Category: Romance
Mine to Spell by Janeal Falor
(Cover picture courtesy of Janeal Falor via email.)
Cynthia has always hidden from her father’s hexes behind her older sister. When her family gains independence unheard of for women, she’s relieved that her days of harsh punishments are over. But as her seventeenth birthday approaches—the typical age to be sold to a new master—death threats endanger her sisters. She now faces two options: run or meet society’s expectations.
For once, Cynthia isn’t going to let her older sister shield her from the problem. She’s going to prove to herself, her sisters, and society that her family isn’t a threat to their traditions. She willingly chooses to be purchased by a new master. A bold step that takes her somewhere she never thought she would go and to a man she might possibly fall in love with. With his help, she may just find a way to save her sisters while discovering how to stand up for herself. If she lives long enough.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
I very much liked Serena from the first installment of this series but now after reading Mine to Spell I’m rather favouring Cynthia.
Cynthia is a fascinating character. Now that her older sister is the head of the family with the same status as a warlock she knows she doesn’t have to be sold on her seventeenth birthday. But if she doesn’t meet society’s expectations and enter the marriage pool there are some very serious death threats against her family that could become reality. So she chooses to enter the marriage pool and reveals that she isn’t the shrinking violet that always hides behind her older sister anymore. In fact, she’s ready to show all of Chardonia what women are really capable of.
I loved seeing a bit of an expanded world in this second book. We see the aftereffects of Zade freeing Serena and giving her status equal to any man. We certainly see the effects of the attempts on Zade’s life in the previous book and how they’re not going away any time soon. All those things add tension to the plot but it’s really Cynthia and her actions that drive the story forward. She really is an incredible character that will surprise you at every turn.
The plot is much more fast-paced than it was in You Are Mine. This is in part because we have a very different narrator but also because Janeal Falor’s writing has improved. It was already good but now it’s even better and I think we can expect some great things from her in the future. There are plot twists around every corner and while the ending isn’t totally unexpected it really is satisfying.
Usually the second book in a series is weaker than the first, but that was certainly not the case with this one!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Sworn to Defiance by Terah Edun
(Cover picture courtesy of Terah Edun via email.)
Ciardis Weathervane returned to the imperial court of Sandrin to unite her foes. But her efforts hit a stumbling block. The imperial kind. She never thought that before rallying an empire, she’d have to fight the emperor himself.
An imposter sits the throne and the court she turned to for help is in turmoil. Ciardis hasn’t survived assassination attempts, torture and really bad luck to be taken down by her own ruler. So she devises a plan. But first she needs to get Sebastian and Thanar to agree. Each seems to love her in their own way. But neither is listening to her. Pushing them to put aside their differences, in an effort to ward off catastrophe, might be harder than displacing an emperor who would do anything to keep his throne.
Butting heads at court isn’t Ciardis’s only problem. With the princess heir’s threat looming she is forced to travel to the mythical city of Kifar, where it is up to her small group to stop the destruction of the entire city while heading a rebellion that could foment a revolution. It wouldn’t be the first revolution that Algardis has ever known. But with Ciardis Weathervane at its head—it would certainly be the last.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
When I realized that this wasn’t the last book in the Courtlight series as I had believed it to be, I’ll admit I got a little nervous. After all, where could the story possibly go from here? It seemed like Terah Edun was wrapping things up already in Sworn to Secrecy, the fourth book. And when there were several pages of backstory right at the beginning I was even more skeptical about this fifth book.
As usual with Terah Edun, my skepticism and anxiousness was for nothing. After the initial info dump things quickly picked up and just wouldn’t let go. I had intended to only read a few chapters before bed but once I got past the exposition (which was important) I couldn’t stop and ended up finishing the book at one in the morning. Yes, the plot was that fast-paced and there were that many awesome twists. But first I’ll start with the thing that surprised me most: the characters.
Once again the characters surprised me. Ciardis is finally demanding respect from others and not caring what they think of her (unless they’re trying to kill her). She’s started to master the commanding air of her mother and is becoming knowledgeable about the intrigues of the Algardis court. And finally, finally she’s made up her mind about where she stands with Sebastien. I won’t tell you which way she decided, but let’s just say that I was both surprised and pleased with her stance until the little complication with Thanar was thrown in. Sebastien too has grown up, even though he’s only sixteen years old. He’s finally starting to take responsibility as the prince heir and is even more determined to save Algardis from the blutgott that’s threatening to destroy their entire world. He’ll do whatever it takes, even journey to a city that’s been sealed off from the rest of the world for 50 years.
Once again Terah Edun took the time to expand on her world-building just a little bit more. We finally learn more about the special connection Ciardis and Sebastien have as well as the rather unfortunate consequences of the Thanar complication coming into play. This is quite literally the most heart-wrenching, complicated and realistic love triangle you are ever going to see. I swear it’s not the typical love triangle, mainly because Ciardis is a woman that finally knows her mind but even she can’t control people like Thanar. I also liked how we finally learn that there may be a way to stop the blutgott but that it’s way more complicated and dangerous than you’d expect.
Basically, I got everything I could have wanted out of this fifth installment in the Courtlight series: romance, character development, a complicated plot and an expanded world. You really can’t ask for more in a series and after that insane cliffhanger I’m so anxious for Sworn to Ascension, book 6.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Amazon Barnes and Noble Goodreads
Evermore by Alyson Noël
(Cover picture courtesy of Alyson Noël’s website.)
After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people’s auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone’s entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact to suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school — but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.
Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He’s the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head – wielding a magic so intense, it’s as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she’s left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is – or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she’s falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.
For a couple of years now I’ve seen Evermore floating across the blogosphere but dismissed it because the blurb sounded so ridiculously cliché. I mean, a near death experience, a girl with a weird name, a mysterious wealthy boy and soul mates? I don’t think you can possibly fit more clichés into one blurb if you tried. Still, I saw it in the used section of my bookstore when it was having its closing sale so I decided to pick it up anyway. For $2 it wasn’t much of a gamble I’ll admit.
Imagine my surprise when it was better than I expected! I actually sort of enjoyed reading it and wanted to know what happened next. The plot was pretty cliché but I was actually invested in the characters who were somewhat genre-savvy. Ever knows that it’s kind of crazy to be attracted to a guy she just met and that there’s obviously something off about him but she just can’t deny that attraction. She’s not totally naive and eventually she realizes she’s making excuses for why Damen is so different from other teenagers. Sure, she’s stupid sometimes but I like how she’s not your typical YA heroine simply because she does question things.
And yes, Ever does have psychic powers but Alyson Noël made them a burden more than a gift. Her senses are constantly overloaded and she tries her best to avoid touching people because when she does she’s tortured by their thoughts. Her psychic abilities are actually more of a disability in that they really do weigh her down and make her unable to function sometimes (and not just when it’s convenient to the plot). I can completely understand Ever’s little pity party toward the end of the novel; I’d probably end up doing the same thing if I had her curse.
Some of the plot twists were fairly transparent while others were unexpected. Alyson Noël hasn’t really done much new but at least she took the time to put some twists on old tropes. We don’t really get to see much of the abilities of immortals in this novel but we do see some and they were enough to make me want to read the second book in the series. Is this the most original novel ever? Heck no. But it’s not a bad novel and I actually didn’t mind indulging in a little guilty pleasure this time around. Basically, if you’re going to read it keep in mind that this will likely be guilty pleasure rather than high literature and that’s perfectly okay.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Recruit by Fiona Palmer
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
From one of Australia’s Queens of Romance comes the debut in a brand new YA series about secrets, strengths, and what lies beneath the surface.
Jasmine Thomas may not be completely normal, but she’s a pretty typical seventeen-year-old girl. She hates the rich mean kids, loves her best friends, and can’t wait to get out of school each day. Her spare time is spent at The Ring — a boxing gym where she practically grew up — learning karate, boxing and street fighting. So, yeah, Jaz can kick some major butt.
Life seems pretty normal until the day Ryan Fletcher enters her gym…mysterious and hot with heaps of bad boy charm. Sure, she checks him out. Who wouldn’t? But what doesn’t show on his gorgeous abs are secrets and lies that dominate his very grown-up world. Now Jaz has to figure out just how far she is willing to go to know more. Could Ryan really be offering the life-fulfilling life path she’s always dreamed of?
[Full disclosure: I was approached by the publisher and accepted a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I have to be honest here when I say that contemporary YA romance is generally not my thing. It never really has been and likely never will, but with books like The Recruit I’m always willing to try. So that’s why I accepted the invitation to read and review Fiona Palmer’s newest release.
I was both pleasantly surprised and slightly disappointed by The Recruit. On one hand, I was surprised that the romance element was actually somewhat realistic and that the heroine was well fleshed-out. On the other hand, it was disappointing that I could predict almost every supposed plot twist throughout the whole novel. First I’ll talk about the characters.
Jaz isn’t your typical teenage girl. She likes to kick butt and is actually very good at it. Normally this would be a Mary Sue alert, but who wouldn’t be good when they’ve spent their whole childhood learning how to fight? It’s a realistic progression in that way and it makes Jaz a very interesting character. She grows throughout the book, both in her love of Ryan and in her personal life. Jaz isn’t sure about life after school but I like how she takes her time to come to her own decision and doesn’t feel pressured to do one thing or the other. Ryan, the secret agent, is an okay character. He’s pretty much your typical tortured secret agent but he does have some other qualities that make him a three dimensional character.
The main disappointment for me was the lack of surprises in the plot. Pretty much everything was hinted at so obviously that you could see the next plot twist coming a mile away. Another thing I didn’t like was that the plot follows such a typical character arc for this type of novel. There was nothing new or innovative about the whole thing; most tropes were simply played straight. The characters are typical of such a novel as well but they were three dimensional so I didn’t mind that aspect. No, what disappointed me was the predictability of the plot.
Basically, this was an okay book for me. I would recommend it to some of my friends, but I certainly can’t offer a blanket recommendation for everyone. Basically, if you like contemporary YA that’s heavy on the romance you’ll probably like The Recruit. It just wasn’t the best book for me.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Third Daughter by Susan Kaye Quinn
(Cover picture courtesy of The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment.)
The Third Daughter of the Queen wants her birthday to arrive so she’ll be free to marry for love, but rumors of a new flying weapon may force her to accept a barbarian prince’s proposal for a peace-brokering marriage. Desperate to marry the charming courtesan she loves, Aniri agrees to the prince’s proposal as a subterfuge in order to spy on him, find the weapon, and hopefully avoid both war and an arranged marriage to a man she does not love.
Third Daughter is the first book in the The Dharian Affairs Trilogy (Third Daughter, Second Daughter, First Daughter). This steampunk-goes-to-Bollywood (Bollypunk!) romance that takes place in an east-Indian-flavored alternate world filled with skyships, saber duels, and lots of royal intrigue. And, of course, kissing.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I almost didn’t pick Third Daughter to request because the cover gave me the impression it would be a stereotypical Bollywood sort of novel with no real substance. Still, the blurb was good enough that I decided to ignore the cover and give it a chance. And honestly, thank goodness I did!
I’ll be honest with you guys in that I really haven’t read much steampunk. It was only really last year that I actually picked up my first steampunk novel. Still, I absolutely loved the world-building in Third Daughter. It’s set in an Eastern-flavoured world on the verge of an industrial revolution. Many courts like the ones in Dharia favour the old-fashioned styles of dress with corsets and starched skirts, but at the same time there are things similar to handheld computers for long-distance communication and airships. It’s a time of upheaval as new weapons are being created and the kingdoms engage in subtle power plays for supremacy. Really, Susan Kaye Quinn couldn’t have chosen a better time as a setting for her fantasy world.
The characters are wonderful. I absolutely loved Aniri. She’s sort of your typical rebellious princess in the beginning but when she agrees to go on a mission for her mother you really get the feeling that she also cares about her country. Aniri isn’t selfish, even if helping her country means leaving behind the courtesan she loves and pretending to be engaged to a ‘barbarian’ prince. She and Ash (the aforementioned prince) develop slowly over the novel and their feelings for each other become more and more complicated as emotion gets in the way of duty. There’s a lot of romantic tension in this novel but it’s not a romance novel per se.
The plot was truly wonderful. I loved the twists and turns that kept me guessing right up until the end. I sort of knew who was behind the big airship plot but it turns out I was only half right. That’s the thing about Third Daughter: it keeps you guessing and just when you think you’ve figured everything out, Susan Kaye Quinn throws you for a loop.
Even if you’re not the biggest steampunk fan out there, I’d definitely recommend Third Daughter. It has great characters, is set in a well built fantasy world and the plot is fast-paced and unpredictable. You can’t ask for more.
I give this book 5/5 stars.