TL;DR Review: Standalone, but the 4th book in a series. "Magical dud" and insta-love tropes, but the MC basically deus ex machinas her way out of...evTL;DR Review: Standalone, but the 4th book in a series. "Magical dud" and insta-love tropes, but the MC basically deus ex machinas her way out of...everything? Writing is good but worldbuilding is minimal to nonexistent, maybe because its the 4th book. Going to read the 1st one and see if things are explained/solidified. ...more
Well that’s some shit, the KU version has such a long “excerpt” from the 3rd book that when you’re at the literal end of this one it says you’re only Well that’s some shit, the KU version has such a long “excerpt” from the 3rd book that when you’re at the literal end of this one it says you’re only 63% done! ...more
Finished both parts of the dramatized adaptation, but I only want it to count as one book on my challenge so I'm not adding the second part. Finished Finished both parts of the dramatized adaptation, but I only want it to count as one book on my challenge so I'm not adding the second part. Finished part 2 on 27 June 2023.
A Bad Breed is a hugely atmospheric read, dropping you into a gothic Victorian world from the ~*Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!*~
A Bad Breed is a hugely atmospheric read, dropping you into a gothic Victorian world from the first page. I really wished it was longer, to delve more into the background of Anne and Vivienne – but I guess that’s what the other books are for! This is the first book I’ve read by Kat Ross, so I took the description at its word, that A Bad Breed could be read as a standalone despite being the third novel in the series. It worked out just fine, and I’ve already downloaded The Daemoniac to read soon as well. 😉
Favorite Things
- Vivienne and her fake marriage. It was fun and lighthearted, if sad that it was necessary for both the parties involved. Accurate to the time though, I think. - The way the paranormal was brought into the story. I wanted more details, but I think (hope) that all that is delved into more in the other books of the series. - Anne using her small stature and feminine wiles to get what she wants – hurrah for our girl not being afraid to use what nature gave her! - The dark, sinister atmosphere. This was done so, so well and just sucked me in completely!
Less Favorite Things
- To be honest, the romance between Anne and the “beast.” It felt kind of contrived, and due to the whole captivity thing, I found it hard not to be a little uncomfortable. He never outright abuses her (is quite the gentleman, outside of the whole OH HEY YOU CAN’T LEAVE thing), and she is clearly a woman experienced and in full control of her own desires…just, Stockholm syndrome? I did THOROUGHLY approve of the way it ended, and I’m glad to see that the fourth book will continue Anne’s story!
4/5 stars overall, and I’ll definitely be reading more by Kat Ross!
“Have you forgotten what I am? I am the heart’s first beat and its last. I am the newborn lamb and the wolf that rips out its throat. I am the bloodsong, crone.”
Stepsister is the story of what happens to Cinderella’s family after she marries her prince and leaves them for the palace life. I was SO excited for this book, and I loved the cover, and the premise! So, while I enjoyed it and finished it pretty quickly, this was unfortunately one of those books where I really felt like I read a different book than what other reviewers read. I saw several reviews that said it was incredibly dark, and gritty, and feminist…and while it definitely tries to be all of those things, it doesn’t quite pull it off. I think one of the main issues I have is that the book is simply too short to successfully BE what it was aiming for. I was quite surprised when it arrived, as it seemed like a very slim volume for the tale I was expecting – it comes in at 352 pages, in a book shorter than your usual hardcover. It feels rushed, and as a result I wasn’t able to fully believe in the characters or their feelings.
HOWEVER. I was still extremely curious all the way through, as it isn’t ever exactly clear how Isabelle and Octavia (the other stepsister) will reclaim themselves and their circumstances. I expected a lot more darkness, but to be honest the most horrifying thing happens in the first chapter (and isn’t a surprise) when both sisters mutilate their feet in an attempt to wear the glass slipper. [image] *insert Jeopardy theme song*
I kept waiting for something else bloody and awful to happen but it really…didn’t. And yes, I know, what kind of a person does this make me…I’m trying not to think too hard on that. 😛 I also loved the idea of the wolf within, slumbering under the heart of a girl who had been told to be quiet and still and stay in her place.
More Things I Liked
Both sisters have very unconventional interests (Octavia is a mathemetician, and Isabelle is a tactician) that have been smothered by their mother and society in general. I loved how they grew and blossomed and came into themselves as the story progressed. There are some real zingers in here,too…
“The feeling that you want to own someone body and soul, spirit them away from everyone else, have them all to yourself forever and ever and ever,” Hugo said dreamily. “It’s called love.”
“No, it’s called kidnapping,” said Tavi.”
The bet between Fate and Chance was pretty interesting. I wish there had been a little more explanation of how they came to be in their current form and the mapwriting…etc. THE FAIRY GODMOTHER!!!! OMG. I don’t want to spoil anything but holy crap this is my favorite fairy godmother interpretation of all time. [image]
“He is everything you fear, and worse. He is also everything you hope, and more.”
I was just ha~*Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!*~
“He is everything you fear, and worse. He is also everything you hope, and more.”
I was just halfway through Beasts of the Frozen Sun, and I already loved it so much I ordered a hardback copy. I’m both excited and furious that it’s the first in a trilogy, because it means I’ll get to spend two more books following Lira and Reyker’s stories but also that I have to wait AN ENTIRE TWO YEARS to find out how it all ends! How has this story not gotten more press? Why is it not more popular?!? [image] But apparently I will have to. :'(
I’ve discovered I really love this little sub-genre of fantasy, historical fantasy. The setting of this book reminded me somewhat of Sky in the Deep (which was awesome as well), but it goes much more in depth, not just in the geography but in the mythology and spiritual beliefs of the world. It’s set in a very British Isles sort of locale, and the Dragonmen are obviously meant to be patterned off the Vikings – all this is pretty obvious even if you hadn’t read the author’s lovely page about the real world locations she patterned the book settings off. [image] As is fitting for the ancient British isles…there is a lot the modern reader might find disturbing in this book. There is violence, bloodshed, abuse, torture, near-rape, and horrible, vindictive and abusive gods. It does somewhat gloss over what I think would have actually happened in those times, probably to make it more suitable for a YA audience. But it’s just barely done and doesn’t really take away from the story.
Lira and Reyker are one of the few YA fantasy pairings I could actually get behind. It’s not insta-love, and it’s not perfect, but they respect each other and they compliment each other and yet they never seem to catch a break! I was rooting for them so hard by the end.
5/5 stars for Beasts of the Frozen Sun. I absolutely cannot WAIT for the second book!
I'm very happy to report that this book was an improvement on the last one in this series (#3)~*Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!*~
I'm very happy to report that this book was an improvement on the last one in this series (#3)! There was more banter, more feeling, and less confusion overall.
The four kids are STILL having issues trusting each other, and the adults continue to be conveniently swept out of commission by some event or other - which of course forces the four into making BIG DECISIONS. I really like that the series allows the kids to not only make decisions, but forces them to be responsible for them and doesn't really sugar-coat the consequences of foolish ones. In this episode, they are off to the land of frozen tundra in search of the polar bear Great Beast. Again, the cultures they meet bear strong resemblance to ones in actual places in the world, but have different names.
Fire and Ice takes a bit of a darker turn than the previous installments of Spirit Animals. The threat to the kids' families and homes is getting closer, and there are some rather bloody battles and heart-rending scenes, particularly where Rollan is concerned (my poor little street kid just can't catch a freaking break). Still, I think this book will rekindle interest in the rest of the series. I really wasn't sure after Book 3 but I'm going to continue reading!
Am I the only person who didn’t love this book? It has a 4+ star rating on GoodReads! I just d~*Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!*~
Am I the only person who didn’t love this book? It has a 4+ star rating on GoodReads! I just don’t see how…I wanted to like it. I wanted to LOVE it! Come on, just look at that cover. It’s stunning. Sadly though, the cover was really the only thing I could 100% get behind with this book.
The Good
- The writing itself was quite good. I would read something else by this author without hesitation. It was just the actual plot and storyline I didn’t care for. - As I’ve already said, the cover! - The creep factor in the last half of the book really amped up and was extremely well done. I completely doubted the conclusions I had already drawn, haha! The author was great at dragging the reader right along into all the confusion and dream-in-a-dream confusion of reality along with the characters.
The Bad and the Ugly
- Our heroine, who is built up as this fearless, snarky, go-getter in the first few chapters of the book, takes one look – LITERALLY one look – at a handsome man and becomes a tongue-tied, bumbling, helpless girl. She’s had a sheltered life, has met very few men outside one of her family’s servant’s sons and her father, and all of a sudden she sees a stranger and completely falls for him. Really? This is 2019, I thought we were past this sort of ridiculousness. - The first half of the book is almost all dancing and balls and fancy dresses and shoes. I wanted to stab my eyeballs out. How many descriptions of dancing shoes and ballgowns does one really need? Like nothing was happening except they were dancing. I get it, it’s a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses…but COME ON. - The villain of the story was SO OBVIOUS and it was such a worn-out trope I wanted to fling the book across the room (except, I was reading on my iPad, so I couldn’t). Can stepmoms catch a freaking break already? - At the very end, I actually thought the author was going to redeem the story by not wrapping everything up in a pretty little bow as far as the romance. BUT OH NO! There must be a romantic interest and there must be a pairing up or I guess it’s not a good YA story.
2.5/5 stars. If you’re a die-hard fan of retellings you might enjoy it more, also if you’re more of a love-at-first-sight person than I am. Otherwise I’ll have to recommend you skip it, but keep an eye out for other books by the author!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Adorable novella set in the Parasol Protectorate universe (the Parasolverse). I was in desperate need ~*Check out my blog over at The Bent Bookworm!*~
Adorable novella set in the Parasol Protectorate universe (the Parasolverse). I was in desperate need of a good paranormal book fix after the catastrophe that was my last foray into paranormal books, and as usual Gail Carriger did not disappoint! I giggled and swooned my way through this little story and my only complaint is that it IS little.
Note: You can read this even if you haven't read any of the other Parasolverse books, but it is much, MUCH more enjoyable if you're already familiar with the world and some of the characters. Recommend starting with Soulless.
Now, I have absolutely LOATHED Channing ever since he first appeared in I think it was the second Parasol Protectorate book. I hated how he treated Alexia and his general airs of superiority towards the entire world. I was more than willing to see him get his icy little heart crushed and broken in this book. Faith is an entirely new character and I loved her! I love that she totally disdains societal expectations of her interests and hobbies (she's an amateur geologist).
"Are the British opposed to the immigration of foreign rocks in principle or just in theory?...I assure you, sir, these rocks are mostly harmless. Your virtue is safe from nefarious rock infiltration."
Also, the narrative voice is hysterical, as is usual for Gail's books (yes, I might be fangirling just a little bit here). There are some amazing quotes, especially near the end, but I'll leave most of them out so you can discover them for yourself. Please just go read this story. It's so worth it and really doesn't take long! [image] Pretty please?
Short, sweet, a little bit sexy - but much less actual sex than Poison or Protect, another of the novellas. 5/5 stars, highly enjoyable and highly recommend, and can we please have more Channing and Faith?!?
"I've looked all my life for family...now I know it is you...this is what you and I will do now. We will hold these broken parts of ourselves dear because they brought us to this point, and we will love each other wholly and completely."
First of all, I'm a complete sucker for fairy tale retellings. All the more when they aren't your typical, pr~*Check out my blog, The Bent Bookworm!*~
First of all, I'm a complete sucker for fairy tale retellings. All the more when they aren't your typical, prince-rescues-princess-and-they-live-happily-ever-after type stories. I love a good twist and a dark underside to fairy tales (which, if you read a lot of the ORIGINALS...was often the case!). When I saw this book was a collection of short retellings I immediately requested it and was absolutely delighted to receive it just a few days before it came out! It's now available and totally worth checking out. :) Also, apparently Jane Yolen is something of a MG/YA fantasy scion...and I had never heard of her. Ever. Never read any of her books, didn't have any of them on my TBR.
The Stories
How to Fracture a Fairy Tale contains tales from many different countries. Some of them I recognized, some of them I did not. They were all interesting and most of them entertaining! Some of them were funny, like one of the two Cinderella shorts. A couple raised the hairs on the back of my neck (most specifically the very last one in the book, "Wrestling With Angels." My favorite of all the tales though, was "Great-Grandfather Dragon's Tale," which is a cute and funny remake of Saint George and the Dragon.
A few of the tales are most definitely only suited to a YA or older audience, as they contain heavy implications of sexual assault or rape if they don't state it outright. I was a bit startled by these, to be honest, as they don't really seem to fit in with the overall tone of the book...but then, the collection is very random. The author has included, in the last section of the book, an explanation for why she told each tale the way she did, as well as given a poem for each. It is extremely fascinating, but I think due to the randomness as well as the content of this particular section, a lot of younger readers will lose interest and probably only read the stories - which are the important part, anyway!
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the free review copy in exchange for an honest review!
I was expecting to like Three Mages and a Margarita. I was NOT expecting to love it. And well..let’s just sa~*Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!*~
I was expecting to like Three Mages and a Margarita. I was NOT expecting to love it. And well..let’s just say as soon as I finished I jumped onto GoodReads to see when the next one was coming out!
I signed up for the book tour because I like sassy female characters and felt like I could use a lighthearted, amusing read in the middle of all my heavy science stuff that I’ve been working on for months. The description made me think Jim Butcher and Gail Carriger had a brain-child…and I was NOT disappointed!
Characters
Tori is the bomb. She takes no shit, from anyone, and yet she still has soft heart and she tries to care about people. It’s only sort of hinted at what sort of trauma her past holds (she tries to reveal-but-not-reveal to one other character in the book and it just left some things up in the air), but she has difficulty trusting anyone. She takes care of herself, but she tries to take care of other people too. The dichotomy is something she admits to struggling with, but it doesn’t weigh the book down.
The three mages are, as promised, sexy AF. Despite that, it is not (also as promised) a reverse harem. Just a good dose of sexual tension and admiration on all sides, hence the two flames. Nothing too sexual though, though I feel like the potential is there. I am extremely eager to see what happens in subsequent books, and I’m kind of hoping for a HEA on all counts for this series. Because it just seems like it needs it. All three guys – despite being often seen together and best friends – are quite different and I loved them all but I loved Ezra just a teeny bit more. :heart_eyes: Ahem.
Worldbuilding
Now, I don’t read that much urban fantasy, so it’s possible the magic system isn’t all that original, but I thought it was fascinating. I loved how the explanation of magic users in the modern world was explained, how they stayed hidden from the normal/human set, as well as how they used their powers and weapons.
Storyline The plot kept it moving, which I really liked. The only reason I didn’t read this all in one sitting was because – well, homework and being a responsible student. 😛 Whomp whomp. (Also when I went to write this review, my ePub had for some reason VANISHED from my computer and I really wanted to look back and re-read a few things before I wrote it, hence the very short review in the actual tour post.) Things just kept happening! I wanted to find out more and more and it didn’t feel predictable at all. I did feel like one part – not the actual climax, but leading up to that – was oddly rushed, but when I thought back over it a scene between wasn’t really necessary, I was just a bit stunned by how fast it moved on. The ACTUAL climax I actually panicked slightly, though I was pretty sure they wouldn’t kill off a particular character it certainly seemed like it was going to happen for awhile and just OMG NO. In the end, everything seemed pretty well-resolved though, aside from the non-romance, so I’m interested to see what else is going to happen in the next two books.
Yes! Two! Aaaaah!! Maybe more? I certainly hope so! I think Three Mages and a Margarita is the start to a series I could see myself enjoying for a very long time to come.
Book 2, Dark Arts and a Daiquiri, is due out November 18, of THIS YEAR! Such a short wait between books, I am just over the moon.
Book 3, Two Witches and a Whiskey, titled but no GR page or pub date yet.
Reviewed October 2018, updating to remove broken links.
First of all. This cover. AND VIKING WARRIOR WOMEN. Just take all my money right now, why don’tReviewed October 2018, updating to remove broken links.
First of all. This cover. AND VIKING WARRIOR WOMEN. Just take all my money right now, why don’t you. Of course, there’s also a huge danger in being completely taken by a cover and brief blurb…sometimes the copywriter is a better writer than the actual author. So I was sort of kind of worried that might have happened, but I am very happy to report that it most certainly did not disappoint! [image] Oh, and btw – I was reading my copy of this book in the bath, and my puppy knocked it out of my hand and INTO THE WATER. There was much shrieking and flailing but the book survived and so did the puppy. The book is now all ripple-y and much thicker than it should be, but still readable. *eyeroll*
FIRST OF ALL: Adrienne Young, can we pleeeeeeeease have a sequel where Eelyn and Fiske are a little older?? PLEASE??? Like maybe a NA type? Maybe where the enemy tribe resurges? I know there is a companion novel coming but it sounds like it might be more about someone else and I just need more of Eelyn. Please and thank you. Ok, now I will attempt to write something more coherent…there ARE some SMALL potential spoilers. You have been warned.
Characters: Obviously, Eelyn. Our fierce Viking shieldmaiden. When the book first started, I was slightly put off by just how ANGRY she seemed to be, as if she had no other emotion (other than feeling pain, I definitely got the sense that she was in pain, but her reaction to pain was MORE ANGER). Did she have reason? Yes, probably more than most of us reading. Life in this time was hard, even if women were treated more equally in this Viking world. Eelyn kicks ass, but beneath her strong soldier exterior she still has a heart, she loves her family and her village more than life itself…which is why it hurts her so deeply when she discovers what her brother, Iri, has done. Eelyn is also NOT one of these heroine who walks and talks like a badass but never quite manages to DO anything badass…nope. She is downright brutal at one point in the book, and I found myself quite literally gaping at the page.
I’d envied Iri my whole life for his open heart, and now mine had been pried open too.
Iri himself is quite…well, I liked him, but I didn’t feel that close to him. I went through about the first half of the books with my arms figuratively crossed on my chest, TOTALLY with Eelyn that nothingbutnothing should have kept him from returning to his family, but then…then things happen. Still, I wanted to KNOW Iri better, because he really seemed like he was a complex character that we just didn’t get to know that well. Eelyn knows him, or thinks she does, and it is from her viewpoint that we see him.
Fiske is something else. He really grew on me, because in the beginning I just thought he was a wuss. No joke. Then we see him interact not only with Eelyn and Iri, but his mother, his little brother…and oh wait, he’s not a wuss, he just thinks before he acts. I loved the slow-burn of his and Eelyn’s romance. I know enemies-to-lovers is one of the OLDEST romantic plots ever, but it’s repeated because it works, both in books and sometimes even in real life! I really wanted to see more of them as a couple, in the village and family dynamics…ah well. 2 flames, because while there are some couple scenes there’s nothing graphic or really all that descriptive.
Inge, the only real mother-figure in the entire book (as Eelyn and Iri’s mother died long ago), is the best. I loved her so much. She is a healer, not a warrior, and yet she is very clearly just as strong as Eelyn or any of the others. I pretty much want to be her, since I’m pretty sure I don’t have the reflexes to be Eelyn.
Halvard!! OMG, this little guy has more guts and spine than several adults put together. And he is so non-judgmental, sees the good in everyone…we all need a Halvard in our lives. I swear the moments when his life is in danger, I went all Mama Bear even just sitting on my couch. DON’T YOU DARE MESS WITH MY LITTLE MAN, YO. At one point I actually thought he was going to be killed off and when I finally got to the end of that passage, I realized I’d been sitting there with my free hand just plastered over my mouth and I had tears in my eyes. THE FEELS.
Plot The plot is pretty well encapsulated in the book blurb, making this story MUCH more character driven than action driven – despite having some really intense battle scenes in the first and last quarters of the book. The middle bit is really more about Eelyn and her internal struggles with being a captive, and of all the dynamics of the Riki village and Iri’s “new” people. It is heartbreaking, at times.
The words were small but they were true. ‘I’m thinking that I wish you’d died that day.’
Worldbuilding There isn’t a lot of detail given, which works quite well for this book. We know that the Aska live by the sea, and the Riki live in the mountains, and they have a generations old blood feud. Their culture is clearly based on ancient Vikings, but other than that…this was a book about people and relationships, not one to immerse you completely in a historically accurate time and place. It does immerse you, just…in a much more narrow way. It works much better than I could have imagined, and I was quite surprised that the lack of detail did not seem to hinder my enjoyment of the story at all.
5/5 stars. Highly recommend. My only “complaint” is that I really wanted more, I was very disappointed when it ended…but isn’t that how the best books always are?
I could still see a young Eelyn standing on the beach turned into the wind, a sword in one hand and an axe in the other. I hadn’t lost her. I hadn’t buried her. I’d only let her change into something new.
_______________________________________________ Oh. My. My heart. RTC....more
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