Review of Dark Horse by Kel Carpenter and Aurelia Jane

February 7, 2021February 8, 2021 / authoramysbrown / 1 Comment

Dark Horse (A Demon's Guide to the Afterlife Book 1) by [Kel Carpenter, Aurelia Jane]

Synopsis:
My husband killed me.

Instead of spending my immortal Afterlife pissed off and angry, I moved on. I became someone.
Sure, that someone was a demon with the highest track record of reform, AKA punishment, in Hell. But who’s bragging?

I’m right on my way to retirement behind the pearly gates. Everything was going fine . . . until the Risk Witches saw a terrible vision.

Three men. Each scarred in their own way, born with powers that haven’t been seen in eons.
Upper Management sent the best to correct their path. Angels. Poltergeists. Nothing worked.

These men were too stubborn. Too bad. Too untamed…

So they sent me.

Roman. Ezra. Dorian.
Combined, they have enough power to end the world—and they will.
Unless I find a way to stop them first.

Breaking people is my job. But this time…my job might break me.

Author’s Note: This is an adult paranormal romance series with multiple love interests and some dark elements. If you don’t like strong but flawed women and alphahole heroes that need to learn a thing or two about boundaries–this book is not for you. If you love works by Tate James, Ivy Asher, Raven Kennedy, Joely Sue Burkhart, and CM Stunich, then dive right in to the Afterlife. It’ll be one hell of a ride.

Review:
So, clearly I love books by Kel Carpenter, and this was no exception. I will say that I found the beginning very jarring and wasn’t sure if I was going to like it if that was the tone expected, but the surprise factor was indeed there perhaps because, as Fury would say, you can’t do what people expect. I really enjoyed the differentiation of abilities for the different species, and how they had their own special skills, and how that influenced Fury’s connection to them.

While I did enjoy this story and trying to figure things out, I found that it lacked a lot of the jabs and tension that most Carpenter books seem to entail, and it certainly lacked the intimacy that most books hold. I also found that the descriptions weren’t quite right in my head, though perhaps that’s because the word amber was used to describe both eyes and skin tone.

All in all, I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Pearl of Magic: A Little Mermaid Romance by Emily Deady

February 6, 2021February 6, 2021 / authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Pearl of Magic: A Little Mermaid Romance (Fairy Tale Royals Book 3) by [Emily Deady]

Synopsis:
Life in captivity is horrible.

But pretending to be a prisoner is worse.

Aizel is a Majis and, against her will, a spy. She is supposed to be uncovering secrets for a cruel king, but spends most of her time listening to the haughty, self-absorbed musings of her captor, Prince Erich.

It would be much less frustrating if she could at least complain about it, but the king has silenced her, taking away her voice so that she cannot wield her magic.

If she fails to gather information from Erich, her family will be killed. But if she reports back to the king, her people’s only hope for freedom will be exterminated. Can she find a way to communicate with her captor and convince him of the truth about the Majis?

Review:
My goodness does this story have depth! Erich is the last born son, and as such, he finds himself not thought of and respected as his older brothers, and although he does have to act the part of a prince, he doesn’t enjoy having to squelch his self to be prim and proper. Aizel is the opposite, with lots of responsibility and guilt at not being more capable than she is. Both are good protagonists with a lot of depth and growth throughout the story. Both have to overcome obstacles and learn to see beyond the information they’ve had propagated throughout their lives.

I quite enjoyed all of the time alone that we got to witness, and how Erich and Aizel interact with their horses, and the mention of how one is with their horse tends to give an insight to how they are as a person. This may be my favourite in the series so far, though I truly loved A Shard of Glass. I absolutely adore how all of these stories are woven together within one family, but how each story gives more insights on parts of the story we read in previous novels in the series.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Thorn of Rose: A Beauty and the Beast Romance by Emily Deady

February 4, 2021February 6, 2021 / authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Thorn of Rose: A Beauty and the Beast Romance (Fairy Tale Royals Book 2) by [Emily Deady]

Synopsis:
Beauty is a curse.

It attracts the basest sort of men, even a beast.

With her father deathly ill, Isabel Bielsa throws herself into their mutual passion: bookbinding. Hiding in the library also allows her to avoid the unwanted attentions of the local self-absorbed noblemen. But, there is only so many times one can read the same book. When the governing council demands her father’s skills she happily goes in his stead.

However, her new library assignment is far from private. Prince Aden of Iseldis, cursed into the form of a beast, keeps interrupting her work. With his idealistic standards and comfortable self-righteousness, she sees him as just another man besotted by her beauty. That is, until Isabel discovers that his curse has also affected his eyesight.

As her feelings for him grow, Isabel nears the end of her assignment. Can she break Aden’s curse before the magical attacker comes back to finish him off for good?

Thorn of Rose is a fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It is a sequel to Shard of Glass, but can be read out of order. If you love sweet romance, a little bit of magic, and a self-assured heroine, than this story was written for you.

Review:
Both Isabel and Aden have strong ideals and personalities, which make them clash and have to actually work to get to know each other–something that likely could have and would have happened even without his curse. Isabel is very opinionated and used to dealing with people thinking she is stupid (something any reasonably attractive female is unfortunately well acquainted with, I fear) and perhaps because of that can be rather brash and cruel, assuming all men are the same because most she has come to know have been. Aden is both brash but quite emotional and carrying, and his relationship with Warrior and dedication to keeping people safe is sweet.

I absolutely love this take on Beauty and the Beast, because while some versions (Disney) claim she’s a beauty but don’t necessarily show it beyond one annoying suitor, this not only shows why she would be so annoyed with men in general, but also gave her a depth and level of intelligence other versions lack. There were always high stakes, and the story flowed very well, and was hard to put down. I absolutely loved the integration of her love of books and how connected she is to her father through her love of reading and the written word.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Shard of Glass: A Cinderella Romance by Emily Deady

January 31, 2021 / authoramysbrown / 1 Comment

Shard of Glass: A Cinderella Romance (Fairy Tale Royals Book 1) by [Emily Deady]

Synopsis:
Once she was a noblewoman.

Now she is a palace servant.

Ashlin never pictured herself scrubbing floors. But with the family savings depleted and her stepmother crippled by grief, Ashlin selflessly takes a job at the royal palace. She can pursue her dreams of becoming a seamstress someday in the future.

However, as she forms an unlikely friendship with the prince, she learns that the future may not be so certain. Wielders of a powerful magic threaten their small coastal kingdom and Prince Onric does not believe that their defenses will hold.

As Ashlin navigates growing feelings for the charming prince, she realizes that her unique skills could help save the kingdom. But can she trust the charming prince or he is merely exploiting her selfless nature?

Shard of Glass is a fantasy retelling of Cinderella. Discover a world where heroines can be both powerful and worthy of protection. If you love sweet romance, a little bit of magic, and heart-melting conversations, then this story was written for you.

Review:
This book was sweet, with nice layers. It wasn’t your typical Cinderella story, but there were definite elements that would be recognized. Ashlin is kind, smart, and resourceful and although she allows herself to be manipulated, she is a strong, brave woman. I absolutely loved getting to see how Onric interacted with Ashlin, and how she got to become herself again after tragedy. I will likely continue reading this series, in part to get more glimpses of enthralling captivating fairy tales that you feel yourself fully drawn into and invested in.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of The Villain: A Billionaire Romance by L. J. Shen

January 31, 2021 / authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Synopsis:
Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit.
Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth.
To the media, he is The Villain.
To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life.
Now I need him to do me another, small solid.
Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into.
What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway?
Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favors.
The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom.
Now I’m the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy.
To play, to mold, to break.
Too bad Cillian forgot one, tiny detail.
Persephone wasn’t only the goddess of spring; she was also the queen of death.
He thinks I’ll buckle under the weight of his mind games.
He is about to find out the most lethal poison is also the sweetest.

Review:
There were times that I thought there was a bit too much repetition of Hades and Persephone, but honestly, this story was sweeter than a pomegranate. This story was perfectly woven together, with lots of delicious details and backstory of how we got to where we start with Persephone and Cillian. There is so much more than a love story involved; a development of deeper self, of one’s self worth, compromise, and so much growth. You’ll be rooting for this couple to somehow do the impossible.

Lots of modern pop references were used well, and it gave a great stream of consciousness as well as making it more relatable, and honestly, most were pretty amusing as well. Many of the quips Cillian makes are smart but also well deserved. While quite long, I found this book hard to put down. The game constantly changed and while the stakes kept changing, there was always something to root for.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of A Truth in Ruby by Jessica Florence

January 28, 2021 / authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

A Truth In Ruby (Onyx Trilogy Book 2) by [Jessica Florence]

Synopsis:
Life was supposed to be easy after I rescued the princess from the onyx tomb. She would save the world, while I contently stood on the sidelines after completing Destiny’s task.

But Destiny wasn’t done with me. Everything I went through was for one sole purpose—to save myself.

Now, as the princess of Crysia, I must travel across the continent again to the great city of Crystoria, to find the truth of our origins. I must undo the poison King Verin has cast into our lands.

The journey will be difficult since the Dramens want war and Verin will do everything in his power to stop me. With my friends and a rage-filled mate by my side, I can face the truths and save the world.

Right?

Review:
Honestly, this book was easy to fall into and read, and while there were some surprises, the major plot point was somewhat foreseen and in my opinion, quite overdone in many series. While I did love seeing more of the characters and watching their relationships further and develop, I am somewhat annoyed in what becomes the driving factor at the end, because clearly wanting to save all of your people isn’t enough.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯

Review of A Secret in Onyx by Jessica Florence

January 27, 2021January 27, 2021 / authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

A Secret In Onyx (Onyx Trilogy Book 1) by [Jessica Florence]

Synopsis:
EVERYTHING I knew died when the end of the world came. People dropped dead, and electricity vanished. Those who remained alive were never the same again.

While on the run with my boyfriend Tor across the desolate continent, the worst humanity had left attacked. Torn from the one I love, I boldly raced for help at the last human safe zone.

Only it’s not humans I found, but the Fae.

Now I have one month to rescue my boyfriend and release a savior princess from an onyx tomb or lose them both forever. A seemingly impossible task when Rune, a cursed, pain in the ass Fae warrior is assigned to train me. He’s hellbent on freeing his beloved princess and I’m desperate to save Tor. But no matter how hard we snarl during training; we can’t stay away from each other.

I thought the worst thing that could happen to me was the apocalypse.

I was wrong.

Review:
Holy crap, this was not at all what I expected it to be. This was said to be like Sarah J Maas and I can truly say I did not find that to be the case one bit. I didn’t really get into the book until around chapter 15, and had actually started this quite a while before and started reading other things (It had already been partway through chapter 2 or 3 when I picked it up again, and I did go back and reread those chapters to make sure I didn’t miss anything important.) It did pick up in the end, which is why I did finish it.

In some ways some parts of the plot were very foreseeable, though it did take a bit to catch on for me of the overall. One thing that I found very interesting was how the fae have powers, innate, in their cores. I hadn’t seen that before, and I found it neat that she used the properties gems were known for having as the strength/power the people with the cores would have. I also found it interesting that one could also have an animal core, and usually only one or the other, but some could have both. And of course I love that there are part owl fae because we all know I love owls!

Edit- added in after thoughts from after the before review was originally posted:
There were a few references to other distinct bodies of literature that I had quite enjoyed, paraphrased statements that still left one remembering the source material of The Princess Bride and Alice in Wonderland.

It also occurred to me that only have of the job that Sapphira is supposed to do was actually necessary. Hmm.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯

Review of Vessel of Destruction by Kel Carpenter

January 25, 2021January 27, 2021 / authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Vessel of Destruction (Daizlei Academy Book 4) by [Kel Carpenter]

Synopsis:
If there is one truth that I hold to in my life, it is that when it rains, it pours.

Perhaps that is why I built myself not for the everyday storms most experience.
But for the hurricanes I have had to learn to withstand.

I know what it is like to feel your heart crack in half like a tree that snaps under too much pressure.

I know the bone-deep, all-consuming, numbness that sets in when the wind and the cold and the water become too much.

I know the desperation that claws under the surface as you try to wait through the night, and hope that come the dawn, the storm has passed.
But perhaps, most importantly, I know how to survive.
Or really, I am too spiteful to die.

Either way, my world is falling apart around me. Death and destruction are knocking on my door. And a storm is coming. One unlike anything we have ever encountered before.

This time it is not Anastasia I will face on the battlefield, but the one who calls to me. The one I cannot face.
This is one storm I don’t know if I will survive . . . or if the price of living is too high.

Review:
This one finally tied the series up, and I have to say, there were still some twists and turns I didn’t see from beginning to end. It was well based, and I did enjoy getting to see Selena further develop from what one wants to do and what one has to do, even if it means giving up things you hold dear. The end has a bittersweet tie in, and the only question I had left (besides the usual wishing it wasn’t over of a good book series) was whatever happened with Blair and Alec. Perhaps another book/series might pick up on that someday…

If you’re looking for an adult paranormal/urban fantasy romance similar to this, I still highly recommend Kel Carpenter’s Queen of the Damned book series.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Queen of Lies by Kel Carpenter

January 24, 2021 / authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Queen of Lies (Daizlei Academy Book 3) by [Kel Carpenter]

Synopsis:
My second year at Daizlei didn’t kill me. It did something so much worse.
It killed her.
And the world will never be the same because of it.

Anastasia thought she could own me. The Supernatural thought they could control me. They didn’t realize the darkness they courted until the walls of Daizlei came crushing down around us.

I always thought of myself as hard. Unbreakable. Unbeatable.

Until someone beat me.

Now…I was broken and I planned to use all my sharp edges for the one thing I had left.
Revenge.

**Warning: as the characters mature and grow so does the story. This novel is recommended for readers 16+.**

Review:
Ah, the story was picked up and easy to get into. This book had what most of Carpenter’s work does- lots of action and anticipation. There were twists that I definitely didn’t see, and Selena took a lot more time to actually develop and work on relationships in this book. I absolutely loved seeing everything that happens at the Alpha’s home where they are fully accepted as “refugees”. It’s brilliant how the young and innocent bring out so much curiosity in her.

Finally Selena comes to see herself as she is, and when she’s ready to tell the truth, in some places, she find she literally can’t. Luckily, she has a great band of people around her, and I am quite optimistic about what might come in the next book.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Scion of Midnight by Kel Carpenter

January 23, 2021 / authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Scion of Midnight (Daizlei Academy Book 2) by [Kel Carpenter]

Synopsis:
My name is Selena Foster, and I am the first of my kind in a millennium.

I thought that made me invincible. Untouchable. All it really makes me is a target…and a weapon.

The Supernatural Council is going to war, and they’ve decided what better spear than the girl that can slay demons?

So they blackmail me, and I become the property of the Council.

They think they own me, but you can’t own what you can’t control.

I thought the first year at Daizlei was hard…but the second might kill me.

Either way, I’m not going down without a fight.

Review:
Wow, what a drudge! This book was hard to get into, and I was 70% through before I started being interested and invested again. So many annoying things happen in the beginning of the book, all to do with Selena being a moody teenager. How her interactions with Lucas go are so frustrating, and even by the end I was still mad at her for all the time she wasted being irritated with herself when apparently the true way to get anywhere is to LET YOURSELF GO, but in the next breath, have control! It isn’t even a matter of her trying to gain skills and better herself, she just has a pity party and never seems to snap out of it. All of her relationships suffer in this book, and while it is likely a set up for the next I really hope the angst and inability to be proactive are lost/worked through. While I am not pleased with how the book ended, I have enjoyed a couple of other series by Kel Carpenter so intend to stick it out and hope it gets better.

There is A LOT of connection in this particular story with similar things in the Queen of the Damned series, which while it was written second, I do think I prefer so far. It’s an adult series, so if adult urban fantasy romance is your jam, check it out.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯

Amy S. Brown

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