House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas {Review}

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
(Crescent City, #1)
Release Date: March 3, 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury; 803 pages
Rating: 

Half-Fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan loves her life. By day, she works for an antiquities dealer, selling barely legal magical artifacts, and by night, she parties with her friends, savoring every pleasure Lunathion—otherwise known as Crescent City—has to offer. But it all comes crumbling down when a ruthless murder shakes the very foundations of the city—and Bryce’s world.

Two years later, her job has become a dead end, and she now seeks only blissful oblivion in the city’s most notorious nightclubs. But when the murderer attacks again, Bryce finds herself dragged into the investigation and paired with an infamous Fallen angel whose own brutal past haunts his every step.

Hunt Athalar, personal assassin for the Archangels, wants nothing to do with Bryce Quinlan, despite being ordered to protect her. She stands for everything he once rebelled against and seems more interested in partying than solving the murder, no matter how close to home it might hit. But Hunt soon realizes there’s far more to Bryce than meets the eye—and that he’s going to have to find a way to work with her if they want to solve this case.

As Bryce and Hunt race to untangle the mystery, they have no way of knowing the threads they tug ripple through the underbelly of the city, across warring continents, and down to the darkest levels of Hel, where things that have been sleeping for millennia are beginning to stir…

With unforgettable characters and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.

The Rejected Mate Games by Lindsey Devin & Skye Wilson {Review}

The Rejected Mate Games by Lindsey Devin & Skye Wilson
(Completed Series #1-3)
Release Date: September 20, 2024
1,390 pages
Rating:

He rejected her, but I'll make sure no one touches her.

Kira’s life shattered when her mate rejected her—at their wedding, no less. Humiliated, heartbroken, and determined to reclaim her dignity, she enters The Reject Project, a brutal reality show where rejected mates battle for a second chance at love. It’s dangerous, filled with broken hearts, desperate mates, and cutthroat competition.

The look on her face when she realized I was one of the eligible bachelors? Priceless.

As her brother’s best friend, I’ve protected Kira from the shadows for years. She thinks I’m just here to make things worse, but she has no idea how far I’ll go to keep her safe. My wolf is ready to claim her, but this game has more enemies than either of us anticipated.

When the cameras stop rolling and the claws come out, I’ll prove that I’m the one who was always meant to stand by her side. Even if she still hates me.

This time, I’m playing for keeps—and I’m not letting her go.

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas {Review}

 A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
(A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4)
Release Date: February 16, 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury; 757 pages
Rating: 

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she's struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can't seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.

The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta's orbit. But her temper isn't the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.

Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other's arms.

A Long Overdue Thank You to Sarah J Maas

It’s been 2085 days since Kingdom of Ash (KOA) was released and here I am, finally finished reading it. You’re probably wondering why it’s taken me so long to read this book? How can someone read the entire series and not want to know how it ends. When you love something so much, you don’t want it to end and that’s how I was with this series. This book literally stayed in the Barnes and Noble bag (along with the receipt) since I purchased it on October 23, 2018. I only took it out to take a selfie with it and then back in the bag it went. This also happened to be around the time where I made my exit from book reviewing/blogging and really, I had such a negative experience with reading that I didn’t read much for years. I’m talking of going from 150 books a year to maybe 5, if I was lucky. I loved my time as a book reviewer and running a blog; I met some amazing people along the way (both readers and authors) and I’m disappointed in myself for letting a lot of those relationships fade when I made my exit in the book world (my biggest regret, really). The pressure of reviewing books by a deadline and even feeling like I had to like a book that I was sent for review, even if I didn’t. I think that negative pressure is what did me in because most of the books I read, I truly enjoyed reading. 

But let me get back to my love for Sarah J Maas’ (SJM) writing and specifically, Throne of Glass (TOG). I was first introduced to SJM at my very first BEA (Book Expo America) and I kept hearing people talk about this book but I wasn’t really familiar with it. I was able to get in to her signing line, met and got a copy of the book. She was super nice (and absolutely stunning) but I was excited I was able to get this book everyone was talking about. It was one of the first books I read when I got home and I understand the hype of it all. I was thrust in to this amazing world and amazing characters; I felt like I was actually right there in the story, with these characters. I just needed more. Sometimes, the hype is actually worth it. I instantly became a fan and started following her on social media and just waiting for the hardcover to be released (I’m a sucker for hardcovers). 

Blog Tour: Wonder Woman Warbringer {Review}

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
(DC Icons, #1)
Release Date: August 29, 2017
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; 384 pages
Rating:

She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. . . .

Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.

Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.

Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

Royal Bastards by @Shvartacus {Review + Giveaway}

Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
(Royal Bastards, #1)
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; 352 pages
Rating:

Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children.

At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax’s floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father’s side, resplendent in a sparkling gown, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who’s been in love with Tilla since they were children.

Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards’ Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness.

Rebellion is brewing in the west, and a brutal coup leaves Lyriana’s uncle, the Royal Archmagus, dead—with Lyriana next on the list. The group flees for their lives, relentlessly pursued by murderous mercenaries; their own parents have put a price on their heads to prevent the king and his powerful Royal Mages from discovering their treachery.

The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey . . .