Fantasy

Sistersong by Lucy Holland

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Rating: 4/5

“Someone once told me that the only names that matter are the ones we take for ourselves.”

Sistersong tells the story of three sisters, Riva who was scarred in a terrible fire and fears that she will never heal, Keyne who battles to be seen as the King’s son, who was born a woman and Sinne, the youngest of the group who years for romance.

Historical Fiction and I don’t really get along so this was a nice surprise as I found it interesting and enjoyable. Seeing the different perspectives from the sisters is one of the pluses of the book as I got to see life through their eyes and how it was different. In addition, their contrasting personalities are what made them interesting and well written characters as the more I read, the more I wanted to know about them.

Out of the sisters, I related to Keyne the most with their struggle to feel accepted not only with their true identity but by their father, the King and others. Their struggles of wanting to be seen as a man despite being born in a man’s body. I appreciated how Holland portrayed it as it felt very real even if it was a different time period. Kenye’s journey is relevant to what many people go through especially in our society right now. I hope that readers will treat them with the kindness, compassion and empathy they deserve.

The writing was another layer that helped make the characters feel very real and raw. Holland’s prose is captivating and painting the mood and headspace of the characters and helped readers understand them better. I felt like I understood what the characters were up against and it made the pacing of the book feel right. It wasn’t fast pacing or slow, right in the middle which is perfect. This book is more character-driven than plot driven which that sometimes be hit or miss and this is was a hit.

It did take some time to get used to different POV’s but this was an enthralling, emotional, raw and entertaining tale of love, betrayal, acceptance, following your destiny.

The Beautiful Ones

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Rating: 4/5

“It was not effortlessly. It tore me apart, but the poison has bled out.”

Well, this was a nice surprise as Historical Fiction and I don’t really get along but the story, characters, writing made me fall in love with it. This is the second book that I’ve read by Garcia and I did enjoy Mexican Gothic and I’d heard good things about this book, so I figured why not?

The story follows Hector, Valarie, and Nina as they try to avoid scandal while trying to win what they desire. Hector and Valarie were lovers but Valarie ended the engagement so she could marry into the wealthy Beaulieu family. To be closer to Valarie and attempt to win her back, he decides to court Nina Beaulieu and what follows is a story of love, betrayal, and a struggle between conforming and passion.

First off, I absolutely loved the romance, it was subtle very intriguing and kept me interested. I found the character quirky and interesting, they all had different aspects to them and were well written. Nina was probably my favorite character, I found her fun, honest, and had youthful wild side to her that was entertaining. The other characters were just as entertaining and complex but I found myself feeling happy reading about her. Finally, I loved the antagonists because I hated yet loved them at the same time, they were unique and interesting and found myself invested in their stories.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I’m not to read books that heavily focus on “scandal” and “gossip” so this was a very nice surprise.

The Song of The Marked

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Rating: 3/5

“Her cheeks warmed, and she briefly hoped they might burn hot enough to simply melt her out of existence— but then a corner of his mouth almost inched upward.“

TW: Kidnapping, Anxiety, PTSD

Casia Greythrone is a mercenary who does what she can to not only protect herself but her family. A devastating illness called fading sickness has been ravaging her country and Casia is one of the victims. Soon, she becomes it’s only survivor but it comes with a cost. The sickness has altered her physical appearance to shades of grey and she knows this makes her a target to the King who is a persecutor of anyone who carries magic. What will Casia and how far is she willing to go to find out the source of the fading sickness while also keeping herself from harm?

I wanted to love this book because it sounded like it would be up my alley but sadly it turned out not to bed and I wasn’t fully invested in it. The plot sounds really cool but I didn’t feel like it was fleshed out enough or even tied things together. Casia goes on really cool adventures but for me, I feel like all these things should tie together and it wasn’t there.

Casia is a well-written herione and I do love the mental health aspect that the author tied in as she struggles with PTSD and Anxiety. I love how Gaither wrote her as a badass warrior who does have struggles that people can relate with and for me, this is what got me through the story. The other characters throughout the book are very interesting and I did enjoy the dynamics and relationship between Cas and Elandor. I thought it was really well written and they have great banter a few steamy scenes. The ending was a bit wild but not enough to make continue the series.

Overall, it was good but not as good as I thought it would be. There were things that I felt like could’ve been different or fleshed out more but I think if you like TOG, you’d probably like this series as well.

Divine Blood (Guardians of the Maiden #1)

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Rating: 4/5

“He was starlight, and wonder, and questions without answers.” 

Going into this book, I didn’t have a lot of expectations as I hadn’t heard of it until browsing through goodreads and it came up. Seeing that people were saying how similar it was to Lord of the Rings, The Cruel Prince, and Throne of Glass and they weren’t wrong.

Divine Blood follows Dyna, who had everything taken from her by the shadow demon and only when she discovers, she can fight back does she find her way to Cassiel, a celestial prince who wants nothing to do with her. That is until, he finds that she can lead him to the life that he always wanted. But, they must work together to seek what they desire as they aren’t the only ones who are looking.

Oh man, this book had everything that I love. Dyna, Cassiel, and Zev were the main highlights especially the dynamics between Dyna and Cassiel, they hate each other and it’s so good. There is a lot of character development on the way which is what I was hoping to see cause I lose interest in the characters if there is zero development or it’s written poorly.

Other than the characters, I loved the magical aspect as it had every magical creature you could think of and I found that very enjoyable. It really did feel like LOTR and Throne of Glass and those are two of my favorite series. I love how Beck went into detail of how these different magical creatures interact with each other because that something that I was hoping to see.

There really isn’t much to complain about except maybe there wasn’t a lot of progress in the characters journey but there were other things that made it worth while and I can’t wait for the second book! I would highly recommend if you’re looking for something similar to The Cruel Prince, Throne of Glass and LOTR.

Champion (Legend #3)

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Rating: 5/5

I scream for everything that has gone wrong. I scream for everything broken in our lives.

Well, this was extremely satisying yet made me an emotional wreck as this wraps up the series and while I didn’t want it to end, I was very satisfied with how it played out. I was a little worried going into that it wouldn’t live up to the expectations I had and boy did it deliver.

Champion follows June and Day as they have not only sacrificed so much for each other but for their people. The time for peace is short lived as they are thrown into a new conflict, one that could test the bond that they have for each other. This heart-pounding and suspenseful last installment of the Legend series will reach a stunning conclusion.

I don’t know Marie Lu does but she’s such an amazing writer especially when it comes to plots as I have always enjoyed the plot of her books regardless of everything else. Champion was thrilling, gut-wreching, beautiful, and filled with so much action that I literally couldn’t put the book down and I have her to thank for that. I have really enjoyed following the adventures of June and Day and I do love their relationship as it’s very well written and there has been so much growth between the two throughout the series. That’s part of the reason why I was so emotional while reading this book because there are some beautiful yet heart breaking moments between the two.

I don’t want to go into too much further without spoiling it but this was such a satisfying conclusion to the series and I highly recommend it.

Prodigy (Legend #2)

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Rating: 5/5

Love is illogical, love had consequences–I did this to myself, and I should be able to take it.

Ahhhh! Marie Lu is one of my favorite writers and it’s hard to pick a favorite of hers that I love but this one pretty close. I had read Legend awhile back and thoroughly enjoyed it so I was glad that I was finally able to catch up with the series. But there is so much about this book that I loved.

Prodigy is an action packed adventure that leaves you wanting more and I turned the page in excitement and anxiety. The beginning was a little slow but it picks up towards the middle and becomes very fast paced with tons of action, emotions, feelings, and secret being uncovered that change the game. One thing that I love about her writing is that she has well written developed characters that make you feel like you know them personally.

It follows the first book with Day & June trying to save Eden, I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m trying my hardest be selective with what I write for the review. But, the ending did hit me pretty hard and I had to get through Champion which is coming up next for review! Overall, this book was rather enjoyable and Marie Lu is such a fantastic story teller to I high recommend checking out any of her books.

Namesake (Fable #2)

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Rating: 4/5

“We were salt and sand and sea and storm.”

Namesake is the enthralling second installment in the Fable series by Amanda Young. A year ago, I had heard people talking about Fable and how good it was and I finally decided to check it out and I wasn’t disappointed at all. This second installment finds Fable diving deeper into a world of deceptions, betrayal, and she will learn the secrets that her mother took to her grave.

This book was just as good if not better than the first book! Fable’s world is even more cutthroat, devious, double crossing than in the first book which is what I loved. I love Fable, I think she is a great protagonist and I rather enjoyed the dynamics between herself and Koy, who is stuck with Fable and doesn’t have a choice. Another relationship that I loved seeing develop was between Fable and Saint, it even made me a bit emotional because of complex it was.

Overall, I was pleased with the plot, the characters and seeing where they went and what was going to happen next. It was a very enjoyable book and I was hoping that I would enjoy it because while I did like the first, I felt like there could’ve been more done in terms of story. But we’ll see what happens next and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long!

The Prison Healer

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Rating: 4/5

“My name is Kiva Meridan, and I claim her sentence as my own.” 

This book was a nice surprise as I didn’t even plan on reading it until I was looking for Goodreads and read some of the reviews and decided to check it out for myself. Sometimes books don’t always live up to the hype that they are getting and that can be disappointing but this book is definitely worth the hype.

The story is set in a prison where people tend to not live very long because of the conditions. The protagonist Kiva has been in the prison for ten years, and since she was seven and works as a healer, she has avoided the worst conditions. Kiva is able to have contact in the outside world which gives her hope that she will one day be saved from her imprisonment. Thought the book, Kiva has to use what she knows in order to save herself in many ways.

Kiva is a very interesting character as are the others. In typical YA fashion, she is strong and fierce but also relatable. Others include Tippy, a young boy who stutters but has a big heart and very lovable, and Naari who was equally fantastic and I hope to hear more about them in the next book. I felt like all the characters complimented each other and it felt real. I did feel like the characters were well written and were unique in their own way. The writing was also a plus for this book as that really helped with describing the events throughout the book.

And finally, the slow burn romance was an absolute delight and I found myself so invested in the romance. Slow burn is one of my favorite tropes and it was done so right with this book. I can’t wait for the second one!

House of Hollow

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Rating: 4/5

Trigger Warnings: blood, gore, violence, murder, attempted murder, death, death of a loved one, self-harm, suicide, body horror, attempted sexual assault.

My sisters. My blood. My skin. What a gruesome bond we shared.

Well, at first glance I thought this was going to be a typical mystery-thriller and I couldn’t have been more wrong. The book was incredibly unsettling at times but I managed to pull through mostly due to Sutherland’s use of imagery in her writing. The story follows Iris Hollow who is trying to run from her past but when her oldest sister mysteriously disappears, Iris finds herself on a journey to uncover what truly happened that night with the clues her sister left her. Will she able to put the pieces together and will she never find peace?

So let’s unpack all of this cause this book was a rollercoaster ride of emotions that I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect this to be as dark as it was but like I mentioned, Sutherland’s writing and use of imagery made me glued to the book. One thing that I did struggle with throughout the book is that I felt like I wasn’t fully invested in the characters since it was more plot driven, but I do that think that was intentional and it worked for this story. But with that said, the Iris and her sisters all have unique and different characteristics and out of the three, I connected to Iris the most who was empathetic, kind, observant and quiet.

The plot is what really held this book together for me because I found it very well written with Sutherland’s prose and with connecting the character’s psychological backstory into had me turning the page with angst and fear. This plot was anything but predictable with so many twists and turns that had me in shock.

Even with the graphic descriptions and unsettling themes, this book did hold my attention and I found myself unwilling to put it down. This book may not be for everyone which is why I wanted to include the trigger warnings for those who plan or thinking about reading it. But, if you like dark fantasy or even if you like fantasy and you’re willing to give it a go, I do hope you enjoy it.