Month: October 2022

Review of Glow by Raven Kennedy

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Synopsis:
The Booktok hit: The Plated Prisoner Series continues in book 4. This dark adult fantasy romance is inspired by the myth of King Midas and the gold-touched woman who realizes her true worth.

“I was nothing but a road to Midas. A means to get to where he wanted to go, and I paved that path in gold.”

My life has been made up of gilded lies. But death has been shaped from rot.

Like a phoenix caught fire, I will need to rise from the ashes and learn to wield my own power. Because my wings may have been clipped, but I am not in a cage, and I’m finally free to fly from the frozen kingdoms I’ve been kept in.

Yet the world doesn’t want to let me.

That’s the thing when you turn against a king—everyone else turns against you.

Good thing I have a different king in my corner.

But even with the dark threat of Slade Ravinger, the other monarchs are coming for me.

So I will fight for him and he will kill for me, and if we need to become the villains, then so be it.

Because so long as I live in this world, I won’t be used again.

Please note: This is an adult fantasy series with dark elements that may be triggering, including past emotional and physical trauma, violence, adult language, and explicit romance. Read at your own discretion.

Review:
Firstly, this book was SLOWWWW. 700 pages. And 10 chapters where we learn about the past, and spend so much time wondering about Auren. It did make the book feel like a bit of a drudge at the beginning with a small pacing issue, especially given how long the novel is. I think Kennedy did an admirable job in representing a repressed person and what trauma responses they can have, as well as how hard it is to work back up to being functional both with a disability/part of you taken away as well as not being oppressed anymore.

I very much enjoyed getting to see more of Slade and understand more of how he came to be in Orea as well as why he can be so dark. It was good to see a few more characters having a bit more time to shine, and I definitely enjoyed learning more of Rissa and Polly. It was also quite neat having Argo so close all, as well as those who he is used to; something I can relate to because often times people are scared or nervous around horses.

The spice in this was very well written, detailed, and why I’m also going to be tagging this under “Romance”. Definitely prefer Slade over Midas, that’s for sure!

Book 5 is due out in June, so I’ll probably be rejoining this world around then!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser

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Synopsis:
Emma is used to things going her way. Her father is headmaster of her prestigious boarding school, her friends take her advice as gospel, and she’s convinced that a relationship with her long-time crush is on the horizon.

As it turns out, Emma hasn’t seen anything yet. When she finds an old book in an abandoned library, things really start going Emma’s way: anything she writes in the book comes true.

But the power of the book is not without consequences, and Emma soon realizes that she isn’t the only one who knows about it. Someone is determined to take it from her—and they’ll stop at nothing to succeed.

A new boy in school—the arrogant, aloof, and irritatingly handsome Darcy de Winter—becomes Emma’s unlikely ally as secrets are revealed and danger creeps ever closer.

Review:
This book was amazing! I was so sad when this ended that I’ve waited quite a while before writing the review since I finished it a few days after I wrote the review for A Killer’s Kiss. This book had everything; adventure, mystery, romance, fairy tales! Even now I find myself avoiding writing this review because it means the book is over. The book is a complete story, and I quite enjoyed it. It was quite hard to put down!

I also absolutely love the not-so-subtle Austen nod both with Pride and Prejudice in Darcy and Emma’s relationship because he is sooo frustrating but also Emma having many of the same characteristics as the titular character in Austen’s Emma with her meddling and desire to help which doesn’t always… well… help. I had thought I figured out a secret of a few characters and I was pleasantly pleased to be wrong!

This book was honestly so much better than the blurb makes it out to be and I emphatically recommend it. This was one of those stories where even though it was over you just wished you could keep on living in that world and continue on another adventure with the characters. I recommend this book even higher than The Book Jumper, which I had quite liked, but this book just fully sucked me in and I certainly didn’t want to leave at the end!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of A Killer’s Kiss by Helen Harper

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Synopsis:
A twisted killer is making his mark in London, leaving a trail of blood and devastation in his wake. It’s not only humans who are being targeted. Vampires, werewolves and pixies are in mortal danger too.

I’ve been called in to help with the investigation but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to the murders. Someone is playing a very sick game – and it’s up to me to put a stop to it.

Review:
This book was intense. The crimes were quite graphic and the stakes were very high. Despite that, there was also a lot of interpersonal relationships built and played upon, which was very satisfying. I quite enjoyed all of the new characters and I, for one, had only figured out a small bit of what might have been the main mastering of the sick game. It was awesome to see more between our favourites at supe squad, and I do hope that some of the newer introduced police come up again.

My one complaint, which is more just whining, to be fair, is the absolute killer cliffhanger with no idea when another book in this series is going to be released! As always, loved joining in on DC Bellamy’s case and life. Cannot wait to read another book!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of The Sword of the Lady by S. M. Stirling

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Synopsis:
Rudi Mackenzie has journeyed long and far across the land that was once the United States of America, seeking the shore where the sun rises, hoping to find the source of the world-altering event that has come to be known as the Change.
           
His quest ends in Nantucket, an island overrun with forest, inhabited by a mere two hundred people, who claim to have been transported there from out of time. Only one odd stone house remains standing. Within it, Rudi finds a beautifully made sword seemingly waiting for him.
           
And once he takes it up, nothing for Rudi—or for the world that he knows—will ever be the same…

Review:
This book was such a journey! I quite enjoyed all of the different paths of life Rudi and his retinue came across, and how they took to each other. Rudi is an exceptional person in that he truly considers thoughts and opinions and recognizes while he might not believe the same things, that could be a big factor in how people live and work and believe the world to be. I like how as the story has progressed, everyone uses their talents and shows how they would best work. It’s good that Rudi recognizes that everyone has a purpose, and he does try to see the good in people. As per always, Stirling had to throw in some gut punches that leave one quite emotional, especially when you thought that the tide was turning and redemption was potentially on the horizon! I found the ending quite brilliant and peculiar, how the deities and powers present themselves. I am not surprised at the connection we are given with Juniper, and it honestly made her “Mary Sue-ness” make more sense to me.

One of my absolute favourite quotes (skip if you do not want to read before reading said book):
“Fact becomes history; history becomes legend; legend becomes myth. Myth turns again to the beginning and creates itself. The figure for time isn’t an arrow; that is illusion, just as the straight line is. Time is a serpent.”

I am very interested to see what happens next, though I’m torn on the when to read this one, as my anamchara is the one who recommended this series, and I would end up ahead of him. I’d say damn him for getting me so invested in a series, but since getting to Rudi’s arc I love it so much that I can’t really mind too much, so, thanks B.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯