Book Review: Seraphina

“Your lies didn’t stop me loving you; your truth hasn’t stopped me either.”

Seraphina Domingus has many reasons to fear humans and dragons as they haven’t been able to make peace with one another and live in harmony. The dragons are able to shape shift into humans and lend their mathematical minds to humans in different areas of interest including music, politics, academics and so on. But, tensions are high even as the treaty’s anniversary is just around the corner. Seraphina who is an unusually gifted musician who joins the court as a member of the royal family is found murdered and she finds herself in the thick of the investigation along with Prince Lucian Keggs, the principal investigator. Seraphina’ is desperate to keep her secret safe of where she gets her musical gift from and if revealed, it could lead to deadly consequences for her.

This was such an interesting plot and something that I’d never consider unique or something that I would like since it contains Math and that was my least favorite subject in school. I wasn’t very good at it and I found it very frustrating so anytime I had to do anything with math, I hated it. But, the way the author intertwined this concept with the story and how it developed over the course of the book made it very unique and I found myself unable to put the book down. It follows Seraphina, who is conflicted as she has every right to be and scared that people will find out her secret. I found her character very relatable as the inner conflict she had is something that we all struggle with and deeper into the story, we do see a lot of growth in terms of her character and being more assertive. We get to know her and where she comes with flashbacks that were done very well and didn’t detract from the plot of the story and I liked how everything came out in the end. This was a really fun book so I highly recommend it!

Book Review: The Murder of Mr. Wickham

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The happily married, Mr. Knightley and his wife Emma are throwing a house party, bringing together distant relatives and new antiquates, characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. It will be a delight for everyone but all that is dashed when a unwelcome guest, Mr. Wickham shows up and it’s very obvious that no one is thrilled to see him as his latest financial scheme has earned him a long list of enemies, including people attending the party. As the party starts, secrets are to be revealed and tensions start to flare with everyone wishing Mr. Wickham would’ve never come at all. But they’re all shocked when the uninvited guest ends up murdered. To solve the mystery, they need someone who isn’t a suspect in the case and that falls on two of the youngest guest, Jonathan Darcy and Northranger Abbey and the two must put aside their poor first impressions before an innocent person is hanged.

This was a really fun who-dun-it and I absolutely loved how it was a retelling featuring Jane Austen’s leading literary characters as she’s one of my favorite authors. I thought the story was nicely done but I do wish that she would’ve added a bit more suspense and action in some of them because it did feel a bit boring at times. It did get chunky but at least the ending didn’t feel so rushed and wasn’t something that I predicted. I am planning on reading more retellings of historical fiction mysteries because I did really enjoy this one and hopefully will find more as enjoyable. If you’re looking for a fun and entertaining who-dun-it than this is it for you!

Book Review: Fire

“It was a very hard thing to have crushed the heart, and the hopes, of a friend.”

Equally hated and adored, Fire is one of the last human monsters that lives in the mountains of the Dells where King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south plot to steal his throne. The forest and the mountains are filled with with spies, thieves, and lawless men. With the ability to control minds, Fire is wanted by those in power to use it for their greed but she guards it fiercely unwilling to harness it to harm innocent people especially when she has so many of her own. But, when Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City with a propistion she can’t refuse and the more she immerses herself into the environment, the more she sees how much her power could save the kingdom. If only she wasn’t so afraid of turning into her father.

This is probably my favorite book out the series and rereading it was a real treat as it had been a long time since I’d read it the first time. The writing in this book is more polished than the first one and I think that’s part of the reason why it’s more enjoyable to me than the first. Fire is different than Katsa and less annoying and the dynamics she has with those around her were very interesting and I did enjoy seeing her growth throughout the story. I really felt for her in how she was so afraid of repeating the mistakes that her father made and didn’t want to turn into him. I think that part made her feel very human because I do think that’s something that many of us are afraid of doing and the inner struggle to branch out and start a new path is terrifying and overwhelming. It was a fun reread and I’ll be working on the third book soon so keep a look out for that!

Book Review: Graceling Series

“When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?”

All her life, Katsa has been an outsider as she’s a graceling, a rare group of people who are bore in her land with an extreme skill: killing a man with her bare hands. As the niece of the King, you would think she would enjoy having a life of privilege but it’s hard to enjoy it when you’re spending so much time doing the King’s dirty work. But, such is the life that she has until an encounter with Prince Po and finds herself falling for him and the closer they become, the more she discovers that not everything is well within the kingdom as a terrible secret about her race is bound to tear the seven kingdoms apart.

It’s been awhile since I first this series and it was a good reread, fun to go back and see how I feel about the book from when I first read. It’s one of my favorite YA series and a new one is coming out in October so I thought I would start the re-read now so I can be ready for when it comes. I love the different names for the books and each story is it’s own and it’s been fun reading these books again. This first book was never my fave, I really like Fire and the others as I found the main character, Katsa very annoying but I did enjoy the other aspects of the book especially with the world-building as that always helps. Katsa is a graceling which is the ability to kill a person at the slightest touch and being the King’s niece, she has helped torture, murder, and struck horror into the lives of anyone who opposes the king. The older she gets, the more insecure she feels not only with who she is and the skill she possesses and soon begins to start living a double life as a hero. What I loved about this book with not only the world-building, every character was fully fleshed out and even though Katsa annoyed me, I did like aspects of her personality. It’s a very interesting plot and I think it was well written so if it sounds up your alley, then go ahead and check it out!

Book Review: Dark Night, Golden Dawn

“They complemented one another well, the perfect mix of dark night and golden dawn.”

In a place where the elite are just as powerful as gods, the season is about to begin in where The Immortal Orders will gather, pair and create a spectacle for all Nuva Troi to witness. But, if there is one person who isn’t interested unlike past years it’s Harlow Keane who is more concentrated on fixing her broken heart. Fate has other plans as when the season begins, the order comes to her with a job offer and they promise to back off, if she agrees to pair with their most eligible bachelor, Finn McKay. She has been burned by Finn before and knows that she’ll get burned again. But as the season goes on, strange things begin to happen and the balance of power between Immortal Orders and Humans is growing deadlier by the day. Only Finn and Harlow are the ones who notice what is going on and if they want to save their city, they must put aside their petty grudges and find out what is happening before it’s too late.

Although the start was a little slow, I’m glad it picked up and that I ended up enjoying it as it was a fun and exciting read and I feel like it lived up the what it was about. Sometimes, summaries can be very deceiving and there’s nothing worse than when a book doesn’t live up to it. Besides the beautiful world-building, I really enjoyed Harlow and her relationships especially wit her family, it was so comforting and wholesome. You could tell how much they truly cared for one another and they were all so interesting and unique, it’s not always you find secondary characters as fleshed out as the primary characters. So it’s always nice to have that and I did enjoy the banter between Harlow and Finn, I did fine the romance to be believable and that’s a good sign because there’s nothing worse than a forced romance. Overall, I really enjoyed it so if it sounds like something

August TBR

Hey there! I can’t believe it’s August, I have some great picks for this month so I’m excited to share them with you!

All The Seas Of The World by Guy Gavriel Kay
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fiction

Ashes by M. K. Harkins
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Retellings

Dark Night, Golden Dawn by Allison Carr Waechter
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Eclipse The Moon by Jessie Mihalik
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Locklands by Robert Jackson Barrett
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fiction

How High We Go In The Dark by Sequonia Nagamatsu
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

A Magic Steeped In Poison by Judy I. Lin
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, YA

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, LGBT

Savage City by L. Penelope
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance

Sofi and The Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Romance

The Sol Majestic by Ferritti Steinmetz
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Waking Ursa Minor by Helen Rgyh-Pederson
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, YA

JULy WRAP Up

Hey! This has been a super great month and I was able to read a lot more than I thought so I’m excited to share with you!

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Beneath The Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Enemy by Sarah Adams
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating:4/5

Float Plan by Trish Doller
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

Harvest Moon by Annabel Chase & Tana Grey
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
Genre: Adult, Horror, Gothic
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Magic of Found Objects by Maggie Dawson
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

One of The Girls by Lucy Clarke
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Pink Moon by Annabel Chase & Tara Gray
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Sentence by Louise Edrich
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

The Beach Trap by Ali Brady
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: The Enemy

“I feel my heart physically crack a little. It’s both painful and healing at the same time.”

It’s been twelve years since June Bug saw Ryan Henderson, the man who outsmarted her in a game of wits. If she had her way, she’d never cross paths with him again but all that fails when she gets news that Ryan will be showing up for her best friend’s wedding. A lot of time has passed since that fateful day and June is a different person, she’s owns a successful bakery and plans to rub that in his face. If all goes to plan, June will have her revenge on Ryan but fate has other plans in store for June.

Originally, I was going to write a review for this because it was so bad but I changed my mind. The summary made me believe it was enemy to lovers which is one of my favorites and it was a poorly attempt at it because they were pining for each other while not liking one another and that’s not what the trope is. So that was a bummer but that’s not what I disliked the most about this book. At first, I liked June who is one of the main characters as I found her interesting but quickly she began to really annoy me with how she was acting towards Ryan. While I do understand her hesitancy with future relationships because of her past, she came off as very immature at times not willing have to communication in a n effective way so there wouldn’t be anymore misunderstandings. She was being petty and annoying and this is where I started to lose my invested in the book, she was very unlikable and not in a good way. The romance also felt very forced so it was hard to really believe that they really liked each other, it was not a good book. I’m bummed because this trope is one of my favorites and when it’s poorly done, it makes me sad.

Book Review: Something Wilder

“He’d loved Lily so deeply that it changed his biology. Standing here now, it seemed his love for her hadn’t gone away, it had just been vacuum-sealed and stored. Back in her presence, the physical memory of his infatuation was released in a deluge, gasping to life, and adrenaline flooded his bloodstream.”

Growing up as the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father, Duke Wilder left, Lily without much patience for the profession or money in the bank. But, as always, she will find a way to make things work she does just that. Finding a way to pay her bills but also continue carrying on the legacy of treasure hunting, Lily is looking forward to this new found journey. If only, Leo Grady didn’t show up with his new band of friends, things would be perfect and now she has to deal with the man she once loved, the man who broke her heart and if she had her way she’d take him out to the desert and leave him there. But, as fate has other plans for Lily and Leo.

While I didn’t character for the romance, I loved the other parts of the book especially the characters, Lily and Leo. I honestly would’ve preferred Lily on her own because there was something about Leo that felt off and I did find her very relatable. The romance takes a back seat in this novel and it;’s more of an adventure which I liked, the author is known for romance in her books and she’s very good at it. The pacing and writing helped moved the story along and I was into the adventure more than the romance so it all worked out! This has adventure, love, hope, danger, and romance so if you think this is up your alley then I would give it a try!