Genre: Fantasy

Series Review: Crowns of Nyaxia

Posted August 7, 2023 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

(These titles are too long to include in the blog post title.) I surprised everyone on Threads when I put vampires last on my “fantasy creatures” ranking. Honestly it’s because I’ve basically only read TWILIGHT? I can’t think of many other vampire books I’ve actually read lol. Regardless, the hype was getting to me with this series! I read the first book on a whim a few days after I checked it out from the library, also on a whim. I wasn’t expecting to see it on the shelf! I thought it would be something I’d read on Kindle Unlimited when I did my annual “one month of KU” subscription to read a few things before cancelling. Once Jamie posted about loving it and reading it in 24 hours, I decided to just go for it. Yes, it delayed me finishing the ToG series yet again but it was worth it. I ended up also subscribing to KU so I could read it on the go, and then I figured I’d start the second book while I had the subscription. I was advised to actually read the novella (#1.5) in between the books so I went for that first, and then launched into the official second book. I’m sorry in advance for how this review is mostly built around a comparison to FOURTH WING, but hear me out. I basically heard about these books at the same time. Both were popular romantasy series getting SO much hype out of nowhere. […]

ARC Review: Something Close to Magic

Posted June 12, 2023 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I’m a huge Emma Mills fan. Every New Years Day for a few years in a row, I would hang out and read her next release that day, basically in one sitting, to start the New Year off on the right foot. I think I still have one contemporary romance from her backlist to read but I was really excited to see her foray into fantasy… especially one that sounded on the cozier side! I’ll admit that it took me a while to get into this. I think the problem was mostly having to read on my iPad because of the file type but I also just wasn’t hooked like I thought I would be. Her writing style is really different here and fantasy-oriented. I never would have guessed it was her writing without knowing. It just took a little getting used to! There are some elements of her signature clever dialogue between the characters though, so that helped! The story centers around Auralie, a baker’s apprentice in a small village, who suddenly finds herself hanging out with trolls and princes and bounty hunters. They go on a little quest at the beginning and then there’s an interlude of letter-writing (cute!) before some fun drama and action at the end. I’d definitely say this qualifies as a cozy fantasy because it’s breezy and fun to read while not having high-stakes action and worldbuilding. The second half of this book honestly REALLY took off for me. The trouble I had trying […]

Review Roundup | What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, Fourth Wing, and The Last Word

Posted June 1, 2023 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments

This book was lowkey one of my most anticipated for the year. It just seemed like such an intriguing premise! Ruth Ramirez went missing after track practice when she was a kid and her family hasn’t been the same since. When one of her sisters sees “Ruthy” on a reality TV show, they are convinced that it’s really her. The synopsis reveals a bit more information that doesn’t even happen until the end of the book, so I’ll cut it off there. The story alternates between the three remaining members of the Ramirez family (with a few chapters from Ruthy’s POV sprinkled in): Jessica, Nina, and Dolores (their mom). It’s really a portrait of a grieving family and a story about where their lives went in the years since Ruthy went missing. The father of the family died soonafter and the rest had to carry on. It’s more “slice of life” despite the premise sounding a bit more meaty. I appreciated how real and raw it felt but it lacked a bit of depth. It kind of showed them going about their daily lives without going down one more level. The family’s Puerto Rican heritage was front and center throughout the story, which I definitely enjoyed reading about. The synopsis includes that it’s a “vivid family portrait, in all its shattered reality, exploring the familial bonds between women and cycles of generational violence, colonialism, race, and silence, replete with snark, resentment, tenderness, and, of course, love.” – All of these […]

Rereading & Finishing the Throne of Glass Series

Posted May 19, 2023 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

I read and really enjoyed the first five books (this includes the prequel bind-up) in the Throne of Glass series back in the day and never got around to finishing it. Obviously it’s having a resurgence thanks to booktok and all the girlies reading SJM books, so I’ve been really tempted to get back into it. I asked my Instagram followers if I should just read a recap of the books through Queen of Shadows and then dive into the final three books OR reread the series to bang it out, and most people voted for the reread. I have to say, I’m REALLY glad I went that route! My bookish memory has always been absolute garbage and rereading it has been like reading it for the first time. I barely remember ANYTHING that happened. Like…nothing haha. I haven’t read many fantasy books over the last few years simply because they’re usually a time commitment for me – I read them very slowly. A lot of them are loooong too, especially books by SJM. I just haven’t had the ability to do it when my reading has been so bad since 2020. I’m really in a good reading rhythm now and am feeling like my old self, so it’s time to enter my fantasy era again. This has been a great way to do it! Rather than reviewing them all again after rereading, I’m including my Goodreads review screenshots with some updates and links to my original reviews here for the first few […]

Review Roundup | The Escape Room and Legends & Lattes

Posted May 11, 2023 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 2 Comments

I’ve been working my way through Goldin’s books and she’s quickly become one of my favorite mystery/thriller authors. An absolute auto-read for me. (I’ve got one more backlist title to go now!) THE ESCAPE ROOM was on my radar but I never got around to it because I’ve always thought I don’t like locked room mysteries. I’m definitely curious to keep testing that theory because I think it’s wrong haha – I enjoy ones like this! It’s so intriguing to have two timelines or POVs and see what’s happening separate from the “locked room” (in this case, an elevator). This story centers around a few shitty financial/banking people who get trapped in an “escape room” elevator together. The other POV is Sara, a girl who busted her ass in the company’s graduate program and how she started rising up the ranks. Once the story gets going, there are some good twists and turns – I always found myself eager to check out what was happening in the other POV, which kept me turning the pages. I did finish this book in one day (great audiobook, btw!) but I don’t think I would classify it to other people as unputdownable. I just had the right kind of day to sit down and read or listen to the audiobook while multi-tasking all day. I do think it’s quite predictable overall – I wasn’t shocked by the ending and there was a lot of explanation and backstory when it got toward the end. […]

Review Roundup | Ninth House, Shady Hollow, and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Posted February 16, 2023 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 2 Comments

Oh man, that was a ride. I put off reading this one for a long time because I was honestly just nervous. The story definitely intimidated me, and I was right to be a little nervous! It took me a very long time to settle into this and really understand what was going on. (Even though I plan to read HELL BENT soon, I’ll be watching or reading some kind of summary of this one…) Leigh Bardugo is really masterful at writing though – she’s the main reason I picked this up. I do fantasy/paranormal and mysteries but usually not ones quite like this. It’s pretty dark but Bardugo manages to inject humor in certain scenes and keep intrigue up even when I was confused. Truthfully, I almost DNFed this after the first 100 or so pages but I decided to press on. Luckily, the literal next chapter I listened to helped pull things together and keep me interested. The other reason I wanted to read this is that it’s set at Yale in Connecticut. New Haven is really its own character, and it was fun to line up the locations/setting with my experience going there and walking around Yale. I forgot that Bardugo went there, so it was nice to see her accurate depictions of the area. I really liked Alex as a character, as well as Darlington and Dawes. Even her roommates, who weren’t in this too much, were enjoyable to read about. The timeline went back and […]

Review Roundup | Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, Tomorrow x3, and Lost in the Moment and Found

Posted February 2, 2023 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 2 Comments

This series has become truly one of my all-time favorites. It reminds me a lot of the time I read EVELYN HUGO and needed like a million more books just like it, but couldn’t find them. I wrote a whole post about it haha. There’s just some magical quality in Cosimano’s writing and these characters that gets me every time. I’ll be honest, I was nervous about this one a little bit. I’m not a big police gal and wasn’t jazzed up about reading about a ton of cops and a citizens police training program. I definitely didn’t love that aspect overall but it was kind of fun creating that “summer camp” or “college dorm” vibe where everyone is in one place during the story. This story did a good job of wrapping up some loose ends from the first two books while opening the door for future installments. Parts of the initial mystery seemed to be solved enough for the reader to finally get a bit of closure (and not drag the same questions out into book four), but there are lingering threads to keep it moving. Finlay and Vero were just as funny and interesting to read about as they always are. This is the kind of series I’d keep reading forever and ever, with the main characters solving whatever mystery comes up next. This is technically my least favorite book of the three but a four-star book I didn’t want to stop listening to? Can’t go wrong. Man, […]

Review Round Up | The Villa, The Stolen Heir, and Lunar Love

Posted January 23, 2023 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 2 Comments

I’ve been following Rachel Hawkins for years – from her YA work to today’s adult mystery/suspense fiction – and she remains a lowkey favorite of mine. This book sealed the deal for me and she is still cemented as an auto-buy author. Some early reviews are a bit mixed but I actually liked both timelines: one takes place in the 70s during the original murder and the other is present day with two best friends staying at the villa. The book was very tense throughout, where you know something bad is going to happen in at least one timeline but probably both. I really loved the ending: it totally surprised me. It’s not really a true mystery or thriller but more of a suspense novel, which is definitely still a fun ride. I couldn’t put it down and was always so curious to see what would happen next. The mashup of comps at the bottom of the synopsis (“Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein”) all feel accurate based on m limited knowledge of those three. I would say my own personal comparison is like a much darker version of Daisy Jones and the Six haha. I love Holly Black and her writing so much. There’s truly nothing better than falling back into a familiar world, especially when you thought your time with it was over! THE STOLEN HEIR kicks […]

ARC Review: The Change

Posted June 3, 2022 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

It isn’t very often that I request a book on Netgalley that I don’t really know anything about. I sometimes will see a contemporary romance with a cute cover being published by a favorite imprint and just request it, but that’s the extent of it. Requesting a mystery-fantasy-combo is definitely not something I usually do on a whim. Needless to say, I went into this with almost no expectations but hoped it would be a fun ride. THE CHANGE involves a few middle-aged women as they start to age and gain witchy powers. Jo has superhuman strength and some kind of fire energy that can melt things. Harriett has power over plants and nature. Nessa can see ghosts of the dead when they haven’t been laid to rest and/or have unfinished business. The story starts with these three women coming together, finding a dead body that a ghost led Nessa to, and helping figure out what happened to her. They each use their powers and strengths to solve the mystery, find other girls who have been murdered, and avenge them. The book is set in Mattuak, a fictional town on Long Island that I have to imagine is a play on Montauk in the Hamptons. The story also feels a littttle bit like a riff on the Long Island Serial Killer murder, where girls were kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered on Long Island and left on the beach. The cases are still open today and a lot of that has to […]

Review Round Up | A Vow So Bold and Deadly and All the Tides of Fate

Posted July 23, 2021 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 2 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 books I’ve read or listened to recently. Sometimes they’re newer releases and sometimes they’re all backlist titles. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! I enjoyed the first two books in this series but my mind was a blank when starting this final book in the trilogy. Even worse? All of my book recap websites didn’t have a summary for book two! I was able to piece everything together pretty well from spoilery reviews at least. Usually I get very sidetracked and unmotivated to read fantasy books, especially this year. I’m so behind on my challenge that I’ve been focusing on quick contemporary books or mysteries. However, VOW really kept my attention. I was always interested in reading it and didn’t feel like putting it down every two seconds to check my phone. Reviews for third or final books can be challenging because I don’t want to give everything away from the first two, but I’m going to hope most people reading this review read the first two books. I won’t say anything major though. The character in the last book who was very terrible is on the path to redemption, in a way, in this book. I didn’t remember the gory details from book two but remember thinking “since when is he like this?!” All in all, a very interesting character arc there. I liked getting all four character’s POVs […]