Tag: new adult

Review: Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue

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Alexis holds a library copy of Shipshock in front of a bookshelf

Alexis: If you’re looking for a unique sci-fi/fantasy book, check out Skipshock!

This is a new adult book told in dual POVs. Margo is an Irish schoolgirl who finds herself thrown into a strange new world. Moon is a salesman who makes his living through a series of interconnected worlds on a network of train lines.

Skipshock has interworld travel, rebellion, and a romance subplot. In this universe, time is valuable. If you travel north, time passes by quicker; days are only a few hours. If you travel south, the days grow longer. When Margo finds herself being chased by the Southern Guard, Moon helps her find her way back to her home world.

This was a fascinating read! I loved the universe and its rules. I loved the plot that focused on rebellion against a repressive group. I loved learning about the different cultures in this universe and the magic that comes with them. I also appreciated the humor and whimsy sprinkled throughout the writing amongst the darker themes. 

My only critique is there was a section ¾ of the way through that dragged a bit too much. However, this is a fantastic start to a series, and I look forward to reading more.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 

Review: Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

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Alexis holds Five Broken Blades in front of a bookshelf

Alexis:

After a nice beach vacation and a lot of work this month, I’m back with a review of a new adult fantasy called Five Broken Blades.

Short Synopsis From Goodreads:

The king of Yusan must die.

The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon.

He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold.

And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness―from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance.

⁣Review: 

I’ve seen mixed reviews of Five Broken Blades—but I loved it! It was a super fun, fast paced read, and I was impressed with how well Corland juggled so many POVs. ⁣Usually, I prefer books with 1-2 POVs. However, each chapter is short, which keeps the pace moving. They’re in first person, which allows you to get to know each character. And I genuinely enjoyed learning about each character.

They’re morally gray and flawed, and I liked learning about their backstories and motivations. I would say this book is almost equally driven by both the plot and characters. And you know I can never resist a book with political intrigue and romance subplots. If you like romantic subplots, you’ll be kicking your feet! (Because every character has one.) But if you don’t, then this story may not be for you. However, I enjoyed that love and deserving to be loved was one of the main themes. 

My only main critiques are that the backstories of each character were introduced very early in the story and the writing style leans on telling and not showing. While sometimes I wished the writing was more subtle or had more subtext, it didn’t prevent me from enjoying the story. It’s also a new adult book, so if you don’t jive with a more young adult voice, it might not be for you. 

Overall, if you’re looking for a low fantasy, Korean-inspired world with political intrigue, secrets, and a band of misfits on a mission to assassinate a king, pick this one up. ⁣It’s 5 out of 5 swords for me (ha!)

VERDICT: 🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️/5

Review: To Cage a God by Elizabeth May

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A Kindle with To Cage A God sits on a gold book cart next to a stuffed pumpkin

Alexis:

I really enjoyed To Cage a God! I loved the wintery, brutal, Russian-inspired world.

The cast of characters were definitely my favorite part. I loved how both Galina and Sera, the two main characters, are strong, but in completely different ways. Their backstories are so interesting and sad that it made me want to read a prequel! I even enjoyed the POVs that came later in the story, including a princess who is a recluse. I’m usually a 1-2 POV kind of person, so that’s saying lot from me!

I also enjoyed the two different romances (one of them is sapphic) though they didn’t come into play until the second half of the book. That being said, the slow pace in the beginning, loose plot, and the sometimes vague imagery kept it from being a 5-star book for me.

If you’re looking for a new adult romantasy with a brewing rebellion, fire and ice powers, and caged dragon gods, I recommend it!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for my e-ARC!

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Using ancient secrets, Galina and Sera’s mother grafted gods into their bones. Bound to brutal deities and granted forbidden power no commoner has held in a millennia, the sisters have grown up to become living weapons. Raised to overthrow an empire―no matter the cost.

With their mother gone and their country on the brink of war, it falls to the sisters to take the helm of the rebellion and end the cruel reign of a royal family possessed by destructive gods. Because when the ruling alurea invade, they conquer with fire and blood. And when they clash, common folk burn.

While Sera reunites with her estranged lover turned violent rebel leader, Galina infiltrates the palace. In this world of deception and danger, her only refuge is an isolated princess, whose whip-smart tongue and sharp gaze threaten to uncover Galina’s secret. Torn between desire and duty, Galina must make a choice: work together to expose the lies of the empire―or bring it all down.

Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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Alexis' hand holds a library copy of Fourth Wing over a gray blanket and a green blanket

Alexis:

Look what came in from the library! And yes, I did sit down and binge-read it in two days.

I want to start out by saying that I know that Fourth Wing has been EVERYWHERE. Like, I have seen it not only on book accounts, but just all over the internet in general. And by the time I realized this might be a book I should read (especially since it’s my genre), it was sold out of bookstores. So, thank you to my local library!

Due to this book’s hype, I’m not going to include a synopsis here, so feel free to look up what this book is about if you’ve managed to miss the frenzied discussion around it.

First off, I want to start off with my criticisms of this book.

Fourth Wing is in the same vein as A Court of Thorns and Roses and The Serpent and the Wings of Night with a dash of Eragon on top, so if those are your jam, this might be for you. 

This certainly isn’t a unique book, and honestly, that in itself is my main criticism—there were a lot of moments that were just too close to those of other books. I also found the plot to be extremely predictable. I can’t go into it that much without revealing spoilers, but I found that Yarros dropped too many hints about what ended up going down in the ending. The writing also does lean more YA, which honestly doesn’t bother me (this is NA people, that’s the point—adult themes but with the voice and snapiness of YA) especially because they’re in a college.

I also wish we got to see more of Violet’s dragon bonding. And I found Xaden, the love interest, to be exactly like every other love interest in the fantasy romance space and honestly not the most interesting character. 

Yet, that being said, I couldn’t put this book down. It has that thrilling, adventurous feeling that’s addicting. Yarros’ writing style is easy to devour, and I appreciated the amount of action scenes in this book. There’s never a dull moment! 

The Basgiath War College, aka the dragon riding college, in itself sounded super cool. I loved the brutality of both the college and the world. And I really appreciated the Ehler-Danlos syndrome rep, and I thought Yarros did a good job of exploring how it affects Violet’s training and her confidence. 

This book was wholly engrossing, and I definitely think it’s a good start to the series. I’m glad we don’t have too long of a wait until the sequel arrives this fall!

VERDICT: 5⭐ reading experience

Review: Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian

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Alexis holds a copy of Modern Divination.

Alexis:

⁣Modern Divination is a new adult contemporary fantasy that partially takes place at Cambridge University. It follows two main characters: Aurelia Schwartz, a witch from the US, and Theodore Ingram, her fellow student and rival. When another witch is murdered, Aurelia is pulled into the murder mystery and finds herself teaming up with Teddy.

Things I Liked: 

  • This book is very atmospheric, which is a trait I always love!
  • I also loved the witchy aesthetic. Aurelia, as a green witch, cultivates plants, and I enjoyed when she worked her magic.
  • Tea vibes! Since it’s set in England, there’s plenty brewing of tea and talk about tea. 
  • Teddy has strong Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle vibes.
  • I really enjoyed the style of dialogue and the deep conversations between Aurelia and Teddy.
  • In the same vein, I enjoyed the overall writing style. 
  • There’s also Jewish, bisexual, and nonbinary representation. 

Things I Didn’t Like As Much:

  • ⁣The plot itself is very minimal. I love a good murder mystery and was expecting it to take up more of the story. However, this is a very character-driven and introspective story, and the plot is left on the very back burner. I also found the actual plot itself to be lackluster, and the villain to be flat and uninteresting, unfortunately.
  •  Sections of the story are confusing. I felt like I needed to reread explanations because I was constantly double-guessing what I knew and didn’t know. Some of the transitions between chapters were also a little unclear, and I had to reread them for clarity’s sake.
  • Lastly, the magic system could have been explored more. There were some revelations at the end of the book that fell flat for me because I didn’t feel like I knew the magic system well enough. 

Overall, I did really enjoy the focus on the characters. Both Aurelia and Teddy are well-rounded and have plenty of flaws, and Aurelia’s friendship with her flatmate/best friend, Ryan, is written well. However, I wish the story was clearer and had a bit of a stronger plot.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐/5⁣

Review: One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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One Dark Window rests on a yellow scarf next to a cashmere candle and an oil perfume rollerball called Dusty Manuscripts.

Alexis:

One Dark Window is a new adult fantasy that follows Elspeth, who lives in the mist-locked kingdom of Blunder. Elspeth has a secret—after she contracted the infection that gave her illegal magic, she accidentally let a monster called the Nightmare into her head. Now, it lives in the back of her mind and protects her.

But when Elspeth runs into a group of highwaymen, she unexpectedly ends up joining a quest to rid Blunder of its dark magic: a deck of cards called the Providence Cards.

The first topic I want to discuss is the magic system. The idea of a magical deck of cards is very unique, and I really enjoyed how it shaped the worldbuilding and the story. The cards are the only legal way to do magic; each card temporarily gives the user a magical ability. 

Now for the worldbuilding. In the beginning of each chapter is a passage or two from a text called the Book of Adlers. This really helped give insight into the culture of Blunder and helped shape the world, as well.

As for the pacing, the beginning is really slow, and it takes a while for everything to be set up before Elspeth can actually go on her quest. But once the quest began, I really enjoyed being on the journey with her.

There’s a romantic subplot, as well. I’m a huge fan of a romantic subplot, and while I did enjoy it, I was hoping for a little more depth. (It’s worth noting that there’s also the fake-dating trope in this book, which I haven’t seen anyone mention!) But I’m hoping the romance doesn’t feel as surface-level in the sequel.

Speaking of sequels, the ending of One Dark Window sets up for a killer second book. 

Overall, One Dark Window is a great choice if you’re looking for an atmospheric and gothic read with a unique, dark magic system. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Review: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

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A Kindle rests on a white marble table. A white pumpkin is to its left. A package of pumpkin chai tea sits to its right. A lit Sweater Weather candle sits above it.

Alexis:

I adored Divine Rivals...and yes, it did emotionally destroy me.

Divine Rivals is an upper YA/NA historical fantasy novel that follows two main characters. Iris Winnow is a new journalist at a newspaper called the Oath Gazette. Roman Kitt is her rival—a fellow journalist who is competing against her for a promotion as a columnist. 

But after centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again, and Iris’ own brother, Forest, has joined the armed forces of one of the gods. Iris, who is worried sick about him, writes him letters. But Iris doesn’t know where her brother is. All she knows is that her letters magically disappear when she slips them underneath her wardrobe door. 

What she also doesn’t know is that Roman is the one receiving them, and then he begins anonymously answering her letters. 

THIS BOOK. I’ve always loved Ross’ writing style. I’ve read both A River Enchanted and Dreams Lie Beneath and enjoyed both of them, but Divine Rivals hits differently; I connected with the characters on another level. 

This book is a masterpiece. I love Ross’ lyrical, beautiful, and emotional writing. The book is so atmospheric, and layered with tension that you can feel on every page.

I adore both Iris and Roman. They have so much chemistry, and I love their banter and rivalry. 

Divine Rivals reads like a fantasy version of a World War I/World War II story. Ross writes about the horrors of war in such an effective way. The story is about grief, both Iris’ and Roman’s. It’s about being trapped in a life where you can’t make your own decisions. It’s about loneliness and connection. It’s about finding love, but also about the messiness of loving your flawed family. It’s about the power of writing and letters. Throw some mythology about the world’s gods in the mix and you have this perfect book.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Divine Rivals comes out on April 4, 2023.

Of course that means I have to wait even longer for the sequel. Please pray for my impatient reading brain. (Cliffhangers should be illegal.)

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC!

Review: Furyborn and Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

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The spines of Furyborn and Kingsbane rest on a windowsill next to a white curtain and a candle.

Alexis:

Furyborn, and the rest of The Empirium Trilogy, has been on my tbr list for a while now, and when I found Furyborn in a used bookstore, I grabbed it!

To be honest, it took me a while to get into the worldbuilding. I had to read the first half of this book carefully in order to understand the world and the characters.

Furyborn has two timelines—1000 years apart. Two queens, the Sun Queen and the Blood Queen, are prophesied to either break or save the world. Rielle can perform all seven kinds of elemental magic, and enters a series of trials to prove that she is the Sun Queen. 1000 years later, Eliana is an assassin just trying to keep her family alive in the Undying Empire when she runs into a rebel named Simon who needs her help.

Like I said, once I got to the halfway point, I loved this book. It’s both action packed yet slow paced. The first chapter/prologue offers a glimpse of what happens in the end, and I found that it upped the tension and anticipation for me while I read. 

While I wasn’t a huge fan of Rielle’s character, I found Eliana to be interesting and flawed. And Simon was by far my favorite character; I can’t wait to learn more about him in the next book.

My one main critique is that this book was originally marketed as YA and—it’s not. It’s definitely adult, with adult themes and sex scenes. I would categorize it as New Adult, which I desperately hope will eventually be a more solidified genre. 

If you’re looking to dive into a new trilogy full of action, powerful and flawed women, angels and elemental magic, and dual timelines, then you might like this.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As for Kingsbane, where to begin!

The plot thickens. Legrand throws her characters into everything imaginable; anything bad that can happen does.

It’s hard to say anything else about this book without giving major spoilers, but I both hated and loved reading it, and the ending almost had me throwing it against the wall.

Despite feeling terrible for all of the characters, this book was just so intense and dark, and I loved it. That being said, I’m not a fan of how Legrand writes her sex scenes, and I think there were several in here that were unnecessary. 

But Kingsbane stuck with me, and I’m still waiting to read the third and final book in the trilogy to see what happens!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Review: Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco

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Alexis, wearing a black jumpsuit, stands in front of a fence, holding a hardcover copy of Kingdom of the Cursed.

Alexis:

I knew this series would be New Adult! I kept hearing other readers call Kingdom of the Wicked YA, and I was confused because I definitely thought it was NA. But this one…it definitely has steamy scenes and adult themes. 

What I didn’t know was that this wasn’t a duology…but a trilogy, I believe. So now I have to wait for a third book?!

I liked this one much more than the first one! Both Emilio and Wrath had great character arcs. Emilia is still a little naive; however, I found her character development was much better, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective. I also enjoyed learning more about Wrath, his identity, and his role.

I liked the plot more than the first book, too. There was one main plot point that I guessed, but also two great plot twists! Even Maniscalco’s writing and imagery are better in this sequel, even more atmospheric than the first, and I devoured this book while reading it. 

While this was a five-star read for me, there was one scene that made me uncomfortable to read, and it takes a lot to make me feel uncomfortable when I’m reading. It involved a strange questionable consent/mind control scene, and while yes, it did technically make sense with the plot, and yes, this book is full of morally grey characters, I think it could have easily been avoided, and the point would’ve still come across.

This book is not for the faint of heart, and deals with some heavy themes; the point of the story is Emilia going down the path of vengeance and accepting her anger and sexuality.

If you’re looking for a good series to read this October, with plenty of sexual tension/romance, dark fantasy elements, and themes of vengeance and love, then you might like this!

VERDICT: 💀💀💀💀💀

TW: Blood, gore, violence, murder, sexual themes, mind control/questionable consent

Review: For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

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A library copy of For the Wolf sits on a deck flanked by a sunflower and a Sweater Weather candle, along with some fall leaves.

Alexis:

For the Wolf has a lot in common with Lakesedge:

✔️A self-sacrificing man who is seen as a monster to the outside world, but who is only trying to control the environment around him—the environment that is also a part of him

✔️ A run-down estate/castle surrounded by dark, creepy woods

✔️ A slow-paced story of a strong woman attempting to learn how to control her magic

Which of course means that I loved it! I’m always, always a sucker for an atmospheric read with lyrical writing and creepy woods. And this book has so many depictions of dark woods come alive with earthy magic.

Although For the Wolf is being marketed as YA fantasy for some reason, I would describe it as a new adult, romantic fantasy, as Red, the main character, and her twin sister, Neve, are twenty-years-old. 

Red is the Second Daughter of the Queen of Valleydan, which means that she must be sacrificed to the Wolf of the Wilderwood. She’s been told all her life that the Wolf is a monster who is keeping the world’s captured gods from returning. But when she finally meets the Wolf, a man named Eammon, she realizes that what she’s been told is a lie. Meanwhile, stuck as the Princess, Neve, the First Daughter, is doing everything in her power to get Red back from the Wolf, even if it means upending her own world.

As much as I loved this book, I will admit some flaws I noticed while I was reading. While Lakesedge’s magic and worldbuilding is clear, For the Wolf’s worldbuilding is a little hazy. I enjoy slow-paced books, but a lot of answers about the magic system came a little late. We also get short chapters, called Interludes, from Neve’s perspective. And I’ll be honest: I wasn’t really interested in her chapters. However, based on the ending, I think her POV will work well in the sequel. 

While the romance is very similar to that in Lakesedge, I do think it was more fleshed-out and better written in For the Wolf. 

All in all, if you liked similar books, such as Uprooted and The Wolf and the Woodsman, then you might enjoy this one, too!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

TW: Self harm for magic use (cutting), blood and mild gore, parental death, religious abuse