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.

Review of The Silver Skull by Anne Renwick

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Synopsis (from Amazon):
An illegal border crossing. A fake marriage. A mad German count determined to create an army of unbreakable soldiers.

Lady Olivia is not all she seems. Trained for marriage to an assigned political target, her skills lie in programming household steambots to serve tea, dress her hair… and sound the alarm while she picks locks and listens at doors. Humiliated by a failed assignment, she decides to redeem herself by tailing a suspected double agent.

Lord Rathsburn must flirt with treason. Struggles to cure a horrible disease have met with unexpected complications. The cells he engineered can make a man’s bones unbreakable, but the side effects are fatal. He believed the research terminated… until his sister was kidnapped by a German count. Her ransom? A cure.

Piloting a stolen dirigible, he uncovers an unlikely stowaway, Lady Olivia. Arriving together at a crumbling castle, an impossible task is set before them: cure the count’s guardsmen. Amidst their fake marriage, a very real growing attraction, dying guardsmen and escalating hostilities, Lady Olivia and Lord Rathsburn are thrust deep into the world of international medical espionage from which there may be no return.

Review:
In the beginning I was quite sad because I expected that the Elemental Web Chronicles would continue on with Thornton and Amanda, and that they would continue solving crimes and working for the Queen. Once I got over that and gave Olivia a chance, I came to find the story quite amusing and enjoyed it.

Although I understand that Olivia’s abilities and intelligence were supposed to be suspect in The Golden Spider, I found it hard to believe the complete change in mentality that her mother was now shown/said to have. Although some characteristics of Olivia’s remained the same, the difference in her in this compared to how she was in The Golden Spider was at times hard to fathom. Treating this like a completely different novel, not necessarily one that should have flowed from one book to the next, made the changes easier to accept.

I quite liked Lord Rathsburn. He was gruff and not the greatest at dealing with people, much like the scientists I know. His familial loyalty was endearing, as was his sense of honour.

I did enjoy this novel quite a bit, though not as much as The Golden Spider.

Star Rating: 

Review of The Golden Spider by Anne Renwick

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Synopsis (from Amazon):
A stolen clockwork spider. A forbidden romance. A murderous spy on the streets of London who must be stopped before it’s too late.

Lady Amanda is tired of having both her intelligence and her work dismissed.
After blackmailing her way into medical school, she catches the eye of her anatomy professor from the moment she walks into his lecture hall. Is he interested in her? Or only her invention-a clockwork spider that can spin artificial nerves?

Lord Thornton, a prominent neurobiologist, has been betrayed.
Secret government technology has been stolen from his laboratory, and a foreign spy is attempting to perfect it via a grisly procedure… using gypsies as test subjects. The last thing he needs is the distraction of a beautiful-and brilliant-new student, even if her spider could heal a deteriorating personal injury.

Until her device is stolen and used in the latest murder.
Lord Thornton has no option but to bring her into his laboratory as well as the investigation where they must fight their growing, yet forbidden, attraction. Bodies accumulate and fragile bonds are tested as they race across London, trying to catch the spy before it’s too late.

Review:
Why did I wait so long to read this book? It was absolutely wonderful! There was everything one could want in a steampunk/gaslamp style novel: there was a plucky and intelligent protagonist who wasn’t willing to just take what society deemed acceptable as her future, a brooding intelligent gentleman, mystery, and forbidden romance!

Amanda was instantly connected to me (perhaps due to us having the same first name, Amy being a short form used for publishing). She is so intelligent but also a society lady, so her struggle to find someone who didn’t just see her as a baby maker was both realistic and frustrating, making her quite relatable. Thornton was equally relatable in his desire to get things done, done right, and even if it killed him to do it himself, he’d be sure it was finished.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I loved it, especially the ending!

Star Rating: 

Review of The Ink Master’s Silence by C. J. Archer

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Synopsis (from Amazon):

It should be a happy time for India and Matt, but forces beyond their control conspire to ruin their future. A distraction from their troubles comes in the form of murder.

When the editor of The Weekly Gazette is killed, controversial journalist and ink magician Oscar Barratt asks India and Matt to investigate. As the recipient of threatening letters written on magic paper, he believes he was the intended target. With suspects ranging from Oscar’s brother to guild masters and London’s elite, India and Matt have a lot of investigating to do.

But the more they dig, the more dark secrets they uncover. Secrets that involve blackmail and an exclusive club of magic collectors who want to preserve the value of their collections. When one of the secrets can give India and Matt the future they desire, will they give in to blackmail or sacrifice their happiness?

Review:
Oh, India. Finally, the chance of love with Matt, but family drama keeps them apart. I had expected that Matt’s uncle threatened something very different, and I am somewhat sad that Matt was so easily assuaged. This particular book felt like more family issues and like a set up for something more.

The way that relationships were portrayed in this novel, as they would have been then, was sad yet likely accurate for the time, but what was more sad was the stigma that having magic placed on people, and how some would be so prejudiced against it.

I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book!

Star Rating: