Author: authoramysbrown

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

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The Queen's Crown (Court of Midnight and Deception Book 3) by [K. M. Shea]

Synopsis:
Since the day I was crowned Queen of the Night Court, someone has been trying to kill me. Yay, me!

Finding my would-be-killer has been last on my to do list for a long time—which should tell you what a dumpster fire my life has been. But I can’t ignore it anymore. Whoever is plotting against me is getting serious. If I don’t do something soon I might not survive their next attempt.

Normally, I’d count on Rigel—my consort, who also happens to be a deadly fae assassin—to have my back. But he’s been gone for two months, and when he finally returns he won’t say where he’s been. Great, that’s totally not sketchy.

To make matters worse, I love Rigel—and he doesn’t believe me when I tell him! How’s that for romance?

New to do list: catch my would-be killer and convince my own husband I love him. All in a day’s work for the Night Queen.

I knew I should have demanded a job description before I took on this queen gig…

Synopsis:
Finally, so many loose ends put together, and relationships mended that have been waited for since the first two books. I absolutely love this series, because Leila remains her feisty sassy human self while still trying to integrate into the role of queen. I also love that as a horse/animal person she is always trying to do what is right for the animals, but also encouraging people to be safe and wear helmets!

I love Rigel so much, and I’m glad to see how things turn out with them in the end.

I unfortunately had an inkling who had caused the attacks, but that didn’t stop the enjoyment of the book or how everything was discovered and resolved.

Leila does what she thinks is good for her people, and it’s so fun seeing her people enjoying casual human entertainment activities, especially with how into it they all seem to get. The absolute end it brilliant and while I never want K. M. Shea’s series to end, it was still sweet.

I absolutely love how empowered K. M. Shea’s heroines are, even if it takes them a while to get to that point–it just makes it that much more realistic! I definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves faeries, though I’ll forewarn you–you end up drinking so much tea while reading it!

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

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Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy Book 3) by [Leigh Bardugo]

Synopsis:
Soldier. Summoner. Saint. The nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

The Darkling rules from his shadow throne while a weakened Alina Starkov recovers from their battle under the dubious protection of the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Now her hopes lie with the magic of a long-vanished ancient creature and the chance that an outlaw prince still survives.

As her allies and enemies race toward war, only Alina stands between her country and a rising tide of darkness that could destroy the world. To win this fight, she must seize a legend’s power—but claiming the firebird may be her ruin.

Review:
It was hard to get into this, seeing Alina start as such a meek and modest person. Despite continuously not wanting to be used and controlled, she always tends to end up in situations where people are telling her what to do, how to look, how to act. She never really steps up and figures out what needs to be done- there’s always someone else there with the answer (Thank you, David).

This book was when I finally gave up any hope that the Darkling would be redeemed. So much potential for him to be changed. I did, however, quite come to like between the second and third books, Nikolai. In many ways I was disappointed in how this one ended, in part because I thought she would have made a good queen to Nikolai. Of all the things they could have done when free, I hadn’t expected what they chose.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯

Review of Seige and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy Book 2) by [Leigh Bardugo]

Synopsis:
Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Alina Starkov’s power has grown, but not without a price. She is the Sun Summoner—hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Shadow Fold. But she and Mal can’t outrun their enemies for long.

The Darkling is more determined than ever to claim Alina’s magic and use it to take the Ravkan throne. With nowhere else to turn, Alina enlists the help of an infamous privateer and sets out to lead the Grisha army.

But as the truth of Alina’s destiny unfolds, she slips deeper into the Darkling’s deadly game of forbidden magic, and further away from her humanity. To save her country, Alina will have to choose between her power and the love she thought would always be her shelter. No victory can come without sacrifice—and only she can face the oncoming storm.

Review:
Running from your problems never solves them, as Alina and Mal find. While I was team Darkling in book 1, finding that he’d be willing to completely destroy Mal to get closer to Alina definitely made me dislike him. As Alina grows into her powers and learns what she believes she has to do and use her abilities for, she becomes a different person. While this is addressed several times in conversations, Mal still holds out hope that she’s still the same person whereas when this type of thing happens, two people wanting different things with their lives, generally that is when they move apart. Though admirable that Mal still wanted to stay close and do his job… is it really?

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy Book 1) by [Leigh Bardugo]

Synopsis:
Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold—a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite—and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.

Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.

Review:
It was hard for me to get into this book at first, and it wasn’t until the third chapter that I really got into it and became invested. The relationships were definitely not enticing, and there were several times I was hoping she would give up on what she knew before and embrace what she could have instead. I did enjoy how the author had Russian influences, because it’s always fun to learn about another culture, and I will say I think it very much added to this trilogy.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Haunted by Shadows by Kel Carpenter

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Haunted by Shadows: Magic Wars (Demons of New Chicago Book 2) by [Kel Carpenter]

Synopsis:
I used to hunt witches. Now I live with one.

To further complicate things, my past as a supernatural bounty hunter doesn’t exactly make me popular in these new circles I’m running in.

Shocker, I know.

Someone wants me dead.

Unfortunately for them, I’m pretty good at keeping myself alive. Not that it stops Ronan from being an alphahole.
He wants me to stay in Nathalie’s apartment and be safe while he handles the threat, all while holding Bree’s future over my head.

Not gonna happen.

To say I’m fucked is an understatement. But I’ve been in worse spots before.

Lucifer may be gone, but the corruption of magic isn’t. I have enemies everywhere.

And this time, they’re going to know what it means to burn.

Some things are worse than the devil.
To save Bree, I’ll become one of them.

Review:
Haunted by Shadows allows us to see a deeper look at Piper, who has to undergo deep introspection to learn who and what she is, and what she really wants in life. It’s interesting to see her powers and her self confidence further develop, especially while she tries to grow and maintain relationships with Nathalie and Ronan. My only issue with this book is that it leaves you on a cliffhanger where you’re left wanting the third, not yet released, book.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Demon King by Elizabeth Briggs

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Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer Book 1) by [Elizabeth Briggs]

Synopsis:
I made a deal with the devil. Now he’s claimed me as his mate.

When my best friend goes missing in Las Vegas, there’s only one man I can turn to for help.

Lucas Ifer. Billionaire playboy. CEO of Abaddon Inc. King of Sin City. And…the devil himself?

Lucas—aka Lucifer—agrees to help me, but in exchange he wants one thing: me.

He’s dark, dangerous, and wickedly handsome. Oh, and evil incarnate. I should say no, but I can’t. I’m that desperate.

But when you make a deal with the devil, there’s no escaping it. Now he owns my body for seven nights of sin. Even worse, he owns my soul for all eternity.

I’m Persephone being claimed by Hades, and I have no choice but to enter his underworld and become his dark queen.

Is there any light left in that black heart? Or will his darkness consume me?

Review:
I quite enjoyed this book. Most of the twists weren’t things that I expected, so it was interesting to see how things developed. Several twists I figured out just before they were mentioned, though sometimes things became confusing regarding the past and present. While the book itself was enjoyable, the characters did seem quite familiar, and while Hannah is no Chloe, there is an obvious draw in characterization, including description of characters, from the television show Lucifer. That being said I still quite enjoyed this book, and you don’t have to have watched the television show to get into it.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Buckle in- Review Galore

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It’s been quite some time since I have posted book reviews, but given the state of the world, and the current lockdown and stay at home orders where I live, I figure I might as well get back in the habit. I do enjoy having the list of books I’ve read, even if it can be tedious to outline them all. This month I’ve already finished nine books, so strap in for the return of book reviews.

Have anything in particular you want me to read/review here for you? Send me an email at authoramysbrown@gmail.com

La Llorona is Available on Kindle!

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Today’s the day you can read The Case Files of Alessandra Clement, and join her as she connects with people who have gone through severe water incidents, using the story of La Llorona, the weeping woman, to connect and guide them through their anguish.

Alessandra Clement isn’t your usual psychologist, she’s a psychotherapist. She uses fairy tales, folktales, and legends to connect to her clients’ trauma, and guide them through it. In La Llorona, Clement goes over case files of clients who have experienced a severe water incident with their children. By looking at the Mexican folktale from all angles, Clement relates the story to her clients in a way that allows them to see the similarities between themselves and the story, as well as seeing the ways that they are different, and how they can improve their life by moving away from the story so they don’t have a dastardly end.

You can purchase Alessandra’s first case file, La Llorona, on Amazon for kindle. Paperback to follow.

Thank you so much to my wonderful editor, Theresa Filo, and my amazing cover artist, Kostis Petridis. Not much thought goes into those that have helped you create something, but I am so appreciate for these two and all of the work they’ve also put into this, as well as all the people who have inspired me throughout the years, resulting in this book.

Cheers for an Amazing Cover – Thanks Kostis

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Let’s take a moment to appreciate my amazing cover art, made by Kostis Petridis. He’s an awesome graphic designer, and works hard to make certain he understands what you’re looking for before he creates something completely amazing. I can’t say enough good things about how professional, prompt, and pleasant Petridis is. Cheers for him!
 
You can view his website at kostisgd.com and contact him at hello@kostisgd.com.

La Llorona – Available for Pre-order

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I’m ecstatic to announce that after a long hiatus (thank you, horses) I have a new book coming out. You can preorder it now, and it releases on Monday the 27th on kindle. Paperback to follow.

A completely new and unique book series, enter the world of Alessandra Clement, a psychotherapist who takes folktales and fairy tales, well known stories, and uses them to connect to trauma they’ve experienced, helping them forge a new path. In the debut series novella Alessandra uses the story of La Llorona, the weeping woman.

Alessandra Clement isn’t your usual psychologist, she’s a psychotherapist. She uses fairy tales, folktales, and legends to connect to her clients’ trauma, and guide them through it. In La Llorona, Clement goes over case files of clients who have experienced a severe water incident with their children. By looking at the Mexican folktale from all angles, Clement relates the story to her clients in a way that allows them to see the similarities between themselves and the story, as well as seeing the ways that they are different, and how they can improve their life by moving away from the story so they don’t have a dastardly end.