Dawn of Mist by Helen Scheuerer Review

Title: Dawn of Mist
Author: Helen Scheuerer
Publisher Info / Release: Talem Press | April 16, 2020
Source: ARC from Helen Scheuerer
Rating: 5 / 5 *’s
Synopsis:
Discover where The Oremere Chronicles journey began in this epic bind-up of all 16 prequel short stories from bestselling author, Helen Scheuerer.

Before their fight to save the realm from mad tyrants and toxic mist, Bleak, Henri and Swinton led separate lives.

Delve into the secrets, the triumphs and tragedies of their earlier years, and the defining moments that made these much-loved characters who they are.

Teenage Bleak sails across the seas, seeking adventure with her best friend, Bren, and guardian, Senior – only to discover that trouble often finds her first.

Fiercely loyal Henri and her sister, Sahara, train relentlessly to become elite warriors, but soon learn that the Valian Way can be crueller than they ever thought.

A young and ambitious Commander Swinton struggles to prove himself worthy of knighthood, but an encounter with a beautiful stranger shows him that there are things in life more important than titles.

Thank you to Helen for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Giveaway Promo!

GIVEAWAY! Win a SIGNED Copy of this Hot, New Book

Who doesn’t love winning an author-signed copy of a hot, new book?

In May this year, the riveting science fiction/dystopian suspense about a future society’s frightening overdependence on technology, The Apollo Illusion, hit the market. A gripping story of opposing futures, it’s been racking up four-and-five-star reviews from readers and book bloggers. Now, author Shari Lopatin is giving away two SIGNED copies of The Apollo Illusion to two lucky winners!

Enter the Giveaway!

To enter the giveaway, sign up for Shari’s email list, “The Readers Club” before Sept. 30, 2018. Then, on Oct. 3, Shari will randomly select two lucky winners from the list of giveaway participants. You could be one of them!

1. Sign up for Shari’s “Readers Club” at this link: https://mailchi.mp/128965a01501/apollo-illusion-giveaway-entry.

2. That’s it!

But hurry and enter now, before you forget! And you might even get a sneak peek at the opening chapters (wink, wink). 😊

War Storm Review

Title: War Storm
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher Info / Release: Harper Collins / May 15, 2018
Source: Personal Purchase from Target
Rating: 3.5 / 5 *’s
Synopsis:

VICTORY COMES AT A PRICE.

Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all . . . starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolish everything—and everyone—in his path.

War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

In the epic conclusion to Victoria Aveyard’s stunning series, Mare must embrace her fate and summon all her power . . . for all will be tested, but not all will survive.

If you have not read this series, there may be spoilers! Tread carefully 🙂

Wonder Woman: Warbringer Review

Title: Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher Info / Release: Penguin Random House / August 29, 2017
Source: ARC from Penguin Random House
Rating: 4 / 5 *’s
Synopsis: 

She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. . . .
Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.

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

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

I was given this ARC for free for an honest review of the book. 

Review Tour: Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer

Hi everyone! I’m partnering with Glasstown Entertainment to do a review for Spindle Fire for the upcoming release of the last book in the duology, Winter Glass (coming April 10, 2018!).

The Traitor’s Kiss Review

Title: The Traitor’s Kiss
Author: Erin Beaty
Publisher Info / Release: Imprint / May 9, 2017
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3.75 / 5 *’s
Synopsis: 
An obstinate girl who will not be married.
A soldier desperate to prove himself.
A kingdom on the brink of war.

With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a lady―which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls―and on the soldiers escorting them.

As the girls’ military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust―and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom.

I received this book from NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review. May contain some slight spoilers.  To me, this was a Poison Study meets Kiss of Deception. So if you liked either of those books, you’d most likely enjoy this one as well!

Tag: RIP It or SHIP It

My close friend Rachel and I were talking about a YouTube we both recently saw by PeruseProject and it was the “RIP it or SHIP it” tag.  I really enjoyed watching what pairings she ended up with and I wanted to do my own. There was one during her video that I particularly LOVED the idea of so I’ll put that particular “ship” as a bonus after my own drawings.

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Here’s how you can play this game:

1. Write down characters from books on slips of paper
2. Put them in a jar/bowl/hat/mug and pick 2
3. Decide if you ship it or R.I.P. it (R.I.P. it means you don’t ship them, but not necessarily that you want them dead)

For mine, I picked a couple of books that I could get some “good” and “bad” characters to see what kind of ships I could come up with. The books I used are: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Six of Crows, Game of Thrones, Stalking Jack the Ripper, The Remnant Chronicles, Roar and The Infernal Devices. Now, click below to read the fun! (Also, some of the names are smaller than I anticipated but I felt like it was too late to redo everything. Hopefully it doesn’t look too bad on your devices!)

Roar Full Review

Title: Roar
Author: Cora Cormack
Publisher Info / Release: TorTeen / June 13, 2017
Source: ARC that was passed on to me.
Rating: 5 / 5 *’s
Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack’s young adult debut: Roar.

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.
She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

**Post may contain some slight spoilers referring to characters, so read at your own discretion 🙂 **

Hunting Prince Dracula Review

Title: Hunting Prince Dracula
Author: Kerri Maniscalsco
Publisher Info / Release: Jimmy Patterson Books, Little Brown / September 19, 2017
Source: ARC that was passed on to me.
Rating: 5 / 5 *’s
Synopsis: In this hotly anticipated sequel to the haunting #1 bestseller Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer…or has the depraved prince been brought back to life? 
Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper’s true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe’s best schools of forensic medicine…and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.
But her life’s dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school’s forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

**Post may contain some slight spoilers from SJTR, so read at your own discretion 🙂 **

A Court of Wings and Ruin Review

Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher Info / Release: Bloomsbury Publishing / May 2, 2017
Source: Amazon Kindle / Target Special Edition
Rating: 4.25 / 5 *’s
Synopsis: Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

**Post contains spoilers, so read at your own discretion **