ARC Review: Haven (Chronicles of Warshard #1)

Princess Haven was never meant to be Queen.

Her immortality has saved her time and time again, but when the last of her royal family dies at her feet, she is next in line to rule a nation on the brink of war. With no formal training on how to be Queen, Haven must rise to the occasion with the help of her best friends, and personal guard, or risk losing everyone she has ever loved.

With war to the West, and no escape to the East, the evil tyrant Kadia sets her sights on the six kingdoms. Haven’s neighbors are quick to fall under the swords of Kadia’s shadow soldiers, leaving a sea of bodies and a clear path to Haven’s only home.

As Kadia’s obsession with Haven mounts, little time remains, and Haven must make a choice; join together with her fellow Royals, and test her immortality in a final stand against the evil Queen, or flee across the sea to a foreign republic in hopes of salvation. Both choices have a cost. Both plans could go awry. Haven must decide quickly, or she might be the only one left.

Review

I found the story pleasing enough, Haven had some good qualities. She was a good role model to her countrywomen. She showed them they did not have a weak Queen. But she was often selfish and I found the love interests annoying more than anything.

Kadia was a great character, off her rocker but a great character and gave the story more depth. I wish got to more a little more about  her though.

The story felt a little dragged out, but had a lot of interesting plot points.

Havens power was interesting but confusing, she is meant to be immortal but there was a few points where it was indicated that she would die of old age. I think the author has gotten confused between invinceable and immortal.

I do not think I will be reading the next book in the series.

It was a sweet interesting book and worth it if you like fantasy books espeically ones based on war.

3 out of 5 stars

Review: Three Dark Crowns

Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

I have seen a lot of reviews about this book, most seem to have struggled with the first 80% of this book. As did I. It has such a great premise I cannot help but get drawn in. But the story falls a little flat, there isn’t too much to it and it’s easy to put down and not want to pick up again. Since each of the queens had their own POV and they each had similar people in their lives it was quite easy to get mixed up at times. Especially between Luke and Luca, although Luca is female, I felt her character was very interchangeable with Luke’s.

I felt like we did not get to know enough about the island and the mainland, there were a few references, but I often felt like I only knew half the story, half the history that I should have to make sense of it.

I also thought that the first book would cover the whole fight to the death but it barely scratched the surface. I am hoping the next book in the series will be much quicker paced and full of action.

The last 20% was amazing, if the whole book was the same pace, it would have been one of the best books I have ever read. If the last part had not been so good I am not sure I would ahve even given it 3 stars, but as it is, I gave it 4.

I do recommend this book, it does have it’s good points and hopefully the series will pick up.

4 out of 5 stars

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ARC: Deep-Water Drama

Like most 12-year-old girls, Shyanna, Rachel, and Cora deal with the daily dramas of growing up. But unlike most 12-year-old girls, they deal with it underwater as mermaids. Living in Mermaid Kingdom doesn’t make life any easier for these young girls, and friendships continue to be tested with secrets, worries, and other challenges.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was sweet but written in a very childish manner even for middle-grade fiction. Shyanna was nice but a little spoiled and selfish. I know she was 13 but her character annoyed me a little. I liked how there was three different stories in this book.

It’s a book about friendship, growing up and testing the your own limits. All the stories fitted together well and the illustrations were great.

Over all a sweet book perfect young girls.

3 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: A Lady at Willowgrove Hall

Tags

historical fiction

Willowgrove Hall is full of secrets, but soon everything hidden is brought to light.

Cecily Faire has a secret—and she intends to keep it. But when she arrives at Willowgrove Hall to serve as a lady’s companion, she comes face-to-face with the only person who knows the truth about her past.

As the steward of Willowgrove Hall, Nathaniel Stanton is dedicated to serving those around him. Nothing escapes his notice—including the beautiful new lady’s companion. He is certain the lovely Miss Faire is hiding something, and he determines to uncover it. But Nathaniel has a secret of his own: he is the illegitimate son of Willowgrove’s former master. Falling in love was not part of his plans . . . until he meets Cecily Faire.

When Willowgrove’s mistress dies, everything changes. Fear of exposure forces Cecily to leave under the cover of darkness, embarking on a journey to finally find her long-lost sister. When the will is read, Nathaniel’s inheritance makes him question his future plans. Cecily and Nathaniel are forced to make decisions that will change the course of their lives. Is their love strong enough to survive?

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although this book is the third in a series, it can be read perfectly well as a stand alone. It is listed as historical fiction and although it is set at least 100 years ago, there wasn’t much history in it. It was much more about the romance, usually I am not a fan, but this was quite enjoyable.

The story was sweet and full of secrets, although some were pretty predictable. I liked getting to the characters, it was done in a very clever way, we got to see all sides of the characters by getting to know them through how other characters saw them. It’s a very clever way of knowing characters in all ways possible.

Cecily was a good main character, she had her regrets but she grew and eventually let herself have fun and fall in love. Nathanial, had a great life, he worked hard, had his problems but he had his family who supported him in everything. I loved how his character grew and gave into the prospect that there was more to life than work.

I wish there was a little more history in it. I wasn’t even sure of when it was set, just more references to historical events, who was on the throne etc.

Overall I enjoyed this book and I would read more by this author.

4 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: Pretty Wicked

The daughter of a local police detective, fifteen-year-old Ryann has spent most of her life studying how to pull off the most gruesome murders her small Colorado town has ever seen.

But killing is only part of it. Ryann enjoys being the reason the cops are frenzied. The one who makes the neighbors lock their doors and windows on a hot summer’s day. The one everyone fears but no one suspects.

Carving out her own murderous legacy proves harder than she predicted. Mistakes start adding up. And with the police getting closer, and her own father becoming suspicious, Ryann has to prove once and for all that she’s smarter than anyone else—or she’ll pay the ultimate price.

Written in a mature YA voice. Some graphic content.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was unlike anything I had read before. The book was told mainly from Ryann’s POV, who was trying to make herself into one the most infamous names in history. The story follows her escapades and her trying not to get caught. She tries to juggle her school work, keep her family and friends from finding out what she was doing and trying to work out who she was going to kill next and putting it into action.

It was interesting because in most crime and thriller novels the killer is not revealed until the end, in this one it’s on the very first page where we become acquainted with the murderer. You got to know her and her relationships.

I enjoyed the story and seeing if she was going to get caught or not and by who. It was interesting to see all the lies she came up with to cover her tracks, sometimes I do think her family and friends believed them too easily though.

This book is YA and deals with serious issues, the main one being murder. For such a book I think Ryann was portrayed too young and immature at times. Her character was very blase about the situation.

All in all it was a good book but the character would have been a little better more mature and acting smarter.

4 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: The Escape of Princess Madeline

The Kingdom of Soron is known for many things: its rolling landscape, haunting history, fiery sunsets, and beautiful princess. Princess Madeline woke on her sixteenth birthday to realize that her future had been planned out, a life full of privilege, royalty, and boredom… a life with a husband and knight champion that she did not choose. Using her charm, strength, and stubbornness, she defies the King at every turn, determined to keep her freedom on her terms.

But freedom quickly turns to disaster as she finds herself seized by a group of wandering bandits. The kingdom is in turmoil over her capture—her Knight Champion eager to prove himself, a group of dedicated suitors determined to win her hand, and a group of exiled wizards joining forces in the hunt to rescue her. Follow Princess Madeline in this adventure to find freedom and love.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was sweet and a good coming of age story. The characters were fun and very well thought out. I like the champion, he never gave up on her. It took a lot of courage and worked well with his character. Madeline was a little selfish to begin with but then she grew well through the book and turned into a decent young woman.

The setting was exciting and seemed like a very beautiful place, minus the bandits of course. It was a short book but well worth the read.

4 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: Rise of the Flame

Six races. Four realms. One human girl who can bring them together in peace… or war.
Lilae has been hunted since the night of her birth, for she is heir to a god’s throne. But everything that her surrogate family has done to protect her may have been for nothing. After Lilae is stripped of her powers and enslaved by the emperor of the Mithrani, she finds herself desperate to survive in a strange new world.

On the other side of the world, Liam leads his army across the realm to protect the Tryans and the fairies from those who would do them harm. But when their odds of survival become next to impossible, he must set out on a journey to find a dragon, a child, and the blessing of a fallen god to aid him in the inevitable realm war.

The path forward for both Liam and Lilae seems clear, until their dreamscapes collide. But while they draw strength from their connection, Lilae may be falling for the emperor who should be her greatest enemy.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me a long time to read, about a month but I have been very busy so it has felt a little bit like a marathon. A very enjoyable marathon though.

I like Lilae, she was clever but she’s a little naive. It gave her depth and showed her young years, so it worked very well. I liked her relationships, she had some good ones but some bad ones too, which made it more realistic.

Liam was fun and sounded like a really good leader. I can see many girls swooning over him.

The good. The characters were interesting and all very different. The story line was clever and kept me going back for more. I liked the different powers people had and it was interesting to find out who had what. There were lots of twists, most I didn’t guess.

The bad. At time it felt a little all over the place, there was too many POV’s, there were a few main ones but I didn’t really like how they slipped other ones in here and there. Especially when they are only there for one small chapter then go back to being a back ground character. I sometimes found it hard to tell who was the main POV. I would have preferred a little more about each of the races. The names were just thrown out and not explained.

This book is already published yet there was quite a bit of grammatical  errors. I don’t normally comment on such for reviews books but since it has been out for at least 9 months, I think that is something that should be sorted.

Overall a very enjoyable book, full of lots of wonder and exciting quests.

4 out of 5 stars

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ARC Review: The Sister

Tags

mystery, thriller

Grace hasn’t been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie’s words, the last time she saw her, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie’s. It soon becomes clear there was a lot she didn’t know about her best friend.

When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie’s father, Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie’s sister steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family, and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan’s home.

But something isn’t right. Things disappear, Dan’s acting strangely and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace’s mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace in terrible danger?

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie …or was there?

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me a long while to get into, it was only about half way through that I started properly enjoying it. There was too much fluff and not enough substance. It took too long for the book to get into what was going on. There was a lot of half secrets, ones that were not fully formed and some even once I found out what they were, they were a little of a let down.

The characters were fine but a little all over the place. Grace grew through the book but she was extremely naive and that didn’t really change. Dan was a grumpy sod and the way he treated Grace was shocking. Lexie was quite an unbelievable character, she seemed too over the top. Anna was a strange character, over the top nice with a very mean streak.

I did really want to know what happened after I got about half way through, I raced through the second half in almost one sitting. I was a little let down about what the secrets were, I guessed a few and some were disappointing.

Overall this book was a little disappointing.

3 out of 5 stars

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ARC Review: Bright Blaze of Magic

As a thief, I’m good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls.

Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families–and kill every last Sinclair. What they don’t know is that I’m on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I’ve got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side…

“An adventurous ride you will never want to get off.” –#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout on Cold Burn of Magic.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought I had reviewed this a while ago but unfortunately I forgot. I loved this series. The magic was complex yet easy to follow. The plot had lots of twists and turn, some where expected some were not.

This last book lived up to the good name of the series. It had a really great end that left me feeling satisfied, there was no loose ends.

The characters had good growth from the last book and Lila got of some good fixes again, like always in creative ways.

If you liked the first two I highly recommend you reading this book.

5 out 5 stars

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ARC Review: The Academy Alignment

Tags

fantasy, YA, young adult

Who decides what music defines a generation or which war gets funded? Who determines high fashion? Who gets to choose which dusty African village thrives and which suffers famine and genocide?

For centuries, the world’s wealthiest have sent their children to an elite boarding school known as The Academy to ensure continued control over global events. This year, The Academy offered its first scholarship to Peter Foster, a 17 year old from the blue-collar town nearby. Before Peter can get his bearings in this world of unimaginable wealth, sexual gamesmanship and obscene entitlement, he uncovers information about the mysterious and violent disappearance of a recent student — information everyone, even the teachers, is desperate to cover up. As the forces of Light and Dark continue their age-old dance of influence and manipulation, The Academy students fight to run their parents’ empires, and to consolidate wealth and influence at any cost. Peter soon realizes he is up against forces that operate far outside his reality, and he’ll have to risk everything, even his life, to expose the truth … even if his discoveries upend the fragile balance of global power.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little unsure of this book when I started it. It had an interesting premise but I had no idea where it was going. I know you do not know everything at the start, but I think a little more would have been better.

The characters were interesting, there was a lot of drama which was unexpected but fun in this type of book. I liked Peter, his inquisitiveness was a really good quality in him. His manner never really changed, he was a good guy through and through, matter what was thrown at him.

Dr Linden and Dr Brown were unique characters, at times it was hard to tell which side they were on at times, which made it a good read. It was the same of the other characters, they seem to switch sides all the time. I would have liked to see more of some if the other characters, some seemed to less of a presence than was necessary and just come in at the important points and I was left thinking “what do they have to do with this?”

Overall an interesting book and well worth the read but not sure if I will read the second one in the series.

4 out of 5 stars