The Iron Raven (The Iron Fey: Evenfall #1), Julie Kagawa ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 9th, 2021

336 Pages

Synopsis: You may have heard of me…

Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Prankster, joker, raven, fool…King Oberon’s right-hand jester from a Midsummer’s Night Dream. The legends are many, but the truth will now be known, as Puck finally tells his own story and faces a threat to the lands of Faery and the human world unlike any before.

With the Iron Queen, Meghan Chase, and her prince consort, Puck’s longtime rival Ash, and allies old and new by his side, Puck begins a fantastical and dangerous adventure not to be missed or forgotten.

I really enjoyed Kagawa’s Iron Fey series, so I’ve been eagerly looking forward to The Iron Raven, the first book in this new trilogy. I do advise that anyone who hasn’t read the previous series do so before reading this, because although you won’t be lost, I think you’ll still find something missing if you’re not already familiar with the world and characters Kagawa has created.

I’ve been fascinated with Robin Goodfellow/Puck since I read Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in high school, and I liked Kagawa’s take on him in the Iron Fey series. Unsurprisingly, he is my favorite part in this book. Finally granting center stage to the clever mischief maker is marvelous, and getting a glimpse of his beginnings adds an insightful layer to his background. As of right now, I’m missing a certain amount of chemistry between Puck and his new love interest, Nyx, but their relationship is just developing so I’m withholding judgement.

As Iron Raven picks up from the first series, it’s delightful to see familiar figures return as well as the introduction of new ones. Kagawa’s writing is as always, beautifully descriptive and immediately swept me back in the world of the Fey. I do feel there are a few sections that are slightly repetitive and slow, but overall this is a solid beginning to to this new trilogy and I believe longtime fans of Kagawa will be quite pleased.

City of Villains (City of Villains #1), By Estelle Laure ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 26th, 2020

240 Pages

Synopsis: Disney’s Villains meet Gotham in this gritty fairy-tale inspired story.

Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school senior by day, but by night she’s an intern at the Monarch City Police Department. She watches with envy from behind a desk as detectives come and go, trying to contain the city’s growing crime rate. For years, tension has simmered between the city’s wealthy elite, and their plans to gentrify the decaying neighborhood called the Scar—once upon a time the epicenter of all things magic.

When the daughter of one of the city’s most powerful businessmen goes missing, Mary Elizabeth is thrilled when the Chief actually puts her on the case. But what begins as a missing person’s report soon multiplies, leading her down a rabbit hole of a city in turmoil. There she finds a girl with horns, a boyfriend with secrets, and what seems to be a sea monster in a poison lake. As the mystery circles closer to home, Mary finds herself caught in the fight between those who once had magic, and those who will do anything to bring magic back.

This dark and edgy YA series explores the reimagined origins of  Maleficent, Ursula, Captain Hook, and other infamous Disney villains like you’ve never seen before.

I was quite excited when I read the premise of City of Villains with the tagline Disney villains meets Gotham, but I have to be honest and say it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. My biggest problem I think is that everything is told rather than shown. I was never able to fully connect with the characters, the setting, or the story. However, seeing the origin stories of some of my favorite Disney villains was interesting and kept me turning the pages. I also have to say this is a quick read which I breezed through in couple of hours. Overall, while City of Villains wasn’t everything I was hoping it would be, there was just enough there that not only kept me reading, but also has me sufficiently interested enough to give the sequel a try when it comes out.

The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy #1), By Nora Roberts ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Diversity, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Romance, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 24th, 2020

464 Pages

Synopsis: #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts, begins a new trilogy of adventure, romance, and magick in The Awakening.

In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan, emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own…

When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twenty-something mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.

This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying “Come home Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home.” Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies—through a portal in Galway that takes her to a realm of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny…

Many of you already know that I’m a longtime fan of Nora Roberts, and her upcoming novel is a perfect example of why. The first in a new fantasy trilogy, The Awakening is a gorgeously told tale that has left me eager for more.

For personal reasons, I really connected with Breen and enjoyed her transformation from timid mouse, to the beginnings of a fierce warrior. I was a little slower to embrace Keegan as his alpha male persona put me off in the beginning, but it didn’t take long for my feelings toward him to thaw. The secondary characters are numerous, but all are immensely likable. The world building is, well in a word, magical. From a Philadelphia drag queen club, to the misty Irish countryside, to the delightful world of Talahm, I was fully immersed with the delightful settings and characters. Except for a few scenes with the big bad and a couple of his minions, there’s not a lot of action, but due to Robert’s talented storytelling skills, this in no way takes away from the story.

For me, the mark of a perfectly written story is when it’s so immersive that it’s difficult to get my head back in the real world. If you’re looking for an escape I can’t recommend The Awakening enough. It’s an enchanting tale with memorable characters that will leave you eager for the next book.

The Mirror: Broken Wish (The Mirror #1), by Julie C. Dao ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Fairytale Retellings, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 6th, 2020

320 Pages

Synopsis: 1865 Hanau Germany 

Sixteen-year-old Elva has a secret. She has visions and strange powers that  she will do anything to hide. She knows the warnings about what happens to witches in their small village of Hanau. She’s heard the terrible things people say about the Witch of the North Woods, and the malicious hunts that follow. But when Elva accidentally witnesses a devastating vision of the future, she decides she has to do everything she can to prevent it. Tapping into her powers for the first time, Elva discovers a magical mirror and its owner—none other than the Witch of the North Woods herself. As Elva learns more about her burgeoning magic, and the lines between hero and villain start to blur, she must find a way to right past wrongs before it’s too late.

Broken Wish is the first book in the upcoming The Mirror series which in itself is an exciting premise. Four books following a multigenerational family by some of the most popular YA authors today: Julie C. Dao, Dhonielle Clayton, J.C. Cervantes, and L.L. McKinney. I started this last night around 8:00 p.m. and finished it three hours later. It’s a highly entertaining fairytale retelling of Snow White with a little of The Red Shoes thrown in, and it perfectly captures Germany in the latter half of the 19th century. Dao is a wonderful storyteller who is known for her richly detailed world building and complex characters, and that’s very much on display here. But included in this beautifully written fantasy is the thoughtful exploration of the difficulty of being unique in a world where differences are often met with ignorance and cruelty. It’s a tale of friendship, loyalty, and the ramifications of broken promises, that all lead up to a shocking ending. I cannot recommend Broken Wishes highly enough. It’s an exciting and original YA fantasy whose storyline will enthrall you and characters will capture your heart. The series continues with Dhonielle Clayton’s Shattered Midnight (July 2021), which jumps to 1920s New Orleans, and sounds from the title to perhaps be a retelling of Cinderella. I’m going to be impatiently counting down the months.

 

Eventide, By Sarah Goodman ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Southern Gothic, Young Adult Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 6th, 2020

336 Pages

Synopsis: MADNESS, SECRETS, AND LIES

Wheeler, Arkansas, 1907

When their father descends into madness after the death of their mother, Verity Pruitt and her little sister Lilah find themselves on an orphan train to rural Arkansas.

In Wheeler, eleven-year-old Lilah is quickly adopted but seventeen-year-old Verity is not. Desperate to stay close to her sister, Verity indentures herself as a farmhand. But even charming farm boy Abel Atchley can’t completely distract her from the sense that something is not quite right in this little town. Strange local superstitions abound, especially about the eerie old well at the center of the forest. The woods play tricks, unleashing heavy fog and bone-chilling cold…and sometimes visions of things that aren’t there.

But for Verity, perhaps the most unsettling revelation of all is that her parents have a scandalous history in this very town. And as she tries to unearth the past, sinister secrets come with it—secrets that someone will go to violent lengths to protect…

A haunting tale of long-buried secrets, small-town scandal, and single-minded vengeance by talented debut novelist Sarah Goodman.

Eventide is the debut novel by Sarah Cooper, and while its slow burning suspense might not be for everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed the eerie Southern gothic theme, as well as the fascinating characters and intriguing mystery. I have to be honest and say that Verity annoyed me at first with her rather know-it-all attitude, but there’s so much more behind that initial obnoxiousness. Likewise, there’s similar complexity with all the characters, even the villain who winds up deserving of a small amount of sympathy. The mystery and how everything ultimately comes together, kept me turning the pages even though there were some slow spots. There are some reviewers who have criticized that there weren’t enough fantasy/supernatural elements until the near the end, but I actually liked how they were tantalizingly kept under the surface. Overall, Eventide is an excellent YA debut by Cooper and I unhesitatingly recommend it. I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes out with next.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Romance, Supernatural Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 6th, 2020

448 Pages

Synopsis: A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

As I do my final read-through on this book, a story nearly ten years in the making, all I can think is that I’ve put my heart and soul, my teeth and blood and bones into this one.

I hope you love it.

~ Message from V.E. Schwab on Goodreads ~

I’ve been truly blessed with the number of fantastic eARCS I’ve been approved for this year, but my goodness…two days and almost 500 pages, of being swept away into the captivating The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and I find myself at a loss to come up with enough superlatives to express my love of this book. This sumptuous and gorgeously told tale ticked all my boxes: swoon-worthy romance, devilish yet perversely charming villain, feisty heroine, beautifully detailed world building, twists and turns aplenty, and overall, just an exquisite story that will have you laughing, crying, and holding your breath right up to the bittersweet ending. 

What she needs are stories. Stories are a way to preserve one’s self. To be remembered. And to forget. Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And books. Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one.

With the first quote, V.E. Schwab shares how much of herself she put into this book and all that work and passion certainly shows. The Strange Life of Addie LaRue is the eleventh book I’ve read by her, and I believe she may have outdone herself. It truly is a literary masterpiece and the characters and their stories will wring every drop of emotion from you. You’re going to want to make time for this guys, particularly if you’re a fan of books and films such as The Time Traveler’s Wife, and The Age of Adaline. Trust me. Get your preorders or library holds in now because this is a magical reading experience you don’t want to miss!

Down Comes the Night, By Allison Saft ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Gothic Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery, Political Intrigue, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 2nd, 2021

400 Pages

Synopsis: A gorgeously gothic, deeply romantic YA debut fantasy about two enemies trapped inside a crumbling mansion with no escape from the monsters within.

Honor your oath, destroy your country.

Wren Southerland is the most talented healer in the Queen’s Guard, but her reckless actions have repeatedly put her on thin ice with her superiors. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate to cure his servant from a mysterious disease, she seizes the chance to prove herself.

When she arrives at Colwick Hall, Wren realizes that nothing is what it seems. Particularly when she discovers her patient is actually Hal Cavendish, the sworn enemy of her kingdom.

As the snowy mountains make it impossible to leave the estate, Wren and Hal grow closer as they discover a sinister plot that could destroy everything they hold dear. But choosing love could doom both their kingdoms.

Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched, gothic, romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night.

Down Comes the Night is a lovely gothic tale that reminded me of Daphne du Maurier and Guillermo del Toro. I have to admit it took me a little while to warm up to Wren, but once the setting moved to the castle and she connected with Hal, I found her much more relatable. The world building is very well done and I especially found the political strife interesting. Add in an intriguing murder mystery with a lovely romance and I was pretty much hooked by the end of the first chapter. Allison Saft’s writing style is also beautifully descriptive which further pulled me into the story. As far as I can tell, Down Comes the Night is a standalone, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel as I was left wanting more. Overall I unhesitatingly recommend this to anyone looking for dark gothic fantasy that’s filled with political intrigue, self-discovery, mystery, and romance.

 

A Deadly Education (Scholomance #1), By Naomi Novik ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 29th, 2020

336 Pages

Synopsis: Lesson one of the Scholomance.

Learning has never been this deadly.

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real)—until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets. There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate…or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters that lurk everywhere. El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies but she possesses dark strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to destroy the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

A Deadly Education is okay. Stop. No it isn’t. It‘s utterly spectacular and probably will not only be my favorite book of 2020, but is now on my top ten list of favorite books of all time! I know. You’re probably rolling your eyes and saying: “Oh C’mon. Not ANOTHER magical boarding school series!” Well let me assure you Scholomance is no Hogwarts or even Brakebills.

Naomi Novik’s planned trilogy takes inspiration from the folkloric Scholomance which was a fabled Transylvanian school of black magic rumored to be run by Satan himself. Novik runs with this fable and creates an epic tale of a school that exists on the edge of a void where students lose their lives on a daily basis from Lovecraftian beasties known as the maleficaria or “mals,” and sometimes each other. Students who are “lucky” enough to make it to graduation wind up going through this horrible ceremony where they’re dumped in the residents hall and have to battle their way through hordes of mals to exit the school.

The two main characters are total opposites of each other, (or are they?) Galadriel or El, is half Indian, half Welsh and has powerful but scarily dark powers that she’s keeping secret from everyone. She’s an outcast, and some of that status she’s purposely cultivated. Orion Lake is the school’s popular resident hero who enthusiastically persists in throwing himself at mals to protect others. Much to El’s annoyance he’s put himself in danger for her on multiple occasions. Chapter 1 begins: I decided that Orion needed to die after the second time he saved my life. Insta-love this is not. What I loved about their developing relationship is how they slowly see that they may have more in common than they originally thought. The secondary characters are likewise wonderfully written, but the standout is Scholomance itself. As a sentient school, it’s really a character as well. A fascinating and sinister one.

I have to be honest and say there’s quite a bit of info dumping in this first book, but to my shock this didn’t bother me at all. I was so captivated by the world building and characters that I kept wanting more.

In the end I believe A Deadly Education is Novik’s best book to date thanks to its imaginative and thrilling upending of a ubiquitous trope. I finished this last night and all I can think of is how am I going to wait for at least a year until the sequel comes out? This is technically a YA novel, but it’s going to have wide crossover appeal with adult fantasy fans. If you are one of these, listen to me: Preorder this from your favorite book retailer or ask your library to buy it ASAP. You won’t be sorry!

 

 

 

Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1), by Janella Angeles ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 25th, 2020

464 Pages

Synopsis: In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner in the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost.

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told.

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide.

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

A blend of Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge, Erin Morgernstern’s The Night Circus, and Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, Where Dreams Descend will definitely appeal to a wide audience of dark fantasy lovers. The plot and world building are the book’s strengths and kept me turning the pages over the three nights it took me to read it, although I do think the storyline could have been edited a little and the narrative tightened. The three main characters, I have more mixed feelings toward. They’re very colorfully written, yet at times come across as extremely immature even for a YA novel. Out of the three, the enigmatic and manipulative Jack was my favorite and I kept picturing Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar in the Lucifer tv series. Despite the issues I had with character development, I very much enjoyed this first book in the Kingdom of Cards duology, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the sequel. Where Dreams Descend is a glittering, magical and enjoyable debut by Janella Angeles who is an exciting new voice in YA fiction.

Glass Town Wars, by Celia Rees ~ 2.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Science Fiction, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Children’s Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 8th, 2020

320 Pages

Synopsis: Tom and Augusta are from different places and different times, but they meet in the virtual world to combine forces in battle, to save a kingdom, escape a web of deceit and to find love. In a place where fictions can be truths and truths fictions, learning who to trust is more than friendship, it is about survival.

Glass Town Wars inspired by the early writings of the Brontës, is a captivating, magical novel by the renowned Celia Rees.

I’m going to start with something positive: Isn’t this an eye-catching cover? I love the colors, imagery, and ominous caption. Unfortunately, once I started reading Glass Town Wars, things went downhill pretty quickly.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I was thoroughly confused for the first 1/4 of the book. I think part of the problem was the plot didn’t really match the synopsis. I thought the setting had potential, but it’s not developed fully. The characters are bland and weak and I never connected with them. And finally, my attention was initially captured by the mention of the story being inspired by the Brontës works, but as this aspect isn’t really explored until the latter half of the book, it wasn’t enough to save the story for me.

To sum things up, Glass Town Wars will most likely be on the list of my biggest disappointments of 2020. Celia Rees is a well-respected author and I’ve enjoyed her previous books. This, while imaginative and original, ultimately fails to live up to the potential that you get all too infrequent tantalizing glimpses of. It left me confused, let down, and quite frustrated, so sadly I can’t bring myself to recommend it. However, mine is simply one opinion, so as always, if you’re intrigued by the sounds of this, I encourage you to read other reviews on sites such as Goodreads.