919 in picturesque Cornwall and war-blasted London, Talland House takes Lily Briscoe from the pages of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse and tells her story outside the confines of Woolf’s novel―as a student in 1900, as a young woman becoming a professional artist, her loves and friendships, mourning her dead mother, and solving the mystery of her friend Mrs. Ramsay’s sudden death. Talland House is both a story for our present time, exploring the tensions women experience between their public careers and private loves, and a story of a specific moment in our past―a time when women first began to be truly independent.

Review: For the most part this was a good book. The world building and character development was well done. The pacing was on point and it really flowed with the book. The book also had a great plot that kept me motivated to read.

However, the protagonist makes reading the story really hard. I didn’t vibe with her cocky and mean attitude and it made me really want to stop reading the book several times over. The book also was written weirdly. The book was descriptive in some parts and the just quickly wrote in others. I think it needs to just be edited a bit more.

Verdict: It was good just weird.

Marilia, the Warlord by Morgan Cole

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Marilia, the Warlord

Author: Morgan Cole

Book Series: Chrysathamere Trilogy

Rating: 2/5

Publication Date: February 28, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 482

Synopsis: Born the bastard daughter of a painted lady, Marilia was told she would live out her days within the walls of her mother’s brothel, a companion for the rich men of Tyrace. But after a terrible betrayal, Marilia’s world turns upside down. With the help of her twin brother, Annuweth, she flees the only home she’s ever known in search of the one man who can offer her a chance at a better life–the Emperor of Navessea’s greatest general, a friend of her deceased father.

What follows is a journey spanning years, from the streets of the desert city of Tyracium to the splendor of the emperor’s keep and the wind-swept, wild island of Svartennos. Along the way, Marilia discovers, for the first time, the gift she has for strategy and warfare—a world that is forbidden to girls like her

When the empire is threatened by a foreign invasion, the defense of Navessea is left in the hands of a cruel and arrogant general no match for the empire’s enemy. With the fate of her new home and her family hanging in the balance, Marilia swears to use all her courage and cunning to do whatever she can to help repel the invasion—if she can convince anyone to follow her.

The struggle that follows will test her to her core and lead her back to the past she thought she had escaped. Facing treachery within her own ranks as well as a devious enemy commander, Marilia will need all the help she can get, even if it means doing something her brother may never forgive—making a deal with the man who murdered her father.

Review: I had to DNF at 34%. The book wasn’t for me and while it was action packed and epic,I just couldn’t get into it.

Verdict: It’s good just not for me.

The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Loop

Author: Jeremy Robert Johnson

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 2/5

Recommended For…: sci-fi fans, thriller/mystery lovers

Publication Date: September 29, 2020

Genre: Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: Saga Press

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Stranger Things meets World War Z in this heart-racing conspiracy thriller as a lonely young woman teams up with a group of fellow outcasts to survive the night in a town overcome by a science experiment gone wrong.

Turner Falls is a small tourist town nestled in the hills of western Oregon, the kind of town you escape to for a vacation. When an inexplicable outbreak rapidly develops, this idyllic town becomes the epicenter of an epidemic of violence as the teenaged children of several executives from the local biotech firm become ill and aggressively murderous. Suddenly the town is on edge, and Lucy and her friends must do everything it takes just to fight through the night.

Review: I had to DNF at 20%. The book is really slow and I just couldn’t get into it as much as I wanted to.

Verdict: Not for me but maybe for you!

Firefrost by Camille Longley

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Firefrost

Author: Camille Longley

Book Series: Flameskin Chronicles Book 0

Rating: 1/5

Publication Date: September 21, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: BooksGoSocial

Pages: 372

Synopsis: She’s a huntress:
Sol d’Hillerod is sent on a desperate mission through a treacherous winter pass. She carries with her the only hope of her village’s survival, and she will do whatever she must to keep her world from burning.

He’s a monster:
Lieutenant Kelan Birke has spent his whole life fighting for his freedom and his soul. As his control slips, and the war rages on, he knows it won’t be long before he loses himself entirely to the fire that flows through his veins.

Sol and Kelan are enemies in an age-old war, forced to depend on each other to survive a perilous journey through the mountains. As fire melts the ice in Sol’s heart, she questions everything she’s been taught to believe, and Kelan becomes more desperate to fight the flames that consume him. Together they discover that their struggle will have repercussions for both sides of this burning war.

Review: DNF at 35%. It reminded me of Wicked Saints and we all know about my hatard of that book.

Verdict: Not for me, but maybe for you!

The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena

Disclaimer: I received this e-book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Beauty of the Moment

Author: Tanaz Bhathena

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 2/5

Publication Date: February 26, 2019

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: Farrer, Straus, and Giroux

Pages: 354

Synopsis: Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.

Susan’s parents are on the verge of divorce. Malcolm’s dad is a known adulterer.

Susan hasn’t told anyone, but she wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn’t know what he wants—until he meets her.

Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.

Review: Had to DNF at 23%. The story is great and so fun, but the trope-y plot is not interesting to me and I don’t really like bad boy/good girl stories.

Verdict: It was good, but trope-y

With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Book: With the Fire on High

 

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

 

Book Series: Standalone

 

Rating: 5/5qu

 

Diversity: LGBT side characters, Black and Lantinx characters and MC (Puerto Rican and Black)

 

Recommended For…: ya contemporary, cooking, teen parenting

 

Publication Date: May 17, 2019

 

Genre: YA Contemporary

 

Recommended Age: 16+ (language, sexual content and sex discussed)

 

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

 

Pages: 400

 

Synopsis: With her daughter to care for and her abuela to help support, high school senior Emoni Santiago has to make the tough decisions, and do what must be done. The one place she can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Still, she knows she doesn’t have enough time for her school’s new culinary arts class, doesn’t have the money for the class’s trip to Spain — and shouldn’t still be dreaming of someday working in a real kitchen. But even with all the rules she has for her life — and all the rules everyone expects her to play by — once Emoni starts cooking, her only real choice is to let her talent break free.

 

Review: Oh my goodness, this book was absolutely amazing. I loved the voice of this book and I flew through it. The character development was amazing, the romance cute, and the world building amazing. Absolutely recommend!

 

However, I did think that the book had an overarching problem where there was a lot of story but not a lot of plot. The overarching plot seems to be “girl needs to get into culinary arts program” but it’s more like “girl has problem” *solved* “girl has new problem” *solved* etc. It’s not bad per se, it’s really good, but it’s more like a tv show with different but connecting problems in one book/series.

 

Verdict: It was so well done and I’ll definitely reread it!

Fable by Adrienne Young

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.Book: FableAuthor: Adrienne YoungBook Series: Fable Book 1Rating: 5/5Diversity: LGBT side charactersRecommended For…: pirate fans, LGBT, insta lovePublication Date: September 1, 2020Genre: YA FantasyRecommended Age: 16+ (language, violence, gore, drinking, murder, death, romance, sexual content)Publisher: Wednesday BooksPages: 368Synopsis: As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.Review: I really loved this book! I thought it was very different from Adrienne Young’s other books and I loved that. The book had some great moments, strong character development for main characters, and tons of world building.However, I do think that some of the other side characters in the book could have been better developed. They existed for the plot and I wanted to know more about them.Verdict: Highly recommend this pirate-like book!