Seph, Gregor, and Caroline have been exiled from the Demon
World. Persephone or Seph has to get used to life in the human world, where she
doesn’t have the position of queen that she has prepared for since she was
born. This gives her time to deal with feelings that she has been pushing away
for years, and face the fact that she might have a crush on someone. Gregor and
Caroline no longer have to be fake married, which gives Mina and Caroline the
chance to marry one another. Gregor is also free to pursue his own romantic
interests, and he might have his eyes on a certain man on Earth.
I am interested in the new couples that were introduced in
this installment of the series. I knew that Mina and Caroline would always be
together, but I was worried that Gregor would never get the chance to be happy
as he didn’t have a secret boyfriend on the side of his political marriage to
Caroline, but he had his chance in this book! I also thought that Seph would be
important, but I just didn’t see how she fit into the Royal Cleaner series
until this book. Without spoiling anything, I am happy with how her story
turned out as well.
Honestly, this felt like the shortest Royal Cleaner book I
have read so far. I loved it so much that I finished it all in one morning on
my way to work and then switched directly to the next book in the series. I
think that it was the lack of action that truly drew me into this book. I feel
like I never got the chance to get close to the characters in the Royal Cleaner
series in this way because the books were so packed with action. This slower-paced
story focused more on the domestic side of the characters as Mina and Caroline
are still spending time with their children including the young twins while
Gregor and Seph have to get used to living like humans rather than Demon royalty.
I can’t wait to review the next book in this series to
discuss more spoilers about these characters! Just know that things really
start to heat up towards the end of this book.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an adult
fantasy novel with LGBT+ and neurodiverse characters.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary
review.
Mina and Caroline have just given birth to their twins, and
they are dealing with having new magical babies. While they are just starting
to take time off, Demons get through the wards of their house. Mina also has to
deal with her ex-husband Arjen coming back into the picture, claiming that
Caroline’s presence has made Mina an unfit mother for Diya. Mina is trying to
work with Caroline on her powers, but Caroline still hasn’t gotten over the
death of her twin many years ago. In order to move forward, Caroline and Mina
are going to have to face and reconcile with their pasts.
I was happy to see Caroline and Mina get somewhat of a break
in this novel. I was so excited that they got to have twins, and they are such
good parents. The Demons did come eventually, but you got to see the two also
focus on rebuilding their family life after the crazy events of the past few
books. I am also happy that Arjen is back into the picture even though he
wasn’t there before, just so that Diya doesn’t feel abandoned. It also allowed
Mina to see that she didn’t handle everything perfectly, which was an
interesting twist on the way I thought the “deadbeat dad” route I thought the
story would take.
The story moved smoothly and I immediately remembered who
the characters were even though I haven’t read a book from this series since
April. It was a little on the shorter side but that made it perfect to read
while commuting. I was able to put the book down and pick it back up again at
any time without feeling confused.
I can’t say much more about the story without spoiling anything,
but I was absolutely hooked again by the time I finished reading this novel and
immediately went to pick up the next book in this series. I honestly think that
the Royal Cleaner arc might be my favorite Freya Snow spinoff. I can’t wait to
talk about the next two in this series!
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new
adult fantasy/romance novel with LGBT+ main characters.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
“Tender and illuminating. A beautiful debut.” –Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me
A heartrending and hopeful debut novel about a nonverbal girl and her passion for space exploration, for fans of See You in the Cosmos, Mockingbird, and The Thing About Jellyfish.
Twelve-year-old Nova is eagerly awaiting the launch of the space shuttle Challenger–it’s the first time a teacher is going into space, and kids across America will watch the event on live TV in their classrooms. Nova and her big sister, Bridget, share a love of astronomy and the space program. They planned to watch the launch together. But Bridget has disappeared, and Nova is in a new foster home.
While foster families and teachers dismiss Nova as severely autistic and nonverbal, Bridget understands how intelligent and special Nova is, and all that she can’t express. As the liftoff draws closer, Nova’s new foster family and teachers begin to see her potential, and for the first time, she is making friends without Bridget. But every day, she’s counting down to the launch, and to the moment when she’ll see Bridget again. Because Bridget said, “No matter what, I’ll be there. I promise.”
Planet Earth is Blue is a book about a twelve-year-old girl
named Nova. She is autistic and nonverbal, but her sister Bridget always
described her as “a thinker not a talker.” She loves her older sister, her
sister always protected her in all of the foster homes that they had been in
over the years. Her sister made sure that Nova knew that they would always have
each other, even if they weren’t able to find a permanent home to stay in.
Bridget would always talk to Nova about space, and she even took Nova into
space a few times! They were both looking forward to the Challenger launch. Even though Bridget has been temporarily separated
from Nova, she promised Nova that they would be reunited in time for the
launch. Now, Nova has to spend time in a new foster home by herself, and she is
counting down the days to the launch when she will see her sister again.
This book places the reader into the shoes of a severely autistic
girl. She is not “retarded,” even though characters in this book may call her
that. This is the 80s, they don’t understand her, so they just placed her into a
box. Her new foster mother is starting to understand this. She’s starting to understand
that her new daughter is more capable than her social workers and former
teachers believed her to be. Bridget knew that her sister was more capable, but
no one paid attention to a young girl in foster care. Nova doesn’t know who
truly has her best interests at heart anymore. Her sister has left, and her new
mother seems nice. But other new mothers have seemed nice before and still sent
them on their way.
My favorite part of this book was hearing about Nova going
to school. It wasn’t my favorite because it was the happiest part of the book,
but it was my favorite because it was the most realistic and relatable, even
though this book took place in the 1980s. I had never truly thought about how
public school must be for someone who has autism until I personally met someone
who was autistic and in a Special Education program. Although she attended one
of the best schools in our state, the Special Ed program was a mess of teachers
who didn’t want to teach and students who were just trying their best to learn.
Even though some teachers think that the kids are able to actually take classes,
others believe that the students should just play games all day. Nova wants to
be able to have chapter books read to her, like her sister used to do. When she
is in school, sometimes her time is just wasted when teachers want her to point
out colors or play little games. She seems like she isn’t getting the answers
right, but she knows the answers. Sometimes the noise of the room and the building
are just too much and she mishears the question. I was rooting for Nova to
succeed in school the entire time, and I love how the author shows that the
kids would befriend one another and protect one another in the school.
Usually for books I also have a least favorite part of the novel,
but I literally have nothing to complain about with this book. Nicole weaves
Nova’s past and present to give you a complete look at this little girl’s life.
You may go from a scene where Nova is struggling in school to learning about
her birth mother to learning about her former foster homes. I read this book
all in one sitting, I just couldn’t put it down. I had to know more about this
girl’s life, and I had to know if she would succeed.
This entire story just truly touched me. I even cried at the
end, and I very rarely cry when I read novels! This book is perfect for YA
readers and adult readers alike. I wish that there was a sequel to this novel,
to see what happens as Nova grows up. For now, I am so glad that I got the
chance to meet her.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary
review.
Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 books
About Nicole
Nicole Panteleakos is an author, playwright, thespian, and Ravenclaw. Her debut novel PLANET EARTH IS BLUE (Wendy Lamb Books, Penguin Random House) will be out in bookstores nationwide on May 14, 2019, with a second middle grade novel to follow in 2020. She is represented by agent Katie Grimm at Don Congdon Associates and belongs to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators: Metro NY. She is also a Lifetime Member of the VFW Auxiliary and National Home for Children, a godmother of three, and a regular contributor to Nanny Magazine. When not writing, she can usually be found reading fanfiction, playing board games, doing community theatre, or adding to her Alice in Wonderland coffee cup collection.
The Underworld may be the best place for Caroline to heal, but it is torture without her wife…
After being kidnapped and tortured by genetically engineered humans for days, Caroline knows that her fellow demons are the ones best equipped to heal her, but her human wife and step-daughter aren’t welcome in the Underworld.
Mina isn’t exactly happy to lose her wife, either, but with her sister who had a hand in Caroline’s kidnapping now asking for her help, she has more than enough to keep her busy on Earth.
Mina and Caroline’s lives are only getting more complicated, but they have a dream for their future that they are ready to fight for…
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This story picks up where Separated left off. Caroline is no longer captured, and Mina’s sister Isha is no longer coming after her, but the damage has been done. Caroline has to return to the Underworld in order to heal, and she has to get back to her fake dating in order to maintain her Royal status. She continues to connect with her wife with their dream connection, but she can’t go to see her face to face. Mina isn’t happy with these arrangments, but she has to put on a brave face both for her daughter Diya and for Caroline.
I didn’t realize how much I missed Caroline and Mina’s relationship until I read this novel! They maintained their deep emotional connection even though they were both dealing with trauma from the previous events. Mina had to deal with Isha coming back in her life. Even though Isha seemed apologetic, Mina was still on edge after hearing that she was working for the Enhanced that hated Caroline. Caroline has to face the Demon court day after day, knowing that most of those people only tolerated her, and deal with PTSD from her imprisonment. They support each other in their dreams, even when their dreams are sometimes infiltrated by thoughts of trauma, and then go back to their respective lives every single day. Diya also has to learn how to live without her mom, the one who was supposed to always be around to protect them. Everyone is hurting, but they try to support each other through the pain.
Caroline’s PTSD tends to manifest itself in her powers. She is struggling to control them, and the stressful environment of Demon Court is not helping her case. Her new friend Seph helps her through this, and makes her feel less isolated in this new and unfriendly environment. I think that some things could definitely be brewing in that friendship, but I HOPE that things will straighten themselves out. Seph is such a nice person, and I don’t want her to have to go back to having no friends. Caroline didn’t pick up on anything because of her being Litcorde/autistic, but I definitely picked up on PLENTY of things. I just…..I need Seph to be happy! She is so sweet, she deserves happiness too.
Mina’s storyline continues as she returns to the police department. More things are revealed as she works with her sister to try to stop Isha’s higher-ups from working with the Enhanced. This reveals that Mina’s police team is the “throw-away” team full of disabled, LGBT+, female, and minority policepeople. They are a family and they do their jobs well, but they aren’t taken seriously by the other squads. This was a truly realistic and interesting plot point, as it delved into how discrimination can be in a place that disguises itself as being more open.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book! I am already working on book 5, and then I will just be waiting for the next release in the series.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Finding out her wife had to marry someone else wasn’t the best start to Mina’s week.
Finding out her sister works for a group of Humans who want to see her wife dead meant that it was only going downhill…
With enemies on both sides, Caroline and Mina will need each other more than ever.
Too bad those enemies have other plans.
This may have been one of my favorite books in the entire Royal Cleaners series, even though it was one of the saddest.
The fact that even in the magical world Caroline might still have to go through a marriage of convenience is upsetting, but the fact that she would have to pull Mina and Diya through all of this is even sadder. She wants to be able to be normal, marry the girl she loves, and have happy lives until they grow old together. Nevertheless, this is impossible as she has to produce a magical heir for the House that never liked or appreciated her. This is approached in the nicest way possible though, as the entire family is introduced to Caroline’s “husband-to-be” and they are starting to get close before the main conflict of this story occurs.
Diya is growing as this series progresses, so we are finally getting to see a little bit of preteen Diya in this one! She is equally involved in Gregor marrying Caroline, as Caroline will still care for her as her own daughter. She is also starting to get more involved with Caroline’s magical side in this story, as she is told the truth about where Caroline came from. Or, at least some of the truth about it.
There was quite a bit of character development in this story as Mina and Caroline think about having to function without each other as Caroline kept up appearances in the Demon world while Mina worked her job and took care of Diya. This will be a tough hurdle for them to jump, but with the plot twist, it might be put out for a little bit of time.
I won’t spoil anything because it isn’t in the Goodreads summary, but the plot twist does make up most of the story. It is action-packed, it is suspenseful, and it is even a little scary. The book even ends at a bit of a cliffhanger so I will have to read the next book in the series if I want to spoil anything important.
The plot moved smoothly yet quickly in this novel, and I loved every minute of reading it! I would recommend the entire Royal Cleaner series to those who have read the Freya Snow series already and who want to learn more about the character Lady Caroline.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Fiona has returned from the dead, just as Kara had finally been able to find peace with herself for killing her. Kara has to complete a mission for Moira, but most of the team is planning on retiring. This is going to be their toughest mission yet, but Kara can’t even focus due to Fiona’s return.
I have had my ups and downs with this series, but I definitely liked this ending. Kara is finally able to talk to Fiona about what happened in Book 1. She is able to truly get over that event, and lose at least some of the guilt. She doesn’t feel like a murderer since Fiona survived, but now she has to learn how to work with a woman that she already tried to kill.
This was also my favorite book in the series because it relates more to the rest of Snowverse. Finally, I was able to see how the characters and stories truly lined up, as these events are almost parallel to some of those in the main Freya Snow series and the Lady Caroline series. I was happy to see some old faces, and I was also glad to see how the new faces in the other series made their way onto the team.
This also felt like one of the shortest books in the trilogy, even though it wasn’t, which was sad because I actually wanted to learn more about these characters. I had struggled through the first few books, but just as the characters started to become likable to me, the series was over. I hope to see some of them in future books!
I won’t spoil too much, but this was definitely a good trilogy that I would recommend to Snowverse fanatics like me. If you are new, I suggest that you read the Freya Snow series up to the current novel and then get started on these novellas, just so that you don’t spoil anything for yourself.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
It has been months since Kara killed Fiona, but she still can’t get over it. Turning to drinking and plunging herself into her work, she tries to forget the past and focus on the future. But her heart just isn’t in it anymore. Moira offers her a forgetting potion, but in order to get the potion, she must pull off one of the hardest jobs that the team has ever done. Kara can barely keep it together long enough to complete a regular mission, much less one that requires her to steal Excalibur from Demons. If she doesn’t succeed, she will have to live with the pain of being Fiona’s killer forever.
I have to say, even in this book I am personally struggling to like Kara. I have actually gotten used to looking towards the other characters at this point to try to find someone to like, as I just can’t get into Kara much. I feel bad for her though, as Steven keeps getting to her and making her ruin things. It is not right what Steven is doing, but at this point in the series, I don’t think Kara really cares what happens to her. She just wants to forget about killing Fiona and move on with her life in The Almosts.
There was definitely a lot of character development in this novel. Kara starts off being very self-destructive, and just wanting to punish herself for having to kill someone. I’m glad that she isn’t as cold-hearted as she seemed in the previous novel, just killing someone with no remorse. Nevertheless, what’s done is done, and Kara has to feel with the repercussions. She has to learn how to grieve even though the sadness was partially her fault, and she has to learn how to move forward. She struggles a lot with both.
There actually wasn’t a ton of worldbuilding in this middle novella, but there were some references to the general Snowverse that I picked up on with the demon plot.
I have to say that the plot did move a bit too quickly in this one. I was able to still pick up on the gist of things, but I didn’t find myself immersed in the universe like I usually am.
For a novella trilogy, this has been going pretty well! I hope that it will end on a strong note, and it looks like it just might from the way this novel went.
I would recommend this book to lovers of diverse fantasy.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
This prequel gives Lady’ Caroline’s backstory. She was happy with her girlfriend with the Wardens, and running away from her political responsibilities. She wasn’t even the oldest of the house, so she didn’t have an obligation to stay in the House that never really accepted her. Then, her brother dies unexpectedly, and she has to leave the only place that she ever felt happy to return to the living hell that she grew up in. The people of her house are probably not even going to accept her, due to the fact that she is Litcorde.
Before I start this review, I just want to let you all know that Litcorde in the Demon world is another word for autistic. I see in other reviews that some people got confused, and so I just wanted to clear this up for you guys.
This short novella truly allows the readers to see snippets of Caroline’s life that she would rather keep hidden from everyone. It helps you to understand why she might shut herself off from others, and explains why she hates Demon politics so much. It even gives some details about her family life before she left for the Wardens.
This also gives some insight into why she is so worried about having to leave Mina, with the story arc about her ex-girlfriend.
The plot moves quickly as in any novella, but it is definitely not too fast that it is a pointless read. Even though it is shorter than LC Mawson’s full-length stories, it is not so short that it took me 15 minutes to read. I still felt that I had been spending time with real characters in another world for the time that I spent reading it.
Also, the worldbuilding is definitely astounding. Until this point, we had never really gotten to see what the Demon politics truly looked like. Caroline always wanted to avoid it, and all the characters that were in it were side characters or villains. This short story allows the readers to see how the Demon world functioned, if only for a short while.
There wasn’t as much character development as usual, as the novel focuses on the things happening in young Caroline’s life. She hadn’t done much “developing” yet. If you compare it to the Freya Snow and Royal Cleaners series, you can see how she has changed since these events happened. But if you haven’t read those books yet, it is just a small snippet of Caroline’s life being shown.
I would recommend this prequel to lovers of fantasy and to people who are currently reading the books int he Snowverse universe.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Caroline and Mina have been together for a few years now, and they are living comfortably. Caroline is still worrying that she is living in a fantasy and that she will end up getting Mina and her daughter hurt, or end up having to leave them. When more of the truth about Caroline’s past comes out, their relationship becomes even more strained. Caroline might have to return to the Underworld politics, and she doesn’t want to drag Mina and Diya down with her. Mina doesn’t want to leave her.
I am loving this new series so far! I have absolutely fallen in love with Caroline and Mina, and their family together. Also, I am loving how I am seeing the Freya Snow series through Lady Caroline’s eyes. It really allows you to understand characters such as Damon better, and gives more details to previous events that occurred in Snowverse.
The worldbuilding in this one was intense, as we get to see some of the reason why Caroline doesn’t want to be involved in Demon politics. It also gives more context about who is really in power in the Demon world.
The plot was fairly fast-paced, but I didn’t feel lost at all in this novel. I didn’t see any slow-downs or speed changes that would have interrupted my reading, so this was a good thing.
I can’t say too much about this novel, as I don’t want to spoil anything for potential readers, but just know that it really gets intense. I loved every minute of this novel.
Also, another thing that I can’t talk about too much is the character development. Just know that there was a lot of it, and certain characters seemed to change almost completely after this novel. One thing that isn’t too spoiler-y is that Diya’s relationship with her mother changes. Diya has grown up from the little girl she was in the last novel and is almost 10 years old, meaning that she wants more freedoms. Mina isn’t quite ready to give those to her, but she also doesn’t want Diya to feel burdened. She doesn’t want to compete with the father to the point that she just allows Diya to get away with anything she wants. This entire storyline was very interesting to read.
One other thing that I thought was funny was when Mina went on a group date with Caroline and her friends, the rest of whom are also autistic. Mina, being the only non-autistic person in the group, felt very awkward in the conversations, almost as if she didn’t know what was coming next, and she couldn’t fit in. It helped her to connect with Caroline more, and I thought that this was a sweet little addition to this great story.
The characters from the Almosts trilogy are also spoken about in this story, but everything takes place AFTER the last book in that series so it would have a lot of spoilers if you haven’t already read that one.
I would recommend this book to lovers of diverse fantasy novels.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
I have taken my sweet time to get to the Royal Cleaner series, but I am kinda glad that I did. The Royal Cleaner series should definitely be read after the Almosts and somewhere around the last few books of the Freya Snow series. I love how Mawson’s books always interact with each other if they are in the same universe, but it is definitely a blessing and a curse if you are trying to avoid major spoilers.
Caroline is a Demon Royal who runs the Royal Cleaners. She is determined to keep humanity safe from the mischievous Demons and their king who seems to want humans to know about magic again. The last time that humans knew about magic, it resulted in a war, and a magical woman having to reverse time to save the world. Caroline was there, and she doesn’t want that to happen ever again.
The police have started to get unknowingly involved in the Demon cases, and Caroline knows she will have to take over the cases to save them. One detective in particular, Mina, doesn’t want to give up her case to some strange, cold woman. Caroline ends up being forced to work with her, and the last thing she needs is to fall for her on the job.
I think that this series is going to take the place of the Aspects for me while I wait for Hate and Love to get it together. I absolutely fell in love with both Caroline and Mina in this story. Caroline has been through a lot, and she doesn’t want others to get close to her. It seems to her that every person she gets close to either dies or isn’t close to her anymore. Mina is a divorcee with a child who doesn’t really give herself time to get close to anyone. Even as they are drawn together, Caroline instinctively pushes away. Humans can’t know about magic, and Mina’s entire family could be targeted by the Demons. But just like she wasn’t pushed off of her case easily, Mina won’t allow Caroline to slip away easily either.
The plot of this book moves quickly, as most LC Mawson books do, but I felt even more immersed than I usually do with her books. I also loved the character development. Caroline hasn’t trusted anyone for years, but Mina will not allow her to do this mission on her own. She has to get past her usual inability to be social, and truly work with a partner for the first time. ever.
The worldbuilding of Snowverse was also incredible. I hadn’t seen too much of Demon politics and people before, simply because the Freya Snow series didn’t focus on it. I hope that if we ever get more books from Damon’s POV, we will be able to see more of this. I wanted to learn more about Caroline’s past, where she was fully immersed in Demon culture. I didn’t get to see that much of it in this book, but I saw even more in the prequel.
I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a new f/f fantasy-romance novel with very diverse characters and an addictive storyline.
I received an advance copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Bri's Book Nook 