Just a handful of reviews I never got around to posting about – enjoy!
Of Fire and Water (Heir of Blood and Fire #2) – Cameo Renae
eARC Finished: 03/14/21 / DNF / GR
Calla escaped Morbeth only to find herself fighting for her life once more. Incendia seemed the perfect sanctuary of escape. The stories told of the mystical island claim all inhabitants were annihilated. Those tragic tales . . . were lies.
Desperate to keep their truth hidden, the islanders take Calla and her friends prisoner. Despite her dire situation, something about that beautiful—yet deadly—paradise speaks to Calla’s soul, whispering the powerful secrets pulsing through her veins. As Roehl hunts for her, eager to claim his murderous vengeance, Calla searches for answers she believes only Incendia can offer.
Can Calla harness the power surging within her in time to protect herself, and those she loves, from Roehl? Or, no matter where she runs, will the twisted royal continue to chase her to the farthest reaches of any realm?
This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I remembered nothing from book one and struggled to get invested. Nothing in the beginning of the book really hooked me and made me want to keep reading. I also found myself not loving the writing style or the incredibly fast pace of the plot.
When You Get the Chance – Emma Lord
eARC Finished – 01/4/22 / 4.5 / GR
Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.
There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?
This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I really loved this. It was a fun quick read. Loved everything that Emma Lord has put out so far, so my expectations were high and this didn’t disappoint. The romance was cute and the friendships adorable. I love that it mixed musical theater with Mama Mia – had a blast reading this. Highly recommend this if you’re looking for a cute and fun contemporary romance read.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves – Meg Long
eARC Finished – 01/11/22 / 5 / GR
After angering a local gangster, seventeen-year-old Sena Korhosen must flee with her prize fighting wolf, Iska, in tow. A team of scientists offer to pay her way off her frozen planet on one condition: she gets them to the finish line of the planet’s infamous sled race. Though Sena always swore she’d never race after it claimed both her mothers’ lives, it’s now her only option.
But the tundra is a treacherous place, and as the race unfolds and their lives are threatened at every turn, Sena starts to question her own abilities. She must discover whether she’s strong enough to survive the wild – whether she and Iska together are strong enough to get them all out alive.
A captivating debut about survival, found family, and the bond between a girl and a wolf that delivers a fresh twist on classic survival stories and frontier myths.
This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Think Snow Dogs meets SF and I loved it. Took a little bit to get into, but then I was 50% though and thoroughly enjoying myself. Loved the MC and her journey. Love the cast, the plot and the drama of it all. This was a book I was really looking forward to, and it definitely didn’t disappoint.
Dance of a Burning Sea (Mousai #2) – E.J. Mellow
Audiobook Finished: 01/10/22 / 4 / GR
Within the world of Aadilor, there is a hidden place called the Thief Kingdom, where both magic and pleasure abound. There, the Mousai, a trio of deadly sorceresses bound by oath and blood, use their powers to protect the kingdom’s treasures.
Niya Bassette brings the potent gift of dance to the Mousai, but behind her tempting twirls, she carries a heavy secret—that the infamous pirate lord, Alōs Ezra, has been threatening to exploit for years. Now banished from the Thief Kingdom for smuggling, Alōs resurfaces in Niya’s life with a plot to hold her hostage, leveraging what he knows to extort a pardon from the Thief King.
But Niya makes her own deal with Alōs to guard her secret and guarantee her freedom—yet in doing so binds herself aboard his pirate ship, where she must navigate deadly waters, a bloodthirsty crew, and her own traitorous heart. Soon, a simmering attraction between her and Alōs threatens their delicate truce and makes for a tumultuous ride on the open seas. Far from her kingdom, Niya is entangled in a dangerous dance indeed.
Welcome to the world of Aadilor, where dark deeds can mask noble hearts and the most alluring of sways often ends with a burn. Care for a spin?
I enjoyed this a lot, but didn’t love as much as the first book – you can check out my review here. I was invested but not necessarily dying to know what happens next. Loved the enemies to lovers aspect, and how it lowkey had an Odyssey vibe. Honestly, I’m just a sucker for pirates and this filled a void I didn’t know I needed filled.
The Kingless Crown (Kingdom of the White Sea #1) – Sarah M. Cradit
Audiobook Finished: DNF ch 13 – still reading the ebook / TBD / GR
A crown woven together by lies.
A kingdom with the power to unravel them.
Four Reaches. Four brides. Only a fortnight separates the young women from becoming reluctant queens of the usurper king, Eoghan Rhiagain.
Twenty years earlier, King Eoghan’s father cunningly devised marriages between the highborn sons and daughters of the oft-warring Reaches, sealing the unions before they could protest, shattering existing betrothals in place of forced alliances.
Now, Eoghan, the cruel boy king who stole his crown through murder, demands the eldest daughters of these unions. To accept is unfathomable. To refuse is treason.
The lords and ladies of the kingdom have no choice but to prepare their beloved daughters for the horrors ahead. But they’ll soon discover there are no longer any daughters left to present. All four have disappeared, painting the world with their rebellion.
Theirs is not the only rebellion. Across the kingdom, little fires light within. From the enigmatic sorcerers in the northern mountains, to the magi who both wield and regulate the kingdom’s magic, and beyond… to a place where two prisoners are not what they seem.
As the Reaches ready themselves to face the king, the kingdom hovers on the edge of chaos.
And there are many who recall, in candlelit secrecy, tales of a time before…
Too many POVs to keep track of, which meant that I didn’t care what was happening to them/what the stakes were – didn’t love the narrator, wish there had been a full cast, or at least a male narrator as well. Also, pretty slow and heavy, has a sort of GOT vibe. DNFing the audio, will try to read the ebook and see if that works out better – being able to visualize it.
Writing The Universe 