Book Review: Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

 

Goodreads Summary: Kissen’s family were killed by zealots of a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing gods, and enjoys it. That is, until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, has somehow bound himself to a young noble, and they are both on the run from unknown assassins.
Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, they must travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favour.

Pursued by demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning – something is rotting at the heart of their world, and only they can be the ones to stop it.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.86 stars with over 59,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy. Fiction, Mythology, Queer, LGBT, Adult

Goodreads/Storygraph Challenge: 7/48 books

2026 Reading Challenge: #16 Read a book with an Animal on the Cover (find the full challenge here)

Book Review: 

Hello, Readers. I hope everyone is doing well. I finally finished Godkiller by Hannah Kaner. This one took me a while to get through. I've been fairly busy and just haven't had a lot of time to read, plus even though this was only 288 pages, it was just hard for me to get through.

I'll be honest. I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I got into it pretty quickly, but each chapter is a different character's perspective. If it were just every now and then, I think it would be okay, but there are four or five characters' perspectives. It made it really dense for such a short book. I'd just start getting into a character's story, and then the chapter would end, and it'd be someone else. It made me not want to pick it up most nights when I did have time to read. 

I liked Kissen and her story. I liked the world that everything was set in. I liked Inara. I didn't really have any feelings towards Elogast. Overall, it was an interesting story, but I didn't love it. I was entertained by it, but found myself wanting to know more about the gods and the world. 

The ending and romance felt lacklustre. It was fine, but the pacing just felt too quick. There was such a build-up to get where they were going that when it finally happened, it wasn't much to write home about. 

Overall, I liked it, but didn't feel like it was anything special. I picked this up mainly because I liked the cover of Sunbringer and wanted to read it. I do have that book, so I'll probably read it eventually, but it probably won't be right away. My next book is going to be Dungeon Crawler Carl because I'm giving in to peer pressure. 

Book Review: Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear

 

Goodreads Summary: A powerful and fierce reimagining of the earliest Roman legend: the twins, Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of history's greatest empire, and the woman whose sacrifice made it all possible.
The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons' journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children.

But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story.

Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all—until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir.

Except when mortals scheme, gods laugh.

Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life…and her beloved land.

To save her sons and reclaim their birthright, Rhea must summon nature's mightiest force – a mother's love – and fight.

All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia.

Goodreads Rating: 4.34 stars with over 1,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Mythology, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Retellings, Fiction, Historical Fantasy

Goodreads/Storygraph Challenge: 19/30

2025 Reading Challenge: 19. Read a book by an author who shares your initials (see the whole challenge here)

Book Review: 

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I wanted to briefly review Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear. This book tells the story of Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome. It's an interesting story that gives Red Tent by Anita Diamant vibes. It's very pro-sisterhood and shows the strength in women and their bonds.

I really enjoyed Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear. I found Rhea to be a fierce character with a strong survival instinct and internal power that allowed her to do whatever she needed to protect those she loved. Mothers will especially enjoy this book as it shows Rhea's tenacity in securing her children's future. It was a little lost on me since I have no desire to be a mother, but I can definitely see my friends who are moms liking them. 

The mythology in this book was interesting. I'm familiar with Greek Mythology, but I always assumed that Roman Mythology was just the same gods but with different names. Mother of Rome discusses both, but shows the differences between the Greek and Roman myths. I also really enjoyed hearing about the older deities in the story. My favorite character in the story is Lupa, the wolf who watches over the twins. She's ferocious and threatens to eat those who displease her. I don't know what that says about me as a person. 

Overall, I loved this book. I highly recommend it for Historical Fiction, Mythology, Fantasy readers, or anyone who wants a strong female heroine. 

Book Review: All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter

 

Goodreads Summary: Long ago, Miren O'Malley's family prospered due to a deal struck with the Mer: safety for their ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and have fallen into decline. Miren's grandmother is determined to restore their glory, even at the price of Miren's freedom.

A spellbinding tale of dark family secrets, magic and witches, and creatures of myth and the sea; of strong women and the men who seek to control them. 

Goodreads Ratings: 4.03 stars with over 3,700 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Horror, Gothic, Mythology, Mermaids, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tales

Goodreads Challenge: 13/48

2022 Reading Challenge: #7 Read a book about a mythical creature (see the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well and reading lots of exciting things. I'm just going to jump right into the review since I posted life update nonsense the other day. This pick was a random thing for me as I've been trying to stay more towards Kindle Unlimited or what I already have on my kindle. All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter really stood out to me. When I picked out All the Murmuring Bones, I needed something dark and witchy. This book absolutely fulfilled that need.

The story tells about a family who becomes powerful due to an agreement with the Merfolk. It then gets into the tale of Miren, who's the last of the O'Malley's. The beginning was a little hard for me to get into. There is a lot of scenery description before it gets into Merin's portion of the story. Once she is introduced, however, it's a lot easier to follow. 

All the Murmuring Bones reads like a gothic fairy tale, which I enjoyed. The story definitely discusses mermaids, and it shows the mermaids through old family lore passed on from one generation to the next. However, at the heart of it is what all that amounts to for Merin when she's the last of the true O'Malley's. It's a fascinating explanation of generational expectations and the pressures of them. The story builds and ultimately allows Merin to grow and decide who she wants to be regardless of the family's expectations.

The family secrets that Merin is trying to escape from are really dark. Part of me feels like there could have been more detail surrounding how Merin felt about these secrets. She's definitely appalled by them, but I feel like the way she's on the run, and the reasons behind it overshadow having to grow up with this knowledge. I expected more emotion regarding all the big reveals, but it felt a little glazed over? I hope that makes sense. 

There is part of the story where Merin comes to find a long-lost uncle (spoilers, sorry.) This section of the story seems so incredibly familiar to me, and I can not place why. I don't know if this stems from a fairy tale or if another book had something similar, but it felt incredibly familiar. This may bother me until I figure it out. The rest of the story seemed entirely new to me; it's just this one setting in the story that feels like deja vu. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I liked Merin as the main character. When she started figuring out who she was, I thought she was pretty badass. Her decisions and the way she acted about those decisions seemed a little out of character if you compare it to the beginning of her story, but I liked it. I would definitely recommend it if you want gothic fairy tales, paranormal creatures, and main characters who just don't give a shit about other people's expectations. There's also some magic and maybe some murder.

Book Review: Lore by Alexandra Bracken

 

Goodreads Summary: Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Goodreads Rating: 3.81 stars with over 54,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal

Goodreads Challenge: 12/48

2022 Reading Challenge: #18 Read a book by an author named Alex, Alexander, Alexandra (or variant) (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review: 

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I'm finally back to do a book review. I feel like 2022 has been non-stop, and I've definitely not been able to dedicate nearly as much time to reading or blogging as I'd like. Hopefully, all shenanigans are coming to a close, though. The husband and I have been fighting off Covid for the past week, so here's to hoping no more of that. He brought it home from work and decided to share the wealth. Luckily he's feeling much better. I've been having a more challenging time with it because I have a shitty immune system anyways, and well turns out that severe upper respiratory infections plus asthma is not a fun time. I was able to get a prescription for some meds and am back on an inhaler, so I'm starting to feel better. I'm mostly just exhausted. I'll attempt to do a recap of the year so far later this week or next weekend, but I'm not going to make any promises. 

I finished Lore a few days ago, but I was not really feeling like doing a blog post because of the nonsense with my health. There's a lot I can't really remember, so I'll just give a quick rundown of my thoughts, and then hopefully, with the following posts, I'll start getting back to the more detailed thoughts. 

Overall, I really liked Lore. It felt like The Percy Jackson books and The Hunger Games books had a book offspring, which was the result. I thought the premise was engaging with the various houses of heroes hunting multiple gods. I did think it was a little confusing to remember the houses and who was a god and who wasn't. 

I liked the relationship between Lore and Castor. I liked how she was kind of feral and just in survival mode and how he was a beacon of goodness for her. That, combined with being a friends-to-lovers trope, really resonated with me. There wasn't a love triangle or any unnecessary drama between them. There were some really sweet and romantic comments that I liked. There were also some moments from some of their friends who ended up in a relationship that was pretty great. (Trying to not give out spoilers.)

It was definitely not all romance. There's a lot of action, and it can get pretty gory in places. The mythology incorporated into the story was fun, and I like how Lore had to interact with the different Gods/Goddesses. At the center of the story is Lore, the crappy things she had to deal with growing up, and how she got past them to fulfill her destiny. I had planned to try and type out a little bit more about Lore, but my energy is waning. So, I'll leave it at if you like YA and are fans of Percy Jackson and Hunger Games; definitely give this a shot. 

Book Review: Helen of Troy by Margaret George

 

Goodreads Summary: Acclaimed author Margaret George tells the story of the legendary Greek woman whose face "launched a thousand ships" in this New York Times bestseller.
The Trojan War, fought nearly twelve hundred years before the birth of Christ, and recounted in Homer's Iliad, continues to haunt us because of its origins: one woman's beauty, a visiting prince's passion, and a love that ended in tragedy.

Laden with doom, yet surprising in its moments of innocence and beauty, Helen of Troy is an exquisite page-turner with a cast of irresistible, legendary characters—Odysseus, Hector, Achilles, Menelaus, Priam, Clytemnestra, Agamemnon, as well as Helen and Paris themselves. With a wealth of material that reproduces the Age of Bronze in all its glory, it brings to life a war that we have all learned about but never before experienced.

Goodreads Rating: 3.94 stars with over 10,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Historical Fiction, Mythology, Romance, Fantasy

Goodreads Challenge: 6/48

2022 Reading Challenge: #27 Read a book with a title that doesn't start with an article ( find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I am eagerly counting down to my staycation, which starts after I get out of work on Friday. I'm hoping to get a lot of stuff done around the house and maybe read some books. Mostly, I'm just thrilled to close my office door and not look at my work computer for a week. 

I had not anticipated reading Helen of Troy when I did. I wanted something light to read, and somehow I knowingly picked a 600-page historical fiction about greek mythology. The heart wants what the heart wants, I suppose. This is the third of Margaret George's books I've read. Each one I've been hooked on from the beginning. This one was no different, and I stayed up late last night finishing it. I only had 100 pages left, so who needs sleep?

I was very conflicted about this book. I thought that Helen and Paris were so incredibly selfish, yet I was rooting for them. I wanted to hate them, their relationship, and how much they didn't care about it affecting their countries, but I couldn't. I was vested in their story and wanted good things to happen to them. I appreciated the mythology in this and getting to read about many different mythological/historical figures. 

The biggest issue with this book is that the kindle version I bought desperately needed proofreading. There were a lot of weird typos, and some pages were repeated. It kind of took me out of the story when it happened. I had to investigate to make sure I wasn't crazy or didn't switch back to a previous page. In addition, once the war ended, I found myself not caring as much and was just reading it to get done with it. It was still interesting but wasn't nearly as much as leading up to the Trojan War and during it. I suspect that Margaret George took more historical liberties with this than in her other books because of the mythological content. If you want something more on the biographical side of Historical Fiction, I would keep that in mind (I assume that the Bronze Age is not a timeframe that is easy to have historically correct.) Overall, I'd recommend it if you like Historical Fiction/ Greek Mythology. 

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. 

Book Review: The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

 

Goodreads Summary: Told in Cleopatra's own voice, The Memoirs of Cleopatra is a mesmerizing tale of ambition, passion, and betrayal in the ancient Egyptian world, which begins when the twenty-year-old queen seeks out the most powerful man in the world, Julius Caesar, and does not end until, having survived the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of the second man she loves, Marc Antony, she plots her own death rather than be paraded in triumph through the streets of Rome.

Goodreads Rating: 4.15 stars with over 20,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Historical Fiction, Romance,  Fiction, mythology

Goodreads Challenge: 43/50

2021 Reading Challenge: #46 Read a book (Fiction or Nonfiction) about a lady on this list: https://www.historyextra.com/100-women/100-women-results/ (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to December. Here in Minnesnowta, we are getting a Blizzard warning tomorrow. I suspect that the fireplace in my new house will be getting a whole lot of use this winter. I'll do a post showing off my bookshelf one of these days. I'm debating if I want to do it for Kindle and physical books. Let me know in the comments if you want to see either of these.

So, I must say that I am glad to be done with this book. I got it a year or two ago on Paperbackswap, and it ended up fitting perfectly for #46. I enjoyed the book, but good lord, is it long. It was 900-some pages, and it felt like it was 2,000. I'm not going to lie; I'm pretty ignorant of my Cleopatra history. I don't feel like it was discussed much where I went to school. Before reading the book, I knew that she was an Egyptian Queen, married Marc Antony, and was known for her beauty based on pop culture references. That's really about it. 

The Memoirs of Cleopatra covers basically her entire life from age five until her death. There are also a few chapters after she dies written in the voice of her trusted physician to tie up the story. The story is told from Cleopatra's point of view as if she were writing a memoir of her life in a letter to her Goddess of choice, Isis. I thought it was interesting, but it was really drawn out and detailed every thought in the character's head. There were many days I could only read about 25 pages because it was just drawn out. I'm currently reading Go Tell the Bees That I'm Gone by Diana Gabaldon to give you an idea. I started it a few days ago, and it's about the same number of pages as Memoirs of Cleopatra. I'm at around 40% done with it in Go Tell the Bees. It took me exactly two months to finish Memoirs of Cleopatra. For the first time ever while reading this, I read three books at once. 

I was really intrigued by the mythology. I have typically read Greek mythology, so it was interesting to see how Egyptians and Romans elevated someone to God/Goddess status or how they thought rulers were deity incarnates. Because I was so ignorant of Cleopatra's life, I feel like I learned quite a bit by reading this book. I'm sure a lot of it was exaggerated to some extent, but based on the author's notes, it doesn't seem like Margaret George took many liberties with the historical facts. I thought the way Margaret George wrote Cleopatra made her (Cleopatra) seem fierce and a constant prisoner of Roman Politics. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. If you are a Historical Fiction fan and don't find the 900+ pages daunting, give it a shot. My biggest knock was how long it was and that it just drug on forever. By the time Cleopatra and Antony finally got married, I was just ready for it to end.

Book Review: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

 

Goodreads Summary: He holds the secret that can end the world.
The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.

The records show that he died in 1418.

But his tomb is empty.

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

Sometimes legends are true.

And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.84 stars with over 155,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Middle Grade

Goodreads Challenge: 42/50 books (Ahh, I'm so close!)

2021 Reading Challenge: #9 Read a book by an author Mike/Michael/Michelle or variant (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! We are fast approaching the end of 2021, which means Tress and I will be launching the 2022 challenge later this month! Stay tuned. I hope you all will join us again. I'm so close to hitting my goal of 50 books for 2021. I don't think I'll get eight more books in this month, but I'm going to try. I'll be pretty happy if I get 45 books. 

I've been reading the Memoirs of Cleopatra since what feels like she walked the Earth, so I decided to try and supplement my reading with a book on Kindle since that one is a physical book. I wanted something light and fun that would be easy to get through. The Alchemyst by Michael Scott definitely fits that requirement.

I really enjoyed the story. I thought it was a lot of fun, and I wanted to keep reading it. I really liked the fantasy aspect, and the world was created. I thought having the gods of various mythologies as an elder race of humans was interesting. I felt that Michael Scott did a great job including all five senses in the story. I feel like smell tends to get forgotten about sometimes, so I really liked that all of the magic had its own unique scent. Having the magic have a color attached with the auras also helped bring in the visual effects. 

The characters were likable. I liked the dynamic between John Dee and Nicholas Flamel and how it pits their motives against one another. The twins were alright. I didn't really have any overwhelming positives or negatives for them. I did appreciate that there wasn't any romance in this book or swooning over crushes. I feel like many YA fantasy tends to focus on some teenage love triangle, and this didn't (Yay).  I liked Scatty and her Grandmother quite a bit. As usual, Sassy Grandma stole the show. 

I think my biggest issue with this book is that it moved really fast in a way that came across as "I've got this thing to tell you, but I'll tell you later." The background story ends up getting told after a bunch of other stuff happens, so I kind of forgot why it was pertinent information. It just didn't really feel like a natural story flow to me. When it came to the actual Alchemy, I thought it was more tell than show. We got told Nicholas was an Alchemyst, but I didn't really feel like it was ever shown, or if it was, it blended in with the other magic in the story. 

Overall, I enjoyed it. I'll probably get around to reading others in the series, but I probably won't make some significant effort to do so. I think it'd be a fun read for younger teenagers who like fantasy. It's listed as a YA, and the twins are 15; however, I feel like it'd be incredibly appropriate for younger like 10 or 11. I'm not a parent, though, so take that recommendation with a grain of salt. 

Book Review: Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

 

Goodreads Summary: In the powerful conclusion to Robin LaFever's New York Times bestselling His Fair Assassins trilogy, Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.
She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn’t mean she has.

Goodreads Ratings: 4.11 stars with over 22,000 reviews

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

Previous Reviews on the Series: Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph (As a warning, both of these reviews are several years old. I don't really go back in and update posts very often.)

Goodreads Challenge: 24/50

2021 Reading Challenge: #42 Read a book with the letter V in the title or Author's name (find the entire challenge here) 

Book Review:

Happy Fourth of July to all of my American readers! Happy Belated Canada Day to my neighbors to the North. I am so delighted it's Friday and that it's a long weekend. I somehow want to be really lazy all weekend, but also really productive. We'll see which one wins out. 

A bit of background story is necessary before I get into the review for Mortal Heart. I initially read the first two books of the trilogy back in 2014 or 2015. At the time, I either read them on Kindle Unlimited or from the library, but I can't remember which. I absolutely loved them and read through them pretty fast, but I wasn't willing to spend $10 on Mortal Heart just yet. I ended up breaking down and buying all three books not that long ago and reread Grave Mercy for #3 for this year's challenge. I was reminded of why I loved the book so much that I declared it my favorite book. I have a tough time declaring things my favorite, so this is a pretty big compliment from me. After that, I went on to read other things. A week or two ago, I was at a dentist appointment and got talking books with the Dental Assistant while waiting on the Doctor to see me. The books she recommended to me were all Assassin-based, so I recommended this series to her. After recommending it, I had it on my brain, so I reread Dark Triumph.

I actually think I liked Dark Triumph more than the first time I read it. I think I was able to appreciate her dark past a lot more this time around. There were also a lot of details I completely missed the first time around. As soon as I finished Dark Triumph, I had to dive into Mortal Heart. It was late, and I got very little sleep that night.  Such is my life.

I wasn't sure I'd like Mortal Heart nearly as much as I did the other two books in the His Fair Assassin series, but I really enjoyed this book by Robin LaFevers. I haven't been feeling very well and haven't been sleeping because of it. So Tuesday night, I ended up being up until 3am reading this book because I felt worse when I tried to sleep, and the book was too good to put down. I took a half-day Wednesday to rest and sleep in (this is all relevant, I swear.) When I woke up in the morning, I had like an hour and a half before I had to sign on to my computer for work (yay working from home!). Yeah, This book is so good that I was reading it before work, which is a thing that never happens. 

I really expected Annith to be unlikable as the main character. She came across as snooty in the previous books, and I felt like she was a showoff. I ended up really liking her. She was really guarded in the first two books, and not a lot was known about her background story. There ends up being a lot of abuse and secrets that she hid from Ismae and Sybella. This results in a lot of plot twists. Some of them were pretty predictable, but there were a couple that ended up being pretty shocking.

I think out of the three primary relationships in the trilogy, Annith's ended up being my favorite. It gave a unique spin on the series that I wasn't expecting. I won't give too many details about her lover, but he has definitely more of the broody bad boy type than the other girls' love interests. In addition to the romance, we also got a peek into other followers of the various Gods of Breton. There was a lot more background into the mythology, which I found really interesting. 

Mortal Heart gave a really fascinating look at Mortain's other followers called the Hellequin. This group of undead is painted as this fearsome delinquents, but one of the main messages of this book is that nothing is as it seems, first impressions can be wrong, and dark doesn't mean bad tropes. 

In addition to all of the mythology, assassins, and romance, there's also some history thrown in for fun! The historical period covered is during Anne of Brittany's reign as Duchess and how she becomes the French Queen Consort. Of course, author liberties were taken, but Robin LaFevers' does a great job after each book explaining where she took these and provides some truth to the history. It's incredibly well researched, from what I can tell, but I'm no expert. I really can't say enough good things about this book or the trilogy. Overall, this was an excellent conclusion to the series. I did learn, there is a duology as well. I think it follows Sybella's story more, but I'm not sure if Ismae and Annith make appearances.

Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

 

Goodreads Summary: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft. When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.

There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from or the mortals she has come to love.

Goodreads Rating: 4.26 stars with over 441,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Fiction, Mythology, Historical Fiction, Retellings, Greek Mythology

Goodreads Challenge: 13/50

2021 Reading Challenge: #38 Read a book with an orange cover (Find the full challenge here)

Book Review: 

I have not slept much since I started this book. So now that I'm done with it, I'm both sad and relieved. I enjoy reading about Greek Mythology but am not by any means fluent in the stories of a lot of the lesser deities. Circe by Madeline Miller takes readers through the long life of minor goddess and witch, Circe, and all of the heroes and Gods she encountered during that time.

I don't know that I've ever read a book from the perspective of a goddess, and Circe wasn't one I was familiar with. I was instantly drawn into the world Madeline Miller retold. I felt sorry for Circe because she was mistreated by the other characters. For the majority of the book, when anyone was nice to her, it was because they thought they could get something out of her. 

I haven't read any of Homer's work, so I don't know how prevalent Circe is in them. However, reading Madeline Miller's take on the myths was interesting, and I liked seeing how connected to more well-known figures she made Circe. I really liked how she started as this meek character trying to disappear to really finding her power while in exile. I do think a lot of her energy was driven by her fear, but it was in a lot of ways understandable. She feared Athena's coming after her son. 

Just for reference, some of the mythology characters encountered or mentioned are (based off of Madeline Miller's website):

• Boreas
• Calypso
• Helios
• Oceanos
• Pasiphae
• Perse
• Prometheus
• Apollo
• Artemis
• Athena
• Hermes
• Zeus
• Daedalus
• Glaugos
• Icarus
• Medea
• Jason
• Odysseus
• Penelope
• Telemachus
• Telegonus

The way that the story was told was really easy to read. Even though it spans at least a century, it flows nicely, and I never felt bored with it. It was definitely one of those books where I was bargaining with myself on how many chapters I could read before I had to go to bed. A lot of nights, I ended up reading well past when I told myself I would stop. This is partly because the chapters are longer, and I'm a person who refuses to stop mid-chapter for the night. Needless to say, I really enjoyed it, and it made me want to read more mythology books (not that it takes much.) It's not a subject I read up on very often, but one I always enjoy when I do. I highly recommend it to anyone who is into mythology. The great thing about Circe by Madeline Miller is how she explains the story readers don't have to have prior knowledge of the deities, heroes, or monsters to read this. It helps keep them all straight, but not necessary. 

Book Review: Hexed by Kevin Hearne

 

Goodreads Summary: Atticus Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.
With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

Goodreads Rating: 4.22 stars with over 56,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Mythology, Supernatural, Witches, Vampires

Goodreads Challenge: 47/60

2020 Reading Challenge: #23 Read a book recommended by your local library's website (Find the full challenge here ). Get ready for the 2021 Challenge (here)

Previous reviews on the series: Hounded

Book Review:

Happy New Year's Eve, readers! I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. I wasn't entirely sure that I was going to finish this book before 2020 ended, but I just made it! I'll do a full review of the books read in 2020 later this weekend. For now, on to talking about Hexed.

So, I kind of cheated for this prompt. My library had recommended Hounded, but I decided it was a series recommendation and picked up Hexed instead since I already read the first book. Truthfully, I just wanted to read it and needed a place for it. Whatever.  As Co-Creator of the challenge,  I do what I want. :)

Hexed picks up a couple of weeks after Hounded ends. Atticus is trying to clean up the mess from his last battle and finds himself facing a new enemy in an unlikely alliance with the local witches. It's effortless to get back into the story, though, for some reason, I had forgotten Atticus's name and, in my head, had been referring to him as "Iron Druid." 

I think what I like most about Hexed is I get Paranormal, Mythology, and Humor. I feel like this series doesn't take itself too seriously. There's always a joke or a snarky comment, even in the most serious action moments. It doesn't ever really feel cheesy, or out of place though, it just feels like Atticus's personality to make light of things. There were many times when I just started cracking up because of some of the dialogue, especially between Atticus and Oberon. 

I think my favorite characters in Hexed were The Widow and Oberon. They're just too pure, and the Widow is just so sassy. She just seems like a fun old lady that would have some great stories. I could not stop laughing at her scene towards the end of the book when Atticus is trying to protect her. It was probably one of the most hilarious book chapters I've read in a while. I really needed the laugh that it provided.

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you've probably realized that when I read, I get really weird and random pop culture references in my head (See any Wheel of Time review for proof where I let it be unchecked in Tress's twitter thread of our conversation.) I can't help it, and this is how my brain operates most of the time. I don't know if I mentioned this in Hounded, but when The Morgaine is described, the only thing I can picture for her is Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove. I don't know why this is the image my brain conjured up, but it's there to stay. Which made a particular scene with Atticus incredibly terrifying.  I would like some kind of brain bleach, please.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about when I say Yzma:

Anyways, back to the review. I really liked the Mythology and history that was in Hexed. I don't remember if, in Hounded, Atticus gave any great detail about specific points in time, but I enjoyed that we got a glimpse of what he was doing in WWII. I think it just gave great context for how old he actually is. I really hope that there are more glimpses into his history in the rest of the series. 

I absolutely adored Hexed, and I can't wait to read more in the series. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes Urban Fantasy and likes to laugh. The books aren't terribly long; I think Hexed was around 300 pages. It's a quick and fun read, and not hard to stay into the story between books. 

Book Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Goodreads Summary: Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.
Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.
Goodreads Rating: 4.12 stars with over 68,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Magic, Mythology
Goodreads Challenge: 13/50
2019 Reading Challenge: #20 a book published by Penguin Random House (find the whole challenge here.)

Book Review:

My friend Tress over at https://songstress7.wordpress.com/ has been recommending me Hounded for ages, and I finally got around to reading it. It seemed like an easy fit for Penguin Random House since they own Del Rey that publishes Hounded.

When I first started reading it, I wasn't sure if I'd like it. I must have liked it a lot more than I thought because before I knew it I was 40% in and annoyed I'd have to put it down to go to bed. It's a relatively short read that moves extremely fast. There's not a lot of dull moments in the story, which I appreciated. Druids aren't a class of supernatural I've read much on, so I was interested to see a take on their magic. I hope that the rest of the series gets more into the magical aspects.

Along with the druid type of magic, there were a lot of Gods introduced that I hadn't read about before. I think that The Morrigan was the most interesting to me of the Deity characters. She doesn't want to be seen as taking sides but clearly does. She is mysterious, turns into a bird, and seems to feed on death. What's not to like?

There was a decent amount of humor and snark in Hounded. It reminded me quite a bit of The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. There was quite a bit of similarity between the two books, and I think fans of The Dresden Files would like The Iron Druid Chronicles if they haven't already read it. There's lots of different supernatural creatures, a snarky main character, and lots of action. Overall, I really enjoyed Hounded. I'm hoping that the next book gets a bit more in-depth into the magic, as that tends to be my favorite parts of fantasy books. 

Book Review of American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Goodreads Summary: Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident.
Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible.

He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same…
Goodreads Rating: 4.10 with over 415,000 ratings
Genre listing: Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Mythology, Fantasy, Supernatural
Get the book: Amazon, Book Depository
Book Challenge: Pop Sugar Challenge, book 9/40 A book about a road trip

Review:

Edited 12/1/2016

American Gods by Neil Gaiman is one of the books I picked up with my Readers Legacy credits. I was pretty excited to dive into it once I got it. At 500 some pages, it took me for what felt like forever to read.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I'm not in love with it, and I found that I had no trouble putting it down for a few days and then picking it back up. However, I could only read a little bit at a time. Part of this was due to time constraints, but a lot of it was because after about 20-30 pages it'd make me sleepy. It's not necessarily dull, but it has a lot of information that takes a lot of effort to process. It's constantly flipping from Shadow's story to random short stories about the Gods.

There wasn't any character that I was absolutely in love with in this book. I found Shadow to be pretty dull and lacked personality. I can't say why, but Laura got on my nerves. Every time she said "puppy" I assumed she was saying it in a god-awful whiny and nasally voice.

I put this as my book about a road trip, because when you get down to it, that's what it is. Shadow and Wednesday travel in whatever car they can find to rally the Gods. I thought this was interesting, and I liked to read about the places they would go and the Gods they would meet. This was probably my favorite part of the book and what kept me reading it.

I felt like the "war" was anti-climatic. I won't go into much detail about it, but the ending didn't wow me. I felt like the relationship between Wednesday and Shadow was predictable. Pretty sure I had it pegged in the first half of the book. I will say, I liked that the book came full circle. Everything had an ending and was nicely packaged for the book to finish.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. The husband will be probably happy I'm finished with it because he seems to want to read it. 

Book Review of In Search of Gods and Heroes by Sammy HK Smith

Goodreads Summary: Buried in the scriptures of Ibea lies a story of rivalry, betrayal, stolen love, and the bitter division of the gods into two factions. This rift forced the lesser deities to pledge their divine loyalty either to the shining Eternal Kingdom or the darkness of the Underworld.When a demon sneaks into the mortal world and murders an innocent girl to get to her sister Chaeli, all pretence of peace between the gods is shattered. For Chaeli is no ordinary mortal, she is a demi-goddess, in hiding for centuries, even from herself. But there are two divine brothers who may have fathered her, and the fate of Ibea rests on the source of her blood.
Chaeli embarks on a journey that tests her heart, her courage, and her humanity. Her only guides are a man who died a thousand years ago in the Dragon Wars, a former assassin for the Underworld, and a changeling who prefers the form of a cat.
The lives of many others – the hideously scarred Anya and her gaoler; the enigmatic and cruel Captain Kerne; the dissolute Prince Dal; and gentle seer Hana – all become entwined. The gods will once more walk the mortal plane spreading love, luck, disease, and despair as they prepare for the final, inevitable battle.
In Search of Gods and Heroes, Book One of Children of Nalowyn, is a true epic of sweeping proportions which becomes progressively darker as the baser side of human nature is explored, the failings and ambitions of the gods is revealed, and lines between sensuality and sadism, love and lust are blurred.
Goodreads Rating: 4.45 Stars with around 30 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction, Mythology
Get the Book: Amazon, Book Depository

Edited 12/1/2016

So, last year author Steven Guscott reach out to me to do a review for his book Book of Prophecy. He's recently reached out to me again to do a review for this book, written by his friend Sammy HK Smith. So thanks, Steven, for keeping me in books to review!

This book took me a ver long time to read, almost two months! Most of that is because I just don't have much time to read. Some of it is because the book is 420 pages and took me a very long time to get into it. It's slow going at first. The hardest part for me in this book is that it switches between so many characters. By my count, it's at least; ten characters view points. For me, that is just way too many characters to read from their point of view. I found some of them to be necessary. Chaeli's, Adley's, Nathans, and a few of the gods were necessary to me. I didn't find Dal's point of view necessary at all, nor did I find Hana's, Kerne's and some of the lesser gods necessary. To me, all it did was muddle the story, and draw it out way longer than it needed to be.

Because of all of these different characters' viewpoints, I could eventually see how they were connected. However, I was expecting some big come together ending that helped with the point of the story, and it ended up just being their individual stories with loose connections to one another. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I felt disappointed. They're all connected in some fashion or another, but there's no real point, as far as I'm concerned, for half of the characters being in the story.

Overall I liked the portion of the book that focused on Chaeli, Adley, and Nathan. I liked the premise of her having to choose between the representative of the Eternal Kingdom and the Underworld. I enjoyed the mythology. It was interesting to see the E.K.'s side of things and the Underworld's side of things. I don't necessarily have strong feelings about Chaeli, but she didn't annoy me as the main character- I just wasn't in love with her. Adley was okay too, but my favorite of the Trio was Nathan. I felt like he offered the most depth, and I enjoyed reading about his inner turmoil about who he is as a person. I could have done without reading about Dal and Kerne. They were probably my least favorite Characters. I found Dal to be incredibly annoying and have no actual place in the story. Kerne was just awful.

As much as I enjoyed the Mythology, I found it hard to keep track of the Gods. Especially Elek and Eli. Their names were too similar for me and for the first half of the book I kept forgetting who was who.

One of my favorite characters in the book was Sheiva. I always find myself loving the witty animal-Esq side kicks in stories. I thought that Anya was an interesting character. I think I felt the most for her in the book because she had to go through so much, and still was incredibly strong. Favorite scene in the book was probably when "Adders" helped Chaeli discover her powers. I found it extremely intimate and just all around lovely. Overall the telling of the story was great- it was imaginative, creative, and the author took a lot of time going into depth of the worlds. I'm a sucker for good detail.

I don't get the random pieces about Blue vs. White. I guess those had to do with Adley and Nathan? But it just felt out of place to me and like it was just filler. Along these lines, the book ended abruptly for me. Maybe this was because of my previous expectations I mentioned, but I don't feel like there was a real ending. Perhaps this is setting it up for a sequel, but it didn't even feel all that transitional to me either. It just ended. I get the ending; I just don't care for it. Again, I expected some big come together moment for all of the characters, but there was none. They all just kind of did their thing in their little stories, and it ended. I feel lost and disappointed.

Overall, it was not a bad read. I'm glad I read it and enjoyed a decent amount of it. It just left a lot to be desired.

Book Review of Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Goodreads Summary: Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.
Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Goodreads Rating: 3.95 stars with over 48,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Adventure, Magic, Death, Mythology, Religion, Assassins

Get the Book: Amazon, Book Depository
My other reviews of Robin LaFever's books: Dark Triumph

Review:

Edited: 12/1/2016

I would like to introduce you to my new favorite book. What? Favorite book? Those are strong words. It's true, though. I am declaring this my favorite book. Please know that is not a light declaration. I've declared one other book my favorite in my lifetime. I've said things as favorites or becoming a favorite, but this is entirely different. Grave Mercy is MY favorite. This book has everything I want in it. It has romance, deceit, drama, historical setting, potions, death, war, action, mythology, oh and assassin nuns as a special bonus.

I was hooked on this book from the very first page. It drew me in and took me in as it's hostage. Ismae is a strong lead character. She's not flighty; she doesn't depend on anyone, and she's brave. She has a rough past, and it makes her have a lot of walls up. As the story progresses, those walls crumble, and we see how fiercely loyal she is. Oh and you know, she's an assassin.

I found Duval to be an interesting character. It's nice to see the male interest have flaws. They aren't outright flaws, but he seems realistic. There wasn't an overwhelming amount of swooning over him. He's mysterious, Ismae highly distrusts him at first, his loyalty is questioned. He goes through situations with and without Ismae. It's not just a teenage swooning crush put in as a placeholder, like so many books do lately.

I thought that the Duchess was wise beyond her years. She seemed like she could be an interesting character all her own.

There was so much detail in this book that my head is swimming. Everything is described so well that I could just picture it. I'm a sucker for more information, and this book has won me over.  There are so much mystery and deceit in this story that it had me on edge. A lot of the plot ended up surprising me, which I found enjoyable. I was so consumed by this book. I found myself scrunched up and biting my nails during the suspenseful moments, laughing out loud at the humorous moments, gasping at things.

Something that made me fall in love with this book is towards the end where the reason for the title just kind of clicks. I love these moments. When it clicked for me in this book I let out an audible "Oh my god!"

The only "issues" I had with the book aren't even issues. From the moment Duval enters the story, it's obvious he's going to be the romantic interest. This never falters or even alludes that it's not going to be him. I would usually like more of a mystery with that, but by the end of the book, it just didn't bother me. It HAD to be him. It just wouldn't have worked if it wasn't. Also, I would have loved to hear more about the training at the convent. I feel that Ismae's three years there would make a fabulous prequel.

As soon as I finished this, I instantly got Dark Triumph (Hell yeah Kindle Unlimited!). I'd be reading it now, if it wasn't 5:16 am and my Kindle didn't need charging. I can not wait to start it. As you might have guessed, this is getting five moons from me. I'd give it more if I had anything higher than five to give. 

Book Review of Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee

Goodreads Summary: In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.69 with over 1600 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Romance, Mythology, Paranormal, Dystopian,

Get the book: Amazon,  Book Depository

Review:

Edited 12/1/2016

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for a review through NetGalley.

It's been a while since I've read a decent dystopian. The genre is becoming more and more popular, which means sifting through a lot of crap to find the gems. All of the ones I've been reading have been similar to me lately. Gates of Thread and Stone was a refreshing change of pace in the world of Dystopian novels.

Kai is a strong female lead who can kick ass. She's street smart and a bit of a true survivor because of how she has to live in the labyrinth. Kai never once came across as weak to me. Throughout the book, she's consistently determined, stubborn, and does what she has to get by. I liked that a lot in her. There's a love interest, and it's mentioned a few times, but it never steals the storyline. It's always just in the background. I liked this, because as I've said before, nothing bothers me more than unnecessary romance scenes.

I thought that the details of the book were fantastic. I could tell that this world was gritty and dirty, and potentially even hell on earth. I thought that the twist of the Infinite was fascinating and different. It combined some of my favorite things to read about, strong characters, magic, mythology, and post-apocalyptic civilization.

Kind of a spoiler: I did not trust Avan at all during this book. It's not that I disliked him, but he seemed fake and like he had ulterior motives to helping Kai. The entire time I was wondering when his true colors showed. I guess they did in a way, just not the way I had expected.

I don't know how I feel about Reev. The whole story was about him, but he wasn't there. When he was around, there wasn't a whole lot of emotion. He was just there.

One thing that did bug me about this is all of the actions seemed like they were too convenient. Obviously, a lot of that was because of the way the end of the story worked out. But it still would have been nice to see some kinks thrown into plans. (Sorry, that's vague. I'm trying to do this without spoilers). It made a lot of events rather predictable.

Overall, I enjoyed it and will probably be on the look out for the next book.

Four out of Five Moons

Book Review of Pocket Full of Posies by Angela Roquet

Goodreads Summary: Not Your Grandma's Afterlife…The promise of peace in Limbo City is threatened once again, but this time, the terrorists have a more specific target in mind: Lana Harvey. The up and coming reaper thought to pass her classes at the Reaper Academy were going to be her biggest challenge, but when a rebel demon sends her apartment up in flames, she realizes that her victories from the previous year haven’t gone so unnoticed after all…

To make matters worse, the Afterlife Council has taken notice of Lana too. The Egyptian god Horus is blackmailing her into joining the Posy Unit so she can do an illegal side job for him, and Cindy Morningstar, Lucifer’s daughter, insists that she take a two-week training course with the devilishly tempting Beelzebub, much to her angelic boyfriend’s chagrin.

Goodreads Rating: 4.35 with 75 ratings

Genre Listing: Paranormal, Demons, Fantasy, Angels, Grim Reapers, Mythology, Romance

Get the Book: Amazon 
My other reviews of Angela Roquet's books: For The Birds, Pocket Full of Posies

Review:

Edited 11/24/2016

I like this series a lot. As soon as I finished with Graveyard Shift, I instantly bought Pocket Full of Posies, and before I started this review, I purchased For the Birds. I may or may not have a book addiction.... Anyways. I will say that I liked Graveyard Shift better, but this one was still good. It didn't have as much humor in it as the first book, but I assume that's because there was so much chaos that it had to be a little bit darker. Lana was still sarcastic, which I love. 

This book was all about Lana bettering herself through school and actually kind of taking control of her life. She gets a lot of things thrown her way that FORCES her to have some ambition if nothing else for her safety. I'm excited to see where these advancements and significant changes in her life take her. 

So this is a spoiler, but I have to talk about it. The angelic boyfriend gets SUPER controlling and intervening. It's obvious that he does it to protect her, but it gets to the point where she almost can't even make a decision for herself. I've been complaining a lot about controlling boyfriends in books. So let me tell you how happy I am to read that she kicked him to the damn curb because of it. I swear if I read one more book where the main character falls more IN LUV with their boyfriend the more he controls them, I'm going to scream. I think that's kind of why I like Lana so much. She does whatever the hell she pleases, and not afraid to stand up for herself. Go Lana! 

So here are some great quotes (I'm getting obsessed with highlights) from the book. 

This book has the quotes at the beginning of the chapter just like the first. This is one I liked. It's from George Eliot, but I don't remember what chapter. The mark says page 54. "It's never too late to be what you might have been." 

"I was beginning to wonder if there was a vaccine for annoyance." This was early on in the book when Lana is getting annoyed with her friends. If this vaccine exists, sign me up.

"But that wasn't what grated my cheese." This made me chuckle because I say that something grates my cheese when I get annoyed. 

"It was time to stop worrying so much and start enjoying some of the crazy life was throwing my way." This is at the end of the book, and I just like it because it reminds me that I need to do this from time to time. 

So overall, I enjoyed the second installment. I'm not prepared to give it five moons, but it's a definite four-mooner. 

Four out of Five Moons