Books

Review of A Hoot and a Hex by Leanne Leeds

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Synopsis:
The Ides of March bring mayhem and magic when Astra Arden and her sisters host the Roman-themed festival of Hilaria in Forkbridge. But the revelry comes screeching to a halt when Councilwoman Viola Tullus is found dead, entombed in concrete like a modern-day Roman building sacrifice.

With angry accusations flying as swiftly as Archie, Astra must sift through a myriad of motives to cement the truth. Could the killer be a disgruntled citizen seeking revenge against the controversial councilwoman? Was her desire to bulldoze family farms to make way for new developments simply too much for someone to bear?

Between keeping the festival running smoothly, managing her annoyed owl, and juggling her romantic relationship with the werewolf, Astra has her hands full. And with a clever killer masking themselves in the festival crowds, danger lurks around every toga-draped corner.

Can Astra catch the killer before Forkbridge falls like the Roman Empire? Or will the dark deeds continue under the cover of festivity? Find out in this delightful tale filled with twists, turns, and a talon-ful of trouble.

This paranormal cozy mystery is perfect for adults and free of gore, intimate scenes, and profanity.

Review:
Another sweet jump into Astra’s life. It’s neat to see how she’s doing in terms of building better relationships, especially with her father and Lothian. I do love that there is always so much background done on festival and mythological things in these books. Even Noctua’s name had an interesting meaning and backstory, and it was very neat how Leeds had them discover it in a totally relevant and believable way. While the cse seemed quite obvious, I loved all the twists and turns and reveals that I didn’t see coming. I quite loved this story and hope that in the future Emma goes back to full time police work, and that Lothian offers Logan a job!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of The Frost Gate: A Retelling of Snow White by Hanna Sandvig

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Synopsis:
Mirror mirror made of gold,
Here’s the story you were never told . . .

I’ve always suspected some sort of mystery surrounding my adoption—I mean, who doesn’t remember anything before they were five? But the tall, dark, axe-wielding fae huntsman showing up at my door yelling that I’m a lost princess and the Unseelie Queen is coming to kill me? That I didn’t see coming.

It’s hard to argue with a pack of evil wolves on your doorstep, so I grab my sword, my cookbook, and my seven chickens (yes, you heard me right), and follow him to Faerie. I’m all for not being eaten by wolves. I’m less excited about the fact that the huntsman seems to think I’m the only one who can defeat the Unseelie Queen and save Faerie. I’m not powerful or magical, even if my baking skills are legendary.

But the longer I stay in Faerie, the more I want to help its people. And the more time I spend with the terrifyingly handsome huntsman, the more I want to convince him that he’s who I need by my side while I do. He’d do anything to protect me, but it’s my heart he’s putting in danger.

Do I have what it takes to go from baking pies to saving kingdoms? Who will take care of the chickens if I fail?

Review:
One thing I absolutely love about the princesses and female main characters in Sandvig’s works is that they all have hopes, desires, dreams, and things they have spent their life doing- a plan they intended to follow for their life. It was incredibly amusing that Neve had an obsession with a particular fruit. I absolutely loved Kylian. I thought his development, motivations, and what he has done were all greatly thought out and fit the other books in the past series that he appeared in as well. It was great to see how well Kylian and Niamh support each other; strong where the other is weak, and always encouraging each other that they are more than they realize. Sometimes it can be hard when you feel like a big position or job is thrust upon you, but just because it is daunting doesn’t mean you aren’t the correct person for the job. In the end, Kylian and Niamh telling stories… just how precious.

I absolutely love this series of very likeable characters and very realistic situations/reactions of a startled human (or human like creature) being taken away from the life they’ve known. I would highly recommend Sandvig’s works to anyone who loves empowering female characters, fairy tale retellings, and happily ever afters. This book is, as stated on amazon, rather “cottagecore”. It’s a nice cozy romantasy, and I highly recommend it.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Sparkle Witch: A Novella by Helen Harper

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Synopsis:
Snow. Santa. Snuggles… Stress.

You would think December would be Ivy’s ideal time of year. After all, festivities abound and witches everywhere are encouraged to put their feet up and relax. That’s not quite the case when she has various Order members attempting to finagle her into Christmas activities and a special artefact from the top of the Christmas tree goes missing. Either someone is attempting to sabotage Winter or something very strange is afoot indeed.

This is a short holiday novella.

Review:
It has been ages since I read this book but I instantly fell right back into love with Ivy and Harper’s writing. This was a very sweet little story in which you see Ivy’s snark, her delegation, and some great and beautiful moments with some familiars. I absolutely loved how this gave a little snippet into everyone’s lives, Ivy got to interfere with people’s lives a bit and blow off the work she should have been happily doing. All in all, very on par for Ivy, and such a very sweet and lovely little novella.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Synced by Rachel Rener

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Synopsis:
War is coming – and this time, I swear it’s not my fault.

Sol and his reanimated Unseelie army are hell-bent on destroying the Seelies once and for all. Worse, he’s stolen the most priceless relic in this land – Zayn’s grimoire – along with my magic-unleashing gilded blood.

Oh yeah, and Sol’s claim is slowly killing me (though I’m so pent-up, I might actually die of horniness first).

But not all hope is lost. I somehow led the elves through the mountain, arriving at the Summer Palace in one battered, weary piece. Bonus points: I’ve expanded our ad hoc army by two hundred more soldiers – never mind the fact they’re completely untrained, three-foot-tall tommyknockers.

And, for better or worse, while Zayn was busy prepping the castle for battle, my loud-mouthed Jewish mother gained the “support” of our equally-shrill family members. Unfortunately, banshees have the power to predict the future, and our outlook isn’t looking so good.

The only way we’ll survive the impending war is by finding some mysterious “ally” in the most inhospitable, remote corner of the Fae Realm: a ghost from Zayn’s past who will either help lead the Seelies to salvation…or doom us all.

Review:
This was a very sweet and somewhat bittersweet ending to Zayn and Talia’s adventures. I hated how much Talia had to go through but it was neat that she had a true adventure and really had to push to prove her merits and that she wasn’t just lucky because of the blood she’d been born with. I absolutely love the ending; I think it was quite sweet and well done. Probably my favourite in the series after the first book, there were lots of twists and turns that weren’t expected about Talia’s heritage.

This book did use some language that I found interesting as none of the other books contained similar writing. At first I thought that it might have just been a choice for one particular character that appears for the first time in this novel, but then Zayn also used very interesting vocabulary once as well. There was also a continuity error that seemed out in far field with the royal blood being Jaina’s; so one not related to her but related to her husband wouldn’t have “the family blood”. That being said, this was still a much stronger book than the 3rd, and I was quite happy with how the ending played out.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Linked by Rachel Rener

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Synopsis:
A lot can change in a week.

Seven days ago, I was just Talia – an art school drop-out with an affinity for tattoos, a hopeless crush on my boss, and a knack for finding trouble.

Now, I’m a gold-blooded, magic-harnessing, Runemaster-in-training.

The good news is, all of that has resulted in one hell of a promotion. Instead of sweeping floors, I’m sweeping swarms of venomous squatters out of castles. I’ve been enrolled in accelerated, hands-on rune lessons – super handy for those, like me, who are death-adverse. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my incu-boss’s upgraded benefits “package,” which has been particularly generous.

Sadly, promotions aren’t just about the perks. There are increased responsibilities as well: amassing a magical army alongside the newfound fae king, repairing centuries-old divisions among the Seelies and Unseelies, and vanquishing a completely unhinged demon lord whose ego may have gotten the teensiest bit damaged when I became the first woman with a pulse to ever spurn his advances (oh, and nearly kill him too).

But hey, when you’re the most coveted tattoo artist in two realms, it’s all in a day’s work.

Review:
This book entirely dragged for me. I quite liked the action, learning more about familiars and magic, having Dee Dee and “Lambchop” around, but there were whole sections that I had to completely skim. While the plot was great, the intimacy has been steadily becoming a bigger point in the books, and I’m sorry to say but I didn’t find the prose very well done. The very first book in the series would have likely been considered a 2 on the spicy scale, and it was well written and sweet, but the steamy scenes have been growing book by book. This particular book used some language and descriptions that I found altogether off from the feel/vibe of the earlier scenes as well as the nature of one being an incubus. That being said, the plot was alright when it got back on track. The “big reveal” of WHO Zayn’s father is seemed quite obvious to me from the first book.

Star rating: ✯✯✯

Review of Jinxed by Rachel Rener

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Synopsis:
I keep telling myself things could be worse.

Okay, so my mom’s been harboring some hefty family secrets. Big deal.

And, yeah, maybe there are still two or three teensy details about Zayn that I don’t know – his backstory, his private life, or his real name, for starters.

Oh, and let’s not forget that there’s a bloodthirsty, power-hungry, magical mob boss who’s due to appear at any moment. No biggie.

So long as there are no more family bombshells, incubus-related heartbreaks, or unexpected, terrifying journeys into the Fae Realm, I’ll be completely fine. Because, as I’ve already reminded myself at least twelve times since breakfast, there’s no way things could possibly get worse.

…Right?

Review:
This book has so many revelations within it and honestly, I was wondering how Talia kept it together. There were a few times I was surprised she didn’t spit out that she was hungry, or had asthma, but perhaps she was merely trying to keep herself from falling apart. I absolutely loved Biscuit’s role in this story, and how he’s become a strong little… Biscuit… in his own right. It was interesting to see how Zayn acted with Talia despite both of their feelings being quite evident. His compliment of her light touch, and his belief in her abilities in chapter two was very sweet.

The “bad” guys in this become very easy to dislike but at times you find yourself somewhat empathizing with them. I am quite looking forward to continuing with this series and figuring out exactly what happens. If the series wasn’t already completely out I would have gone MAD with the cliffhanger ending, so be ready for that!

As Biscuit would say, to all my readers/review readers out there, Luvya!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Inked by Rachel Rener

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Synopsis:
When Zayn, your smoking hot boss, tells you never to touch the cache of deluxe tattoo ink locked away in his office, you listen to him… until the day you run out of your own ink, your squirming client is on the verge of peeing his pants, and your boss is nowhere to be found. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

I fully expected Zayn to yell at me when he returned to the shop. What I didn’t expect was the fresh cobra tattoo on my client’s butt magically springing to life. Or the interdimensional filing cabinet hiding in the back of Zayn’s office. And, oh, did I mention that my gorgeous, magic-ink-hoarding boss is actually an incubus?

Now – through (mostly) no fault of my own – we have to venture into a strange and distant land where a never-ending list of lethal flora, fauna, and fae await us. When you add in my Jewish mother’s string of poorly-timed, hysterical phone calls, there is one thing I’m grateful for: there’s no cell service in the fae realm.

Review:
From the beginning I was wondering if I’d really find this that appealing; it’s about tattoos, and I’m not a tattoo girl, but as I read about Talia going through a tattoo with Roy, I found myself more and more intrigued. The descriptions were absolutely breathtaking and beyond perfection. At the very beginning it did seem a big slow paced, but once the action picked up the book became impossible to put down. There were so many little unexpected twists and turns of how, exactly, Zayn and Talia find themselves in the situation that one has to keep reading just to find out exactly how it all comes together and it all ends.

This book did an amazing job of using all sort of different types of fae and a hierarchy of mages that I hadn’t seen before and felt, like Talia, quite frazzled trying to keep up which made me feel even more invested in watching her learn more and hope that she can figure out what’s going on and help. All of the creatures seemed very true to the nature as depicted by how they are in this universe, and I absolutely loved how the tie in with Talia’s mother occurs. There were several times that the damsel in distress card appeared, but it was never in the typical way that she became helpless and I quite enjoyed how that played into her own psyche. While I am not Jewish, I do believe that there was quite a great use of both Yiddish and much about being of that religion worked in, and I thought it was really well done and neat.

I absolutely love Zayn and Talia’s interactions and relationship and I believe you, too, will come to love them and Biscuit! (P.S. Biscuit is my favourite!!!)

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

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Synopsis:
“They’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. And they never will.”

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

Review:
This book was riveting from the moment I started. A second born daughter who is an afterthought, left to dwindle and do whatever pleases her until after her sister, the golden child, is married off- who could blame her for wanting to change the world? There were so many points throughout this novel that would resonate with women now, such as sometimes finding it hard to befriend other women who may see them as “competition”, and that women are often objectified by their sexual experiences or lack thereof. The issues dealt with, specifically of women, are very serious things often overlooked in literature and life as “not that big a deal”. There is high magic, great cunning, and amazing scenes of court sprinkled throughout this novel. I couldn’t seem to put it down, and only wish the ending had been a bit longer/stronger. While there is mention of intimacy and going against tradition, this is quite an empowering book.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup

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Synopsis:
A desperate mother. A dubious escort. And a deranged author who won’t leave them alone.

Caroline Lindley is determined that her new romance novel will be her best one yet. Fantasy! Formal gowns! Fencing! And, of course, a twentysomething heroine to star in an enemies-to-lovers plot with all of Caroline’s favourite tropes.

But Lady Rosamund Hawkhurst is a thirty-six-year-old widow with two children, her sole focus is facilitating a peace treaty between her adopted nation and her homeland, and she flatly refuses to take the correct approach to there being Only One Bed.

What’s an author to do?

Based on her popular Fantasy Heroine YouTube Shorts series, Jill Bearup’s debut novel brings us the best of worlds both meta and medieval-inspired. Terry Pratchett aficionados will enjoy the political intrigue paired with convivial, tongue-in-cheek satire. And then there’s the slow-burn, fade-to-black romance too . . .

If you loved Stranger Than Fiction and The Princess Bride, you will soon find yourself cheering on enemies-to-BFFs Rosamund and Caroline as together they learn what it means to be the hero of your own story.

Review:
This book was everything I’d dreamed it would be and more. I preordered this the instant it was available. If you’ve watched Bearup’s tiktok series about the author and her annoying protagonist who never does what she wants, you’ll feel like this is the natural continuation of it. There was never a point where I felt annoyed to be hearing the same story again, or that I felt like it fell out of line with the video series or what the characters would actually do. The characters were all quite likeable and the plot had many more twists and turns than what I had expected given the nature of the videos. I quite enjoyed that the book went back and forth a bit between Caroline’s real life and the way she’d write/interfere with her characters; it gave us a side of Caroline and another level of the story that we didn’t see previously.

I loved Caroline’s hook from the very beginning, and I quite loved the mention of how many times an editor cuts things from novels (I wouldn’t know anything about that, now would I, Elizabeth and Theresa?). I absolutely adored the language used, which was oftentimes easy to understand even if there was clearly an attempt at making it more fantasy/medieval, such as mentioning that they need to be “mannerly”. I also absolutely love that while Caroline (and Bearup by association) might have been set on an enemies-to-lovers story, it turns out that fully fleshed and intelligent characters can have a completely different mindset of their own, and that all can think and grow and be more than what you might originally intend.

I absolutely adore this novel and certainly invite people who love fantasy and romantasy to read it. It’s a full 5 stars for me!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of The Burning Witch 2 by Delemhach

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Synopsis:
A fiery young witch contends with magical adversaries, courtly fights, and unexpected attractions in this romantasy set in the world of the House Witch.

Lady Katarina Ashowan has never quite fit the mold of a noblewoman—and it’s not only because she’s a mutated fire witch. Though she’s the closest friend and confidant of Alina, the soon-to-be-coronated queen of Troivack, Kat would much rather play cards with questionable characters or steal out at night to go riding than bandy niceties with suitors and deal with affairs of state. So as soon as Alina is officially crowned, the young witch plans to put away her dresses and get into some real adventure, training with a master swordsman.

But her journey to knightly prowess is proving more complicated than she thought it would be. For one thing, her future teacher isn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of their arrangement. Worse, unknown adversaries seem determined to stop Alina from actually assuming the throne. Kat’s magical abilities, meanwhile, keep growing and changing in unpredictable and potentially dangerous ways. And despite her best efforts, she still can’t manage to suppress her attraction to Alina’s brother, Eric, the crown prince of Daxaria . . .

Filled with heart-pounding duels and enchanted encounters, witty wordplay and swoon-worthy flirtations, The Burning Witch 2 is the humorous, page-turning continuation of a charming series set in the unforgettable universe of the House Witch.

Review:
This book is so full of action and adventure that it is almost impossible to put down, even as your eyes are drooping shut. Getting to see Kat find herself and her place, where she feels comfortable and where she fits in is magical, and seeing how she and Eric dance around each other between bickering and becoming true allies was magical. It was interesting to see how Katarina had to fight to really gain respect by the people she was forced to train with, and I quite enjoyed how courageous and noble she truly is; even if she doesn’t have the filter that the Troivackians are expected to always keep in place.

Seeing the adaptations to life that Eric and Kat face, Kat had a lot of work to do to fight her impulsive nature and learn to think before acting. Kat found herself and a way to show women what is possible with a positive mindset and sheer determination; a good role model even if she is a bit outspoken. I absolutely loved the ending and am waiting with baited breath for book 3! You know what I’ll be doing May 28th…

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯