Twisted Pages

Review of Of Beasts and Vengeance by Elle Madison and Robin D. Mahle

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Synopsis:
Zaina thought she could run from her secrets, but they have finally caught up to her.
She’s willing to risk her life for those she loves, but even that might not be enough to stop what’s coming.

Einar has finally let down his guard, but when the woman he trusts takes off in the middle of the night with his people’s only hope for a cure, he realizes what a mistake that was.

They have been living under the shadow of the same monster for longer than either of them realize. But it’s up to them to decide whether that makes them enemies or allies.

You’ve heard it asked, who could ever learn to love a beast? But this time, the question is, could a beast ever learn to love?

Review:
Like the book that came before it, this book was made entirely possible by the main characters not properly communicating and trying to do everything on their own. While that in and of itself can be potentially seen as noble, by this time, you would have thought they would have realized, without being TOLD, that working together will likely be far more lucrative. Once more, there was also very little connection between this novel and the fairy tale around which it is allegedly based; however I am fairly certain I know which “fairy tale” at least one of the other sister’s would end up in.

That being said, I demolished this book; once I started, I couldn’t put it down! It definitely picked up from the first book’s pacing, and while one might say this particular arc of the overall plot was finished, there was more than enough left to leave the reader wanting to continue on with the series. I am content knowing the “resolution” of this arc, and do not intend to continue on with the series, however, if you love it- then full steam ahead! This is the second of five books (so far), with the fifth set to release June 9th.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Of Thorns and Beauty by Elle Madison and Robin D. Mahle

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Synopsis:
You think you know the tale as old as time, but you’ve already got it wrong.
There never was a beauty and a beast, only a girl who was both.
And that girl was me.


Zaina will never be free.

She’s forced into an arranged marriage to a Viking King in a castle full of secrets. But she carries secrets of her own, and the scars of her haunted past.

Handed off from one monster to another, she has no choice but to do her best to survive and protect her sisters.

Even if it costs her everything.

A Beauty and the Beast retelling you won’t want to miss, where nothing is what it seems and time is running out.

Review:
This book did not grip me, which didn’t surprise me coming off a book I had quite fallen in the world of. It was interesting enough that I kept reading, but I wasn’t truly drawn into the book until 2/3 of the way through. Zaina never seems like a beast at all, though she does have a tragic past. There wasn’t too much connection between this story and the fairy tale that we know and love, and I think this story may have stood better on its own.

Seeing the slow burn connection of Einar and Zaina, and how Zaina’s mother influenced so much before and after, became truly great; Einar is a very unique and patient man. That being said, this book left on a complete cliffhanger with nothing at all resolved!! I did feel that many of the “surprises” of who was whom in the past/present that Zaina was unaware of were quite obviously foreshadowed. In many parts of this book, it seems as if the easy answer to fix whatever is wrong between Zaina and Einar would be for her to open up and TELL HIM THE TRUTH. That being said, I do plan to continue on with the series.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯