Book Review: The House Witch 2 by Delemhach

 

Goodreads Summary: As a wielder of domestic magic, Finlay Ashowan likes to keep his affairs as neat and orderly as his kitchen. But between his work for the King and Queen of Daxaria and a new (secret) relationship with Lady Annika Jenoure, his life is anything but tidy.
For one thing, if Annika and Fin are to continue their romance, they’ll need to sort out the pesky issue of Fin’s being a commoner—before Annika is forced into a political marriage that interferes with her own carefully laid plans.

For another, pressure is mounting as the war with Troivack draws ever closer. When Fin requests time away from the castle to rest, the King agrees but under a very particular condition: Fin must brave the streets of Austice as a spy, sleuthing out the plans of the Troivackian troops allegedly hidden there.

Further complicating things, Fin’s estranged father is on his way to Daxaria, an unexpected and unappreciated arrival that’s bound to wreak even more havoc in his son’s life.

As Fin forges new friendships and alliances—magical and non-magical alike—he becomes even more enmeshed in courtly intrigues, old feuds, and very personal problems. And the more he tries to clean up the various messes in his life, the more apparent it becomes that his troubles are only just beginning . . .

Goodreads Rating: 4.42 stars with over 13,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Romance, Cozy Fantasy, Magic, Fiction, Witches

Goodreads/ Storygraph challenge: 15/30

2025 Reading Challenge: #Read a book by an author using a pseudonym (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the start of spring. I've been really busy with work, so I haven't been able to post much. I've listened to a few books since my last review, but didn't have a chance to post. I'll talk more about those when I do a challenge update at the end of the month. 

I was surprised that my library had The House Witch volume 2 by Delemhach available on audiobook. I instantly grabbed it because the first book was so sweet and fun. The second book definitely did not disappoint. The story starts right where the first book left off, and it doesn't take long to get reacquainted with the whimsical world that Delemhach has created. 

I liked that Fin seemed much more confident in this book. It's been a while since I read the first book, but I remember him being more reserved. I think he showed a lot of growth. I enjoyed seeing him being more accepted within the castle. Fin and Annika's secret relationship brought a surprising number of opportunities for comedy. Their lack of communication was frustrating, but I suppose it helped progress the story. Got to have some kind of conflict, right?

In addition to the comedic moments, a couple made me tear up because they were so sweet and romantic. Given the mood I've been in recently, this meme felt appropriate. 

Some things that bothered me in the first book were still in the second. Mainly, every other line feels like Fin is called "the redhead." It feels repetitive, and my annoyance slightly distracts me from the story. It's a minor issue, though, and overall the story was delightful. I recommend it to anyone who wants a fun fantasy story with cozy feel-good vibes.

Book Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

 

Goodreads Summary: What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?

Mistborn
For a thousand years, the ash fell, and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years, the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heartbroken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.

Goodreads Ratings: 4.49 stars with over 820,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Magic

Goodreads/ Storygraph Challenge: 9/30 books

2025 Reading Challenge: #6 Read a book recommended to you by a friend or Social Media (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review: 

Hello, Readers! As always, I hope everyone is doing well. As I write this post, I am curled up in a blanket, watching the snow and cuddling with the dog. It's pretty cozy, as seen in the picture below. 

Anyway, on to talking about Mistborn. I've heard great things about Mistborn for a few years now. Per my typical ways, I'm slow to get around to things. However, when I saw it on Audible, it felt like time to start it. I'm happy that I did. Mistborn: The Final Empire hooked me from the start, and I had difficulty pausing the audiobook to do other things. I was supposed to be studying today, but I played video games and worked on a puzzle because I didn't want to pause the book. 

I really liked Vin as the main character. The girl who stays in the shadows but ultimately just wants to be accepted really appealed to me. I liked how she had two personas and that she had trouble discerning which was the real her. I felt like she sort of grew to become both. I enjoyed many of the characters and thought their set-up for the roles they were to fulfill was interesting. I really liked the role of the Keeper. I'd read an entire story on the keepers if it was available. 

Overall, the story was exciting, and there wasn't a dull moment. I loved the magic system that Brandon Sanderson created. The way each metal had a balance was fascinating. I'm curious how it evolves in the rest of the series. I don't have anything bad to say about the book. The audiobook narrator did a great job telling the story and keeping me engaged with the different voices. I'd highly recommend MistBorn: The Final Empire for anyone who likes high fantasy. 

Book Review: Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer

 

Goodreads Summary: With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she's always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.
Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.

All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?
Goodreads Ratings: 4.21 stars with over 46,000 ratings

Genre Listing:  Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Magic, Fiction, High Fantasy, Adult, New Adult

Goodreads/Story Graph Challenge: 3/30

2025 Reading Challenge: #46 Read a Fantasy novel (See the entire challenge here) 

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well on this frigid January evening. I just finished the audiobook Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer and wanted a quick review while it was fresh in my mind. One of my goals for 2025 is to get back in the habit of reviewing each book. We'll see how it goes. As I mentioned in my 2024 overview, I suspect a lot of my books in 2025 will be audiobooks. I think this will add to my review content, as I can comment on narrators and delivery. 

I got Blood & Steel in my audible library early last year. However, because I was binging the Wandering Inn series, I didn't have the opportunity to listen to it. I'm really loving the increase in fantasy novels with strong female main characters lately. Blood & Steel follows twenty-four-year-old Alchemist Althea, who desperately wants to be a warrior. Of course, there's a prophecy, and it scares the men in the society, so women aren't allowed to wield blades. Althea really spoke to me as a main character. I really appreciated the grit and determination that she showed in the story. I find a strong-willed, stubborn female character relatable, and Althea was no exception.

Plot-wise, the storyline was predictable. It wasn't bad, and in fact, I really enjoyed it. I just wasn't ever surprised when listening to it. There were points when listening to it that I guessed what was going to be said next, almost verbatim. There was a lot of repetition in the dialogue. The story was enjoyable, but it didn't stand out from any other fantasy I've read. For the Romantacy smut readers, I'd rate it 1/2 of a chili pepper. There was some sexual tension, but aside from one scene, nothing particularly spicy. 

The narration was decent. It's mainly a female narrator, though a male narrator also has a few chapters. My only real issue with the narration was that the female narrator had an American accent but was using the word 'arse.' It's not a big deal, but it kept taking me out of the story at first because it didn't fit with the voice. 

Book Review: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

 

Goodreads Summary: Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.
The one thing you never talk about while you're in the Scholomance is what you'll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it's all we dream about, the hideously slim chance we'll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now, the impossible dream has come true. I'm out, we're all out—and I didn't even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother's prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn't kill enclaves; I saved them—me, Orion, and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: we saved everyone, made the world safe for all wizards, and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves of the world.

Ha, only joking! Actually, it's gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war on the horizon. And the first thing I've got to do now, having miraculously got out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.

Goodreads Rating: 4.14 stars with over 75,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Magic, Urban Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads and StoryGraph Challenges: 13/60 (I'm back on StoryGraph! Follow me here)

2024 Reading Challenge: #9 Read a book with a color in the title (find the entire challenge here)

Book Review: 

Hello, readers! As always, I hope that everyone is doing well. I'm on the mend from COVID-19, which I caught while at the convention (or traveling to/from). I'd probably feel 100% better already, but I'm also allergic to the state I live in. Ah well, at least this second time around wasn't nearly as bad as the first time. Anyway, on to important things like my thoughts on books. 

I started The Golden Enclaves in April, but I feel like I have been reading it forever. I don't know if it was all the stuff I had going on or something else, but I couldn't get interested in the book and stay interested. It just didn't have the sense of danger the first two books had, where Mals were lurking around every corner. The first part of the book was about El mostly feeling sorry for herself. I understand why she felt this way, but it made for a very dull start to the book. I finally started to get interested around 140 pages, but it didn't hold my interest.

There were pockets where I was fascinated, but overall, I just wanted to be done with the book. The last 60 pages or so had a lot of interesting turns, but I was still ready to be finished. I was considering not finishing it with 40 pages left to go. 

The book was all right; it just didn't capture me like the others did. I don't know if it's the book or my headspace. I liked that the story finished in a way that indicated there wouldn't be additional books. The ending seemed well-rounded. I may eventually reread the trilogy and see if I like The Golden Enclaves more, but for now, I'm pretty indifferent to it. I don't feel strongly about the book one way or another.

Book Review: The General of Izril by Pirateaba

 

Goodreads Summary: Clowns, Goblins, and Erin Solstice. Not all in the same place, mind you.
Erin Solstice trusts a lot of people—even some lost Redfangs survivors of Esthelm—but can she handle being friends with Goblins when every hand is turned against them and the tribes are on the rampage?

Liscor is in the path of Goblin Lord's inexorable march north, and the fates of Rags, Garen Redfang, and Tremborag's Goblin tribes are all tied to an impending war. Who will survive?
Tom the [Clown] is facing Demons in Rhir while Zel Shivertail is facing Wall Lord Ilvriss and an uncertain future. Faced with the knowledge of the Necromancer's return, who can the two Drakes turn to?
Contains bonus content, an exclusive account of the 2nd Antinium War by famed [Writer], Krsysl Wordsmith.

Goodreads Rating: 4.63 stars with over 1400 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Magic, Humor, Adventure, LITRPG

Goodreads Challenge: 8/60

2024 Reading Challenge: #32 Read a book with the name of a place in the title (see the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

I don't typically do two posts in a day (hell, lately, I don't even do one post in a day...Sorry!), but I finished the audiobook of The General of Izril this afternoon. I took notes and want to get better at reviewing the audiobooks I listen to. Let's see how well I can do on not giving spoilers.

As I have with the previous books, I enjoyed it thoroughly. There's a lot of me thinking (sometimes yelling), "What the ****, why?" while listening to this book. I've said multiple times at this point that I've just given up on figuring out where the story will go. At this point, I'm just hoping Erin makes popcorn or something. 

The General of Izril provided a lot of information to answer my questions and promptly gave me even more questions regarding other details. Pirateaba gives you just enough information to keep a reader interested and then dangles a different carrot in front of their face. However, the first few chapters of this book were definitely a knowledge bomb. 

Honestly, I can't give this series enough praise. It is definitely not something I would have gotten into if it wasn't recommended, but I'm so glad I got into it. I can't speak for how it reads in the e-book or web novel, but the audiobooks narrated by Andrea Parsneau are fantastic. I already have books 7-11 and Book 12 pre-ordered if that shows how much I'm enjoying it. The General of Izril ends with a cliffhanger, and I'm curious to see where it leads. There's so much more I want to say, but it would be filled with spoilers, and I don't want to ruin the element of surprise that these books have. 

 

This is not book-related, but I wanted to share these photos from my trip. They are pictures over Indianapolis while I was coming back home. 

Book Review: The Last Light by Pirateaba

 

Goodreads Summary: [Kings] awake, and [Emperors] build new lands. Change is coming to the world, from the King of Destruction moving to a certain [Doctor] finding more friends from home.
The Wandering Inn has a [Princess] who solves problems rather than creates them, and her name is Lyonette. Yet what happens when the [Innkeeper] returns to manage her inn? Lyonette must learn to be a good employee rather than manage everything herself, and sharing power is never easy...

Nor is it ever simple in war, but that is where Geneva Scala remains. In bloodier and increasingly brutal battlefields, The Last Light of Baleros is now growing in fame, but there is no future there. She is desperate, working against hostile forces who see her intervention as dangerous, and still bears the wounds of her previous war to save lives. But she is no longer alone.

Goodreads Rating: 4.62 stars with over 1700 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Magic, Fiction, Fae, Adventure, RPG, LITRPG, Action

Goodreads Challenge: 6/60 (I already feel impending doom!)

2024 Reading Challenge: #2 Read a book by an author you've previously read (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello Readers! As always, I hope everyone is doing well. I just finished The Last Light, book 5 in the Wandering Inn series by Pirateaba. I wanted to get a blog post out while a few things were fresh in my memory. It's been hard for me to write posts about this series. I'm listening to it as an audiobook and have been starting one book right after the other. Events are getting blurred together, but I will try my best. Going forward, I'm going to take notes if I can.

This book was one of my favorites in the series so far. However, I've long since given up on predicting where this story will go. It's just sheer chaos. The last five hours were an absolute rollercoaster of emotions for me. There are also so many strings that I am still determining how they will connect or even if they will. I've been trying to figure out how to review this without giving spoilers, so I will try to provide some general thoughts about some of the characters/groups. Since I'm doing the audiobook, forgive me if I don't get character names correct. I am way too lazy to go through the web series and get the spelling.

Erin: Erin feels like the drunk friend you can't take your eye off, or they'll go missing. I'm listening to the series with a friend and am a book behind him. I've lost track of how many times I've proclaimed, "Erin is so damn stupid!" That said, she's loyal, sweet, and cares about her friends. But damn it, woman, think before you do.

Rhioka: Rhioka really grew on me in this book. She's still hot-headed-know-it-all, but I like her take no shit attitude. A lot of her story in this book wrecked me emotionally.

Lyonette: Now that the incidents in book 4 have thoroughly humbled her, I'm no longer rooting for her to be punched in the face. She's becoming one of my more liked characters. And what she did for Brunker. 😭

Lakin/Doreen: Love them. They're adorable, and I want nothing but the best for them.

Geneva: Her scenes fascinate me. The combination of her medical knowledge with Okasha's healing is so interesting. If they teamed up with Pisces' ability to mend bones, they'd be one hell of a medical team.

Octavia: I feel bad for what Erin puts her through, but she also annoys the ever-loving hell out of me.

Horns of Hammerod: They feel like a real team now. I am amused by the weird friendship between Kisemver and Pisces.

Antinium: In the audiobook, one visiting Antinium sounds like Sean Connery, and I can't unhear it. Is it weird that I like the Antinium? At least the individual ones. Bird even amuses me, as odd as he is. 

I have more thoughts, but they get spoilery, and I'm not sure which book some of my thoughts are about. Plus, I'm still processing the book's last 5-8 hours. I absolutely love this series, though, and I can't recommend it enough for Fantasy/RPG fans. It's amazing. I plan to start book 6 tomorrow. If you've read/listened to the series and want to ask me specific thoughts about books 1-5, feel free to use the Contact Me portion of the blog. 

Book Review: The Wandering Inn: Fae and Fare by Pirateaba

 

Goodreads Summary: Winter has come to the world, and still, Erin Solstice has no idea how she came to be an [Innkeeper].
Erin is running an inn outside the city of Liscor, but she's no longer alone. Ryoka Griffin, the City Runner, has business in the south of Izril; she's out on a dangerous delivery of her own. Yet, while both young women have finally found their calling, more and more people are beginning to realize that these visitors from Earth don't belong here.
Erin must find new and old guests for her inn while expanding her tentative business. Staying safe would also be nice. At the same time, some pesky creatures have arrived to herald winter, bringing mischief and danger unlike anything she's ever seen. But as more and more children of Earth begin appearing, the cold of winter is the least of Erin's worries.

Goodreads Rating: 4.53 stars with over 4,200 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Adventure, High Fantasy, Dragons, Fae, LITRPG

Goodreads Challenge: 1/60

2024 Reading Challenge: #49 Read a book with a Unicorn in it (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review: 

Hello, Readers! Welcome to 2024. I hope the first few days have treated everyone well. I finished the first book of the year and am trying to get back into the habit of doing reviews after every book. Let's jump right in.

Fae and Fare is the second book in the Wandering Inn series by Pirateaba. The series started out as a web novel. I've been listening to the series on Audible, however. The series is narrated by Andrea Parsneau, and she does a fantastic job. The premise of the Wandering Inn is that Erin winds up in a different world in the city of Liscor. She doesn't know how she got there, but she hides in an abandoned Inn to escape monsters trying to kill her. However, she finds that the entire world is based on leveling up and getting skills like in a video game. Adventure and chaos ensue from there. 

Before the Wandering Inn series, I hadn't read anything that would fall into the LITRPG genre. With the Wandering Inn, I was instantly drawn in. Fae and Fare were the same. The characters' levels, classes, and skills made for an interesting addition to the story. Without it, both The Wandering Inn and Fae and Fare would be good adventures, but the system becomes a predominant part of Fae and Fare's story towards the end of the book. 

With the first book, I tried to predict where the story was going. I gave that up somewhere in the second book and just tried to enjoy the story. The book took so many twists and turns that there was no good way to predict it. I thought I knew where something was leading, and then it would travel down a different path. It made the story exciting. The ending of Fae and Fare leaves a lot of interesting loose ends that I'm eager to pull at and see where they go. I'll likely start book 3 tonight or tomorrow. 

I typically end up with a favorite character or two in a book; however, I have a love/hate relationship with many of the characters introduced. I feel like both Ryoka and Erin made many dumb decisions that annoyed the absolute hell out of me. But simultaneously, they were likable, and I was cheering for them. Their various groups of friends all have an interesting dynamic. I am definitely getting the impression that not all of them will stay friends, but as I said before, I'm done speculating where this story will go. There are a lot of them to list, and I'm probably going to spell their names wrong, but there are a few arcs I'm very curious about. 

Overall, I'm absolutely loving this series. I already grabbed the 3rd audiobook. I recommend it to anyone who likes Epic/High Fantasy and video games. I don't think the latter is necessary to enjoy it, however. As far as why I stuck it in the unicorn category, there is a very brief mention of a unicorn. It is all of one sentence in this massive book. However, I caught it, and I'm using it for this prompt. I'm trying to work through as many books as I already have and not buy any more, but also because I'm too lazy to dig for another book with a Unicorn.

Book Review: The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst

 

Goodreads Summary: An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure
Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow...

But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.

With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits' restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it's bathed in blood.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.89 stars with over 11,300 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Magic, High Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Adventure

Goodreads Challenge: 43/30

2023 Reading Challenge: #53 Read a book that has the letter Q in the title (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! As always, I hope everyone is doing well. I am doing what I set this blog up for - individual book reviews. Yeah! Go me. Before the review, I have a quick life update- I got a kitten! Her name is Nebula Jane, and she is five months old. Adorable pictures will be after the review for those who care. 

Anyways, on to my riveting thoughts on The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst. I picked this up randomly at a used bookstore when I was still in Minnesota. I didn't realize it then, but the copy I have is autographed. This doesn't have anything to do with the thoughts on the book; I thought that was a cool tidbit. 

The book was a little hard to get into at first. Although I was interested, it covers many years in a concise amount of pages, making it hard to follow. Once the timeline stayed consistent, it was easier to follow. I really liked the world Sarah Beth Durst created. I thought living in trees was interesting, and the combination of magic and spirits was unique. I also liked the hierarchy that the kingdom had. 

Character development fell flat for me. There wasn't much difference between how the characters were written. While I didn't feel like she grew in the story, I liked that Daleina is resourceful and clever. She can step back and think of different ways to work with the spirits instead of controlling them like the others in her class. 

I think this is a good option if you're looking for a short high fantasy. It's just under 400 pages but has some interesting world-building. It has romance, but it doesn't have graphic sex scenes- it just alludes to them and then moves on to the next scene. Overall, I liked it, but I don't need to rush out and read the second or third books in the trilogy. 

And now, pictures of Nebula! 

Book Review: The House Witch by Delemhach

 

Goodreads Summary: A heartwarming and humorous blend of fantasy, romance, and mystery featuring a witch with domestic powers and the royal household he serves . . . dinner.
When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he's an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He's satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals.

But Fin's secret identity doesn't stay hidden for long. After all, it's not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues: going head-to-head with knights with less-than-chivalrous intentions, helping to protect the pregnant queen, fending off the ire of the royal mage, and uncovering a spy in the castle. And that's only the beginning—because Fin's past is catching up with him just as his love life is getting complicated . . .

Goodreads Rating: 4.24 stars with over 11,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Witches, Fiction, Paranormal

Goodreads Challenge: 34/30

2023 Reading Challenge: #43 Read a book with a cat on the cover (find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! As always, I hope everyone is doing well. I will jump right into the review of The House Witch by Delemhach. I picked it up on Kindle Unlimited. It just seemed super cute from the summary. I will try to adequately express how adorable this book actually is. 

The story follows Fin, a lowly cook and witch who just wants to cook and be left alone. Of course, if he were left alone, it wouldn't be much of a story. Many characters are forced into his life and change him for the better. I adored Fin. He was funny, and I loved his sense of justice and the need to protect his friends. The story tackles some weighty topics and addresses them in a light, approachable way. Some issues dealt with are bullying, abuse, sexual assault, and accepting others. Even with some of these topics being pretty dark, the book's tone stays light and whimsical. The writing is relatively clean; I don't really remember any swearing. There is some alluding to sex, but it is not actually described. There are definitely a lot of hilarious innuendos, though. 

The friends that Fin makes are also awesome. We even get to see a few scenes from the perspective of his kitten familiar, Kraken. Hannah is my favorite of the core group of Fin's friends. She is an absolute force, and I love it. I also appreciated that some characters start out as bad but get a chance for redemption. It showed a lot of character growth for all the characters. 

If you're looking for a light-hearted fantasy romance, I'd check it out. Even the chapter titles are funny. It was nice seeing a romance written mainly from the male perspective. The House Witch 2 and 3 are currently available. I'll probably get around to reading them when I can. I'm trying to stay on track with the reading challenge, however. 

Book Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

 

Goodreads Summary: A world divided.A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragon rider but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

Goodreads Ratings: 4.23 stars with over 156,110 

Genre Listing: Fantasy, LGBT Fiction, Queer Fiction, Romance, Adult, Dragons, High Fantasy, Magic

Goodreads Challenge: 33/30 

2023 Reading Challenge: #4 Read a book by an author whose name is Samantha, Sam, or a variant (Find the whole challenge here)

Book Review: 

Hello, Readers. I hope everyone is doing well on this July afternoon. I just finished up The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Honestly, I'm glad to be done with this one. It's really long, and even though I knew that going in, I wasn't mentally prepared for it. The book follows four main characters and their stories - Ead, Tane, Loth, and Niclays as they try to defeat The Nameless One. 

I liked Ead and Tane's stories the best. They were the most interesting of the characters. With Niclays and Loth, I don't know if their stories were interesting enough to warrant parts being told from their point of view. Especially considering that all four characters read the same way. I didn't get much of a different tone between the characters; they all felt flat in personality. 

The world-building was interesting, and I liked how the world's main faiths in The Priory of the Orange Tree were shown in a different light. Each area had its own version of the lore and what happened. The idea of having Patron Saints of Virtues was creative, and I liked how all the different versions of the myths came together in the end. I liked how there were also other variants of dragons in this world, and they were more elemental-based. A prequel has been recently released. I may give it a shot to see if it gets more into the dragon lore.

Overall, I thought the story was interesting, and I think from a representation perspective, it's excellent that LGBT couples were at the forefront of the romance portion of the story. There are both W/W and M/M couples represented. They were also all main characters, not just a random secondary character. Wheel of Time Fans would really like this book. It has a similar theme regarding events from previous ages rehappening. It lost me because of how long it was and the multiple perspectives written in similar tones. I enjoyed it but also was ready for it to end.

 

Book Review: Serpent & Dove Trilogy by Shelby Mahurin

 

Goodreads Summary: Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

Goodreads Summary: After narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Dames Blanches, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and Church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.

To elude the scores of witches and throngs of chasseurs at their heels, Lou and Reid need allies. Strong ones. But protection comes at a price, and the group is forced to embark on separate quests to build their forces. As Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, the dastardly Morgane baits them in a lethal game of cat and mouse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.

Goodreads Summary: The spellbinding conclusion to the New York Times and IndieBound bestselling trilogy Serpent & Dove. This stunning fantasy take on French witches and forbidden love is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas.
Evil always seeks a foothold. We must not give it one.

After a heartbreaking loss, Lou, Reid, Beau, and Coco are bent on vengeance more than ever before—and none more so than Lou.

But this is no longer the Lou they thought they knew. No longer the Lou that captured a chasseur's heart. A darkness has settled over her, and this time it will take more than love to drive it out.

Book Reviews:

Hello Readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I recently read the Serpent & Dove Trilogy by Shelby Mahurin. I was traveling for work when I finished them and didn't have my laptop, so I needed to wait until I could get home to review the books so you get a combined review for all three books. Honestly, I would have done this format anyway because I burned through it. Fortunately, this series is a trilogy, so I have it penciled in for reading prompts 21, 22, and 23, respectively. If anyone is from Indiana and needs something for the home state prompt, Shelby Mahurin is also from Indiana. You can find the entire 2023 reading challenge here.

I enjoyed the trilogy, but Serpent & Dove was my favorite. I stayed up until 5 am reading it and forced myself to sleep with around 50 pages left. I enjoyed getting to know Lou and Reid as they got to know each other through their forced circumstances. Plus, I really liked the dynamic between Reid and Lou and how they balanced each other. It was a comical relationship to read, but also sweet, and I liked the growth in their relationship. I felt like Reid tamed Lou and made her a little less selfish, and she showed him how to live and find purpose. 

Blood & Honey was a middle book for me. I enjoyed it, and a lot happened, but at the same time, it felt like nothing happened. I don't know if that makes sense, but it was a bridge to Gods & Monsters. With the entire trilogy, I didn't know where it was going. There wasn't anything that I found overly predictable, which was nice. 

I know that not everyone reads Prologues or Epilogues, which I never understood. I always read them. I highly recommend reading the epilogue for Gods & Monsters. It gives the trilogy the sweetest ending ever. I had to try hard not to tear up on the plane reading it. 

I recommend this series if you like Paranormal/fantasy/romance stories. The magic system was interesting, and I liked that everything had a balance. I'm definitely going to look into other books by Shelby Mahurin. This is a good option if you want a series with a true ending. I just checked Goodreads; a spinoff series will launch in September.

Life stuff, if anyone cares:

As I said, I went to Miami for the week for work. I like to play photographer occasionally, so here are some photos I took there. Before leaving, I also went to a Blink-182 concert, so enjoy some pictures.

Miami Airport

View from my hotel room.

Blink-182 concert, mainly I just think this is a fun concert shot (though, I do adore Blink <3)

Book Review: The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

 

Goodreads Summary: The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become a legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is may yet fall under the Shadow.
Into the forbidden city of Rhuidean, where Rand al'Thor, now the Dragon Reborn, must conceal his present endeavor from all about him, even Egwene and Moiraine.

Into the Amyrlin's study in the White Tower, where the Amyrlin, Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, is weaving new plans.

Into the luxurious hidden chamber where the Forsaken Rahvin meets with three of his fellows to ensure their ultimate victory over the Dragon.

Into the Queen's court in Caemlyn, where Morgase is curiously in thrall to the handsome Lord Gaebril.

For once the dragon walks the land, the fires of heaven fall where they will until all men's lives are ablaze.

And in Shayol Ghul, the Dark One stirs...

Goodreads Ratings: 4.18 stars with over 165,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Adventure, Magic

Goodreads Challenge: 21/36

2022 Reading Challenge: Read a book  with at least 5 prominent characters (find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hi, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I am excited we made it to September; my favorite season is approaching. I've been collecting books lately more than I've been reading them. I've really been having a hard time staying interested in a story. I hope I get out of this funk soon. I started reading Fires of Heaven at the end of July and just now finished it. I'm likely going to stay away from long epic stories for a bit, as my classes for my Doctorate just started this week. Yes, Tress, I know. I'm a masochist. 

Okay, so Fires of Heaven. As you might be able to guess, this one was tough for me to get through based on how long it took me to read it. I enjoyed a lot of the story and appreciated that there was more information on the Ajah. I liked the dream world and thought it was interesting what Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene learned to do in it. Brigitte was my favorite character in this book. I feel like she brought out a different side of Nynaeve. Mainly she was just a fun addition to the story. 

For me, this book mostly felt like a middle-of-the-series book that you have to read to get to the other books. I enjoyed it, but it definitely wasn't my favorite. I don't know if it was my frame of mind, but by about 70%, I was ready to be done but kept trying to push through it. I didn't hate it. It was just slow-paced, and it felt like a lot of nothingness was happening. Once I was done reading it, I had to ask Tress a lot of follow-up questions because I'd forget something just as soon as I read it. I tried to keep up my usual WOT Twitter feed, but this was hard for me to keep up. Here's the link if anyone cares about my absurdness while reading: Social Tweety Thing.

I was missing a lot of the rest of the Two Rivers crew with this one. I kept wondering what was going on with Perrin and Loial. I do think that Mat's adventure was enjoyable, and I'm getting more interested in him as a character. He's growing on me, finally. I'm still processing Moraine's part of the story in this one. I don't want to go into spoilers, but I was definitely surprised. 

Fire of Heaven was probably my least favorite of the Wheel of Time so far. I don't know that that's entirely on the book, though. I really enjoyed The Shadow Rising, so I think anything that followed would fall short for me. Combine that with me just not being in a reading mood and it being so focused on traveling and waiting (more so than the other books). It just was okay for me. I still enjoyed a lot of it, and I'll continue with the series, but it was rough to get through.

Book Review: Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

 

Goodreads Summary: The three Beauchamp women--Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid, live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret--they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.
With a brand-new cast of characters, a fascinating and fresh world to discover, and a few surprise appearances from some of the Blue Blood fan favorites, this is a page-turning, deliciously fun, magical summer read fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.52 stars with over 19,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Witches, Paranormal, Fiction, Romance, Magic, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural

Goodreads Challenge: 15/48

2022 Reading Challenge: #44 Read a book that a movie/show you've watched is based on but have yet to read (example: Watched The Hobbit, but never read the Hobbit) ( Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I just finished up a Buffy the Vampire binge with Tress. We finished up season three. I'm excited to start in on Angel's spinoff. Also, fun news. Tress is coming out to visit during our birthday week in July. I'm very excited, and we have a fun thing planned for our respective blogs. Stay tuned!

Okay, so on to Witches of East End. I watched the show a few years ago and loved it. I'm super bummed that there were only two seasons. As usually with adaptations, the book is better, and there was a lot in the show that wasn't in the book and vice versa. I'm curious to read the other two books to see if any of the show stuff was from the rest of the series. 

I was instantly drawn to this book. I think a lot of that was I already felt so familiar with the characters because of the show. The book itself is actually pretty short. I think it's around 270 pages. There was a lot of story crammed into those few pages with a connection to Norse Mythology that I didn't expect. It was interesting but felt a little misplaced. I think it was mainly because the ending, where a lot of it is, was so rushed. There was so much buildup to the weird toxicity that was going on in the town, then the last 60 pages just felt too cleanly wrapped up. It was more tell than show, so it felt like I was just getting a recap.

I really enjoyed the magic aspect of Witches of East End. I liked how Joanna, Freya, and Ingrid had their own magic brand. I thought there was a lot of really good explaining of what they could do. I think their magic and Freya's relationships were the first book's focus. I'm curious to see if their magical talents grow in the rest of the series.

Overall, I really liked this book. The only reason I haven't already dived into book two is that I've bought a lot of books lately and am trying to be good. Plus, I've got a ton of categories on the challenge still. If you like paranormal and witchy books, I'd recommend this one unless you don't want to read sex scenes. It's a quick read, enjoyable, with many details on the actual magic system. 

Book Review: The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks

 

Goodreads Summary: As the old gods awaken, the Chromeria is in a race to find its lost Prism, the only man who may be able to stop catastrophe, Gavin Guile. But Gavin's enslaved on a galley, and when he finally escapes, he finds himself in less than friendly hands. Without the ability to draft which has defined him . . .
Meanwhile, the Color Prince's army continues its inexorable advance, having swallowed two of the seven satrapies, they now invade the Blood Forest. Andross Guile, thinking his son Gavin lost, tasks his two grandsons with stopping the advance. Kip and his psychopathic half-brother Zymun will compete for the ultimate prize: who will become the next Prism.

Goodreads Rating: 4.46 stars with over 56,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Magic, Adult, Adventure

Previous reviews on the series: The Black Prism, The Blinding Knife

Goodreads Challenge: 4/48

2022 Reading Challenge: #38 Read a book that's over 500 pages (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! It's been a while. I hope everyone has been doing well. I honestly have been swamped and just haven't been in a reading mood lately. Weird, I know. My heart just wasn't in it this past month. I was trying to chip away at The Broken Eye and Octunnumi as I had the energy, but mostly just spent non-working hours staring at my phone playing games. Anyways, I finally finished The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks last night.

I don't know if it was just the headspace I was in or what, but it took me a really long time to get into book three of the Lightbringer series. I really wasn't that into it until around 50%. It just felt like a middle book of a series until that point. It has to be read to get to all of the other stuff. There was a lot of background story in this one. There was a lot of information on how one becomes a prism and a lot of the history involving the position. It was good to know; it was just a lot to take in when I wasn't really feeling like reading. 

The Broken Eye shifted a lot of the attention to Kip, Karris, and Andross. Gavin was out of the picture for most of the story. I felt like Kip grew a lot in this book and is transitioning out of that kid phase. I'm curious to see where the story takes him. I really hope he starts to gain more confidence and move away from that whole self-deprecating thing. 

Towards the last 100 pages or so, I said "What the fuck, Brent Weeks?" a lot. There are a lot of plot twists in the final 20% of the book. In the other books, the twists were more spread out, whereas this one was all at the end. I won't go into specific details because I don't want to spoil the plot twists. But there's a lot of information that's game-changers in the story. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and I'll eventually finish the series. I just need a break from High Fantasy for a while. 

Book Review: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

 

Goodreads Summary: Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills, a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.
But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for...

Goodreads Ratings: 4.13 Stars with over 71,000 reviews

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Magic, Mythology, Romance

Goodreads/ StoryGraph Challenge: 3/48

2022 Reading Challenge: #10 Read a book from NPR's The 50 Best Science Fiction Books of the Past Decade https://www.npr.org/2021/08/18/1027159166/best-books-science-fiction-fantasy-past-decade (find the entire challenge here)

Life Updates and Book Review:

Hello readers! It's been a long time since I've been able to post, which is unfortunate. I've been unable to do much since around the start of January. We traveled back to Indiana to spend time with the family for Christmas, and then a couple days after we got home, I fell down the stairs and broke my arm. Except, I didn't know I had broken my arm until two weeks later. I just knew that I was in pain and something wasn't right, but I was too stubborn to have it looked at. My right arm was already in a brace for a torn tendon, and because of the fall, my left arm ended up in a splint and sling temporarily. On top of that, I still had to focus on finishing up Grad School. Needless to say, January was ROUGH. 

I ended up reading two books in January but really couldn't handle doing a blog post. I had started the City of Brass during that time but had to put reading it on hold because  I couldn't really hold a physical book and could only hold the Kindle for a limited time. I'll quickly update the other two books I read and then get on with The City of Brass

The Egyptian Mystery by Emily Organ- Read a newly published book (within a year). I think this was the first book I read this year. I liked it, as I always like Penny Green books; however, I didn't have anything insightful to say about it. It's the 11th book in a series, and they tend to follow a bit of a pattern. Enjoyable, but not really anything new to say about the series that I haven't already said ten other times.

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett- A book by an author whose first or last name has five letters. I love the Disc World. I randomly started a long time ago with The Hogfather and followed the books about Death. However, I was not in the right headspace for Disc World when I read this. Parts made me laugh, but I rarely knew what was going on because I was so stressed and tired. There were many times when I thought about not finishing it and trying again later. But it's relatively short, so I stuck with it. 

Okay, now this brings us to my actual review of The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. The husband got me this book for Christmas, and I must say he did a good job picking it out. I fell in love with this story on page one. I don't know exactly what it was, but Nahri just drew me in immediately. The imagery that S.A. Chakraborty provided was beautiful, and I felt like I was taken to an entirely new world. I found Dara incredibly interesting and wanted to know more about his back story. The magic and mythology involved were also really fascinating. I wasn't as excited to read Ali's part of the story. He just came across as a whiney spoiled brat most of the time. He wasn't terrible; I just wanted to read more of Nahri's story and would have liked seeing things from Dara's perspective. There was also this whole Aladdin vibe, including some genie magic.

What kept this from being a five for me was that there were different tribes, and they each had their own words for things. Culturally, I get the reasoning behind it. However, it took me a little out of the story as a reader because it required me to think about the connections between what one tribe called something and what another tribe called it and why. It was just a lot of history to remember when I wanted to read what happened next. 

I was completely surprised by the ending. I always try to predict what will happen, and I was not even close with this one. I might have audibly gasped at some point during the final chapter or two. I nearly forgot to discuss what I loved the most about this story. It is heavy with sarcasm. It makes me happy. I'm pretty sure if I was reading it on Kindle, most of the pages would be yellow with highlights. I've definitely got to get the next book and read it at some point. If you are looking for a YA Fantasy/Romance, I highly recommend this one.