Review: The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

OK. I'm going to come at this from the angle that everyone (except Rhoda, Hestia, and Leandros' two friends) were absolutely abominable people and therefore it was a bit like watching a fantasy mystery romance with characters from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

That doesn't really make sense, but that's how I felt. Maybe the Gang could be considered Slytherins.

Alessandra and Kallias are some pretty terrible people. As the author herself said, these characters have "questionable" morals and aren't exactly heroes. However, watching these two awful people fall in love and kind of learn to be a teensy bit "better" was fun. I enjoyed the ride, and found myself rooting for Alessandra and Kallias despite the shitty things they had planned for other people. Frankly, I thought it was hilarious when (view spoiler)[Alessandra is finally accused of murdering her first boyfriend, and after sending the police away, Kallias laughs his ass off and says she's perfect for him. (hide spoiler)]

So overall this was a good read. Nothing mind-blowing, and honestly for all the talk about sex and being liberated it seriously missed the opportunity to put in a couple hot sex scenes, but I guess we can't win all the time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. My opinions are my own.

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Review: Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finished this late at night in bed and did not want to get out of bed to write my review. So I let it sit and roll around in my head and I think I can get out what I took away from it. There are some spoilers in this review.

First, to see where exactly I stood on the matter of Lan's behavior, I read a few reviews, positive and negative. These were both pretty great reviews, and I guess I find myself right in the middle of them! The positive one I read after I finished, and I think it says a lot about how I felt about the book so I'm just linking to it instead of trying to rewrite all that in my own words.

I had skimmed the negative one before going into the book (sometimes I like to read negative reviews before I read something just to get a feel for what I want to look for), and was waiting the entire time for Lan to be the horrible person that this reviewer read. The moments that were brought up in the review are definitely pretty bad ones for Lan - she's selfish and stuck-up, and demanding that Bao apologize to her for being rude to her after she shattered his heart is pretty damn rude itself. I get it. I did not like these parts of Lan's character, so in that respect I completely agree with the reviewer! But I think that, while that reviewer couldn't get over their dislike for Lan for how she treated Bao after he was cursed, I think I had a different interpretation of Lan's behavior. Hear me out.

Bao had built Lan up in his mind to be perfect. He put her on a pedestal. This never ever turns out well for anyone, especially for the person put on said pedestal. When Bao confessed his role in the duplicity to her and then offered her his heart at the same time, she proved herself only human by lashing out at him and saying the most hurtful things she could. I understood this compulsion, and I did not hate Lan for it. But Bao could not reconcile what had happened with the woman he had built in his mind, and he was so shattered by it that he ran away. Also understandable. I felt horrible for both of them.

Once Lan finds Bao after he's been cursed, she is still thinking only of redeeming herself because she doesn't want the guilt. Bao points this out, she dismisses it, but it's obviously right there in the forefront of her mind. We also need to consider that Lan was brought up wealthy, spoiled, and prepared to marry into another wealthy family and never have to worry about anything ever again. As a young child she was adventurous and excitable because of her grandmother, but her grandmother had died and Lan had put aside that part of her to become a wife. So she was still in "proper lady mode" when she set out with Bao. Her rudeness to him is a direct result of her upbringing, because he is being rude to her (well within his rights after her behavior, of course), and she feels affronted. But if you keep going and keep following Lan, you see that she does still have the trickster adventurous side that her grandmother nurtured. Lan picks up parts of that personality she laid aside, and realizes how much she has hurt Bao, and really how much Bao means to her. How much he has meant to her.

Lan still has her bratty moments. At one point after a major upset, she's mad at Bao for not thanking her enough for saving his life. I think that, while we're watching the two of them actually fall in love, the author is reminding us that no one is perfect. I found myself slipping into the pedestal-placing myself while reading, because Lan had started to change her behavior and her thinking. Having these little moments of imperfection and rudeness brought me back to earth, and to the fact that Lan is not perfect. Neither is Bao. And at the end, when he finally sees her as she is, he realizes that even though he found out she's not perfect, he wouldn't want that perfect Lan anyway. They are both human, imperfect, and in love. I thought it was pretty damn beautiful.

So in sum, loved the story, loved the characters, loved the development, and want to read more in this world. I see there are two books before this one, so I hope that I can get around to reading them someday. I'd like to read about Empress Jade and Xifeng, who were brought up (and one met) in this book, but there wasn't a ton of information about them. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this author.

Thank you to Bookish First and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I received a free copy, but my opinions are my own.

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Review: All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The title of this book is...interesting. I don't love it. I don't quite connect it to anything besides teeth being what Amora uses for her soul magic. But teeth aren't the only things she uses, and stars are only really mentioned when they are sailing, so the title doesn't make much sense with what the story was about. Anyway.

I was pretty ambivalent about everyone except maybe Vataea, who was bad-ass but still a bit not quite there as a character for me. I frequently forgot she existed. From the first chapter I absolutely hated Amora (I just finished the book and I actually had to go back to the last page and look up her name because for some reason I could not keep it in my head), her arrogance and surety was obviously a set-up for her to fail and it was too blatant for me. And the only thing I could think of when reading Bastian was Captain Hook from Once Upon A Time. He exudes sexy-pirate vibes with swagger and confidence, and it felt like that was the character Bastian was modeled after. While not a horrible thing, I still wish I'd been able to see him in my head as his own person.

The story itself was interesting. I think that was what really kept me going. I was curious to see how the different islands worked, how Kaven was gaining hold, and who and what he really was. It was pretty clear from the moment Bastian broke Amora out of prison that they were going to fall for each other, but the romance wasn't too in-your-face. I thought the twist at the end was good, although I still don't understand (view spoiler)[how Bastian activated the curse, when he doesn't have soul magic and the king just killed himself. Shouldn't it have been the king who activated it?
Or even Amora every time she killed someone? That part really didn't make sense. (hide spoiler)]

Poor Ferrick was just dead weight the whole time - the only thing he was good for was healing people and literally chopping off his own limbs so that Amora could kill other people. His shining moment at the end was a nice way to give him something to do, but I really wish he had been given that chance much earlier and wasn't such a bumbling idiot throughout the first half of the book. He seemed like a decent enough person, who wasn't all that stupid actually, but who was trying to help someone he cared about and was only treated with frustration and disdain (yet another reason I didn't like Amora).

I'll still probably seek out book two because I want to know whether Amora can break her own curse, save soul magic, and save the kingdom. Hopefully the characters are a bit less unlike-able the next time around.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. My opinions are my own.

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Review: A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I seriously blew through the last third of this book at 1am and was dying for more. I did not like how this book ended, but can't wait to read book 2!

Eva has some good character development - at the beginning of the book she's pretty much resigned to the fact that her sister is going to murder her, and by the end she wants to fight for life and the Queendom and boy does she ever. Isa was hard to deal with - there were moments where I thought she'd crack and have some sisterly feelings for Eva again, but then her hard shell would close around her and she essentially made herself irredeemable. I'm hopeful for book 2 that there will be a way to end the Rival Heir system, because I really want Isa and Eva to have a happy ending together as sisters. Although if the author chooses not to go that way, I think that would be fine too.

Baccha was interesting and I didn't quite understand his love for/loyalty to Eva. And I wasn't so keen on Aketo either, just because he's so perfect. Falun's presence by about the midpoint, once Baccha and Aketo show up, becomes just as Eva's attendant and he's no longer an important presence in her life. I thought that was a shame, because he showed some real promise in the beginning as an important character.

Thank you to Bookish First and the publisher for the review copy of this book. My opinions are my own. And I'll be looking out for book 2!

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Review: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The first "chapter" of this was so promising, interesting, and confusing, that I was really excited to get the book. The very first letter from Blue to Red was surprising, a mystery, I wanted to know what happened next. Unfortunately, it was not the book I expected, and I just really did not understand what the heck was happening here. I'm sure there's a lot of praise to be had for these two writers, but it will not be coming from me. The letters were so damn flowery, I couldn't get a single sense of place out of any of it, the characters were essentially blank slates, and nothing made any sense.

I guess this kind of sci-fi is just not for me.

Thanks to Bookish First and the publisher for the free review copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

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Review: The Absinthe Earl by Sharon Lynn Fisher

The Absinthe Earl by Sharon Lynn Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whooooo *fans self* If the cover hadn't given away that this was a bodice-ripper, there was no doubt in my mind pretty early on when there was so much tension between the two main characters that it was oozing into every aspect of the book. I don't normally request these things because I have so many other things to read but this sounded interesting at least.

Overall, this is a fantasy book tangled up in Irish fairy folklore. Honestly, I'm not a scholar of Irish fairy stuff, but I've read a lot of different fey stories so I wasn't completely out of my depth here. We briefly meet WB Yeats (which frankly, I didn't see the point of, but I get the little homage there), we read about different folk heroes and fairy kings and queens, and all the while we're on a (sexy) adventure with two pretty attractive people ;) The naughty bits are definitely graphic, so if you're not up for that then steer clear. But if you are, have fun!

4/5 stars because even though it was something I'd consider "fluff," even if you take out the bedroom romps it was still a great story with plot and character development.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

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Review: There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are a habitual fantasy reader, there is a lot in this book you've read before. Magic ("Graces") which can only be wielded by certain people and in certain ways; prophecies that people are trying to make come true or prevent from happening; "the chosen one," who is supposed to save the world; mystical warriors who are out to help the chosen one; and a couple of unsuspecting kids trying to survive who inadvertently bring about the end of the world.

It also was not unpredictable, in that I knew that the person who was supposed to be "chosen" wasn't actually the person people thought. And I also figured out that there would be a betrayal (and was not surprised in the least by who it was). There were a few surprises which I did appreciate (what Beru actually was, Mrs. Tappan's interest in the girls).

The story-telling was good, not great. I felt like there was way too much teenage angst going on in these characters (a lot of whom are actual teenagers, but who read as older people acting like teenagers). At times we veered into purple prose territory. The whole thing with Hassan and Khepri threw me because he's only 16, and I'm pretty sure she's older - early 20s? Anton is also only 16, but when his age was revealed late in the book I was a bit startled because he read like someone in his early 20s as well. I did not connect with any of the characters - I couldn't picture any of them, their ages were confusing, and they didn't jump off the page as "real."

Overall an interesting enough story to keep me reading, but I was not interested enough to pick up the next book.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the e-copy to review.

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Review: The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OK folks, buckle yourselves in, because if you pick up this book you're in for a wild ride.

(As an aside, I can't remember the last time I saw a fantasy book that was being hyped like this one that was actually this good. And I also can't remember the last time I saw a book like this with so many four- and five-star reviews that are actually genuine. So I think the hype was well warranted with this one. Although I'd market it more as adult fantasy than YA as another reviewer commented.)

There is a lot to love here - a badass female lead who is strong AF while still being able to admit to uncertainty and fear. Fie is the heroine we all need in this world of wispy girl leads who pine romantically for the prettiest boy they ever did see and everyone else be damned.

One of the best things about this book is the magic system. Every caste (I'm still a bit confused about them but don't totally care) has their own "birthright," which was given to them by their own dead gods. The Crows have no birthright, and must take from others. They are called "bone thieves" as a slur by every other caste because they get their magic from other castes' teeth. Now, I am not a huge fan of this kind of thing, it's a little gross to think of someone holding onto a bunch of teeth, pulling them out of dead bodies, and carrying them around in a bag (or on a string around their neck). I admit to being squeamish. But this was so unique that I couldn't put it as a negative. It's seriously amazing to think that the person holding a tooth can see the entirety of the former owner's life and then harness that former owner's magic. Fie gets really good at using the Phoenix teeth (for fire) and the Sparrow teeth (to hide).

The Crows are called "merciful" because they are the ones who answer the plague beacons. As the only caste who can't get sick from the plague, they are charged with finishing off the sick (mercifully slitting their throats) and then burning them away from the village so the plague doesn't infect everyone else there. If the crows don't answer a beacon they are supposedly punished by the Covenant, which I gathered is the magical "rules" which were settled when the gods died.

The rest of the castes really hate the Crows and go out of their way to make them miserable, even though the Crows help them with the plague. The Oleanders even hunt them down and kill them in terrible ways (Fie's mother was murdered when Fie was a little girl, and she found her body by following a trail of her fingers). No one ever does anything to help them against the Oleanders, and that is something that Fie wants to change.

So when the two lordlings that are supposedly dead from the plague sit up in her cart, Fie sees her chance to change the Crows' fates. And after she forges that covenant vow with Jasimir, she is forced to live with everything that happens because of it.

There is a lot going on in this book between the Oleanders, the skinwitches trailing the band, the love story (which was pretty well done, actually), everyone out to kill them. A few times I thought I had pegged how the next bit was going to go and was wrong. And while I figured out the "big reveal" that comes at the end a long time before, admittedly it was still a bit of a surprise to be proven right.

I so love Fie's character development, and I even liked Tavin (although it was pretty obvious that the two of them were going to get together). Jasimir... I could take him or leave him. He's whiny and has a stick up his ass, but by the end he does have a new side to his personality that I warmed to.

The only thing that made this four stars for me was that sometimes the magic really didn't make sense, it felt like it was just being used to get them out of a scrape that they never would have escaped from otherwise, and wasn't well-thought-out. There was also at least one nick-of-time rescue that wasn't believable. Otherwise, this is fantastic, I loved it, and I highly recommend it.

You know what, screw it, I'm giving it five stars anyway.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

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Review: Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ugh this was so great I was disappointed when it ended! Easily one of my favorite reads of the year so far. I really love it when I get so into a book my heart is actually racing with anxiety over what's going to happen, and I can feel myself getting super emotional at certain points. I inhaled this book over the course of two days, and probably would have finished it in one if I hadn't had to work. The first book was fantastic on its own, but this one really blew it out of the water. I am definitely going to be checking out more of Mary Pearson's books in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Review: We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a solid 3 stars for me. I liked it, but it was not love. I had a lot of trouble with the language in the beginning - often words were used that had zero context, so I was left to assume. By about halfway in I noticed that there was more translation. The word would show up, and then in italics the character would think the translation. It was strange. There was also a lot of detail that seemed to be left out. For example, at the end, (view spoiler)[when Benyamin whistled for the kaftar to come help in the battle against the Lion, I didn't see where the text actually said they showed up. But then later, when the fighting stopped for a moment, they were mentioned as stopping as well. (hide spoiler)]

The story itself was interesting. We get a different perspective with this Middle Eastern-like setting. There was a bit of a culture adjustment for me, because I couldn't figure out why there was so much emphasis on men going shirtless until I realized that Zafira was uncomfortable around men who were revealing so much skin, not that she was romanticizing their gigantic muscles. There are a lot of twists and turns, which weren't wholly surprising. I could see where things were going well ahead of Zafira, who always seemed to be two steps behind. The adventure was similar to most other fantasy adventures, where someone is "the chosen" to go and retrieve something valuable, meets up with a troupe of people who don't trust each other, they eventually become friends, yadda yadda. The stereotypical handsome joker, the brooding but gorgeous prince, the chattering elf (who didn't chatter as much as you'd expect, but who still seemed to have all the answers), and the random warrior woman all join in with our self-conscious and unsure heroine. That is to say, there was a lot of trope, just in a new setting. But it was at least a good read.

I think that one of my major problems with the book overall is that Deen and Kulsum only existed to provide the possibility that Zafira and Nasir wouldn't fall in love (of course, both of those characters are expendable, and of course Zafira and Nasir fall in love but are way too stubborn to actually embrace it). These two characters are absolutely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Deen and Kulsum have no character development, provide no real impetus for anything, and serve only to provide an excuse for Zafira and Nasir to feel pain. It feels like more should have been done with them to provide them with better character arcs, make them actually have an impact on the story beyond passive actors.

Also, there was a lot of wandering in the desert of Sharr with no direction and no destination in sight. They are literally just wandering, following Zafira, looking for a book, and fighting ifrit and other dangerous characters who pop up now and then. Most of their trip seems uneventful. All they do is argue, wonder whether they can trust each other, will-they-won't-they, etc. Yes, we're building relationships here, but I think that comes a bit at the cost of the story.

So overall, a solid 3/5 stars. I enjoyed it enough to keep reading. I wanted to know what happened to everyone, I wanted to know if Zafira and Nasir would actually admit to loving each other, and whether they would succeed in finding the book and setting things right. We're left with a nice epilogue which sets up well for the next book. I hate cliff hangers and this one was far from it. I was glad that the sultan's plan to destroy the village after Zafira left was addressed instead of just leaving the mention there and not talking about it again. Overall I'm glad that there will be a second book instead of trying to fit everything into this one, because after 91 chapters I was pretty spent. If given the chance, I would be interested in picking up book two when it's released to see how the story ends. If it ends up bleeding into more books, I probably will not keep reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Review: Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Utterly predictable and tropey, but boy did I love it anyway. The only thing I wished was that Maia wasn't so stubborn and immature (although I know she's very young), and that she'd stop referring to Edan as a boy (he's a grown man, dammit!). Otherwise, the writing was well done, the story was compelling with a couple of interesting twists and turns, and I got seriously lost in the love story. I stayed up waaaaaaaaaaaaay too late two nights in a row because I didn't want to stop reading.

Can't wait to read book 2!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this book for review purposes.

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Review: Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.

This was a fun little book. It was shorter than I expected, only took a couple of hours to read, but it was good. I didn't love it, it wasn't anything very new, but it was well-written and enjoyable. The romance was a bit much, and while we got a very blatant, "It's not because he's the first boy who cared, it's because he's the right one!" argument at the end of one chapter, it still read as a forced thing to me.

The will-they-won't-they thing is tired, the arguments and the "I hate you" attitude that Rasmira gives off is tropey, all the kissing is standard YA. It was pretty obvious from the start what the "god" actually was, I'm just surprised it took Rasmira so long to figure it out. She doesn't seem stupid, but she's also not that perceptive.

Anyway, recommended for people who like romantic YA fantasy with an adventure. If you're looking for ground-breaking world-building or non-trope characterization, you won't find it here.

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