Month: March 2023

Review of The King’s Queen by K. M. Shea

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Synopsis:
When the elven king of death released me even though my existence is a threat to his kingdom, I took the opportunity to run. There is just one problem… I also fell in love with him.

Nothing like a little doomed love to add a dash of intrigue to life, right? Unfortunately, that’s not even the worst of it.

I’m a worrier on my best days, but with a psycho tracking my every move because he’s obsessed with killing me, I’ve graduated to the level of paranoid lunatic.

Even if I could forget about the tracker—not happening since he’s figured out the fastest way to get to me is to attack my adopted family—my regular life is also anxiety-inducing as the city of Magiford is brewing with trouble.

Someone is setting off increasingly powerful magical spells downtown, upsetting all the humans. The supernatural community is desperate to find the perpetrator, and the top leaders are convinced the psychotic tracker chasing me is in on it. Their solution? Use me to capture the tracker for questioning.

What none of us counted on was Noctus—the elven king of death—interfering. Turns out I might not be the only one to regret our parting. But is there any way he could help me, and still keep his kingdom a safe secret?

At least one thing is for sure: I’m in way over my head with this, and my gut is warning me that I’m about to test if cats really do have nine lives.

King’s Queen is the last book in the Gate of Myth and Power urban fantasy trilogy, and is part of the Magiford Supernatural City world. It is an adventure-filled and hilarious take on the Hades and Persephone myth, with a twist of mystery. It’s packed with humor, battles, and a sweet, slow burn romance between an outcast magic user and the deadly king of the elves.

Review:
Finally, the book we’d been waiting for! I absolutely loved this book and this series. It is one of my favourite series by K. M. Shea, but I also feel like I say that with EVERYTHING I read that Shea puts out! I love how tortured Chloe and Noctus were in trying to do the right thing for others, and realizing that they had to find a way to meld everything. I was so happy to see more of French Fry, and to finally meet Truck!

I love how even as they grow, Noctus and Chloe meld together but don’t actually change into completely knew/different people- just like how people are IRL when they meet and fall in love. I definitely see the Persephone/Hades connection with how torturous being apart is, and how it can be difficult to do your job when you feel like you may be missing a part of yourself. I also love how Noctus only ever really opened up to Ker (aka Cerberus, his dog)- a very true moment; we all feel more comfortable and comforted by pets at some points. I adore how Chloe, despite being timid and still losing fur at times, fights against what she feels is her nature to become better and be there for others. Seeing the growth of all the characters was brilliant, very much so in the case of Pat, Joy, and Charon.

I absolutely loved seeing Leila, Rigel, Linus and the Paragon. Aphrodite is, as always, the star. I was a little sad that we didn’t get to see Killian! While I am still (impatiently) waiting for the next Fairy Tale Enchantress story, I love the Magiford overarching series so much that I cannot wait to see whose life we get to learn more of next; Shiloh, Ms. Booker? Who knows!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of A Dead and Stormy Night by Steffanie Holmes

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Synopsis:
What do you get when you cross a cursed bookshop, three hot fictional men, and a murder mystery to solve?

After being fired from my dream fashion job, I return home under a cloud of failure to work at the quaint village bookshop. Maybe being surrounded by great literature will help me find a new path.

But my quiet life becomes stranger than fiction – a mysterious curse on Nevermore Bookshop brings fictional characters to life in lust-worthy bodies. Now I’m having poetry duels with Poe’s cheeky, dark-haired raven, rescuing customers from a grumpy, tattooed Heathcliff, and getting life advice from suave villain James Moriarty, all while trying not to fall for the three gorgeous literary villains who should only exist in my imagination.

Sounds great, right?

Well, it is.

Apart from the murders.

That’s right: murders. It turns out that my quaint English village is murder-central.

My ex-best friend shows up dead with a knife in her back, and I’m the chief suspect. I’m going to have to Agatha Christie this shiz if I want to clear my name. Can my fictional boyfriends keep me out of prison?

The Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries are what you get when all your book boyfriends come to life. Join a brooding antihero, a master criminal, a cheeky raven, and a heroine with a big heart (and an even bigger book collection) in this steamy paranormal mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Steffanie Holmes.

Review:
This book really brings the town to life. I quite enjoyed the stories of our narrator’s time in NY, and her childhood. The steam is strong and well written. The plot, however, I had guessed from very early on. The relationship between the narrator/protagonist and her fictional friends seems too instant, with nothing that spurs a connection other than “girl is talking to me” in most cases. Of the three, the raven friend is the only one who really has time of enlightenment and a deep connection with her beyond instant attraction. The author does do well delving into the protagonist having a very serious issue, and what that may look like as someone comes to terms with the future they’d worked for their entire life becoming unattainable. That being said, I still quite enjoyed this book and it was a quick, simple read.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of The High King of Montival by S. M. Stirling

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Synopsis:
Rudi Mackenzie traveled to Nantucket, where he found and took up the Sword of the Lady and, with it, his destiny. His return journey to the area known as Montival, in the Pacific Northwest, is a treacherous one since he and his companions must cross three thousand miles, making both allies and adversaries along the way.
           
When he reaches his destination, he will face the legions of the Prophet. To achieve victory, Rudi must assemble a coalition of those who were his enemies just months before, then forge them into an army that will rescue his homeland and tear the heart out of the Church Universal and Triumphant once and for all.
           
Only then will Rudi be able to come to terms with how the Sword has changed him—as well as the world—and assume his place as Artos, High King of Montival…

Review:
Epic adventure? Check.
Amazing new characters? Check.
Danger? Check. Check.
An absolutely amazing continuation of a story I’ve fallen completely in love with? Check.

It certainly didn’t feel like I’d finished the book previous to this in October- but then, you’re always in the Emberverse once you’re sucked in.

There were so many different people and places we were allowed to follow and experience and read about. While I loved the direction this one went, I have questions. Firstly, why go into Canada and up to Toronto if you’re trying to get to Oregon? Regardless, I quite enjoyed all of our new characters and seeing their relationships with the characters we already knew develop. I love seeing how the characters come to terms with the fact they have been aging and changing, which I think after the Covid 19 life restrictions everyone has a bit more understanding of how unsettling it can be to see someone/something change so much in your absence.

I quite enjoy that there seem to be stakes for Rudi. I had previously mentioned to a good friend, my anamchara, who got me started on this book series that it always seemed like Juniper was a Mary Sue–this book finally showed that while luck and the Gods may be on the side of our fair Montival leader/his mother, there is still a risk and a price to be paid; that all magic has a price. Speaking of magic, while before it seemed that it could have been magic having all of technology fall, we are suddenly getting to experience what I, as a reader, (Father Ignatius would surely have a better explanation) would call magic. There is definitely danger and risks, but I absolutely adored this book; it may even be my favourite in the entire series so far. The ending, of course, was pure perfection, and again… magic.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer

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Synopsis:
Delilah and Oliver shouldn’t be together. But they are together. And just as they’re getting used to the possibility that happily ever after may really, truly be theirs, the universe sends them a message they can’t ignore: they won’t be allowed to rewrite their story.
 
Delilah and Oliver must decide how much they’re willing to risk for love and what it takes to have a happy ending in a world where the greatest adventures happen off the page.

Review:
This was actually everything I needed to read at the time, and along with Vespertine and another book I’m still in the process of reading, it really helped me feel something when facing personal tragedy. Now, this book does pick up where Between the Lines left off, however, Delilah, in my opinion, becomes quite unlikeable. Oliver and Edgar face a lot of personal trials and tribulations and grow a lot, but Delilah seems to sink into her relationship in a way that seems quite unhealthy. She recognizes this and even begins to dislike herself for it, but she doesn’t change or advance or grow in any way. That’s alright, because this book is honestly more about Oliver and Edgar and what it means to be yourself and put those you love first.

One thing that I think this book does better than almost any other book I’ve read is actually talk about death and dying in a way that makes sense and doesn’t belittle how much it hurts to lose someone. Everyone will lose someone in life, and it can be hard to understand and even harder to know how to pick up your life and continue on when someone who was an integral part is just… gone. Thank you so much to Picoult and van Leer for realizing that this was something that not everyone may have experienced, and that it hits people differently; especially the feelings of guilt.

This book was awesome, and I think it’s a definitely must read if you loved the first; but warning, this one has no pretty pictures (unless you count the chapter headings).

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯