Betrayed: Ruby’s Story Review (Destined #4)

The Destined series takes a turn from Ella’s family and friends and tells the story of Ruby, a local news reporter. She was determined to figure out who was dealing the drugs that were killing the people in her city one by one. Someone was choosing to prey on the poor and those who had lost everything in the plague by giving them a drug that would “take their problems away.” Ruby wanted to save those in her city, and to do so, she would have to travel outside of the city and do an interview with a member of the Wolf Clan, and finally figure out who has been bringing the drugs into the city.

This story started a bit slowly than the other books in this series, but it sped up around halfway through. Ruby spends the first part of the story lost in the woods as she tries to find her way to the Wolf Clan, and she meets a mysterious figure there who gives her help along her journey. This Wolf refuses to trust her, but he also won’t leave her outside the city limits to die on her own. Once Ruby reaches the city, she learned more and more about the Clan, the drug dealing, and the truth behind her city.

This was the only story in this series where I didn’t quite agree with the pairing. I did not think that the Wolf and Ruby were a good match for one another, even though it was painfully clear from the beginning of the story that they were supposed to be. I wanted Ruby to be with someone as passionate about their craft as she was passionate about her journalism, and although Wolf was passionate about his Clan, it did not seem equal. I just didn’t connect with Wolf much, but it could be just me!

Overall, this was unfortunately probably my least favorite book so far in the series, but that doesn’t mean much because I have given every other book a perfect rating! I still quite enjoyed this one, even if I didn’t love it as much as the others. I can’t wait to see how Ruby, this unique and ambitious character, will be included in the future books of this series.

I would recommend this book series to anyone looking for a unique fairy-tale retelling series full of action, adventure, and romance.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Recent Additions To My Bookshelf

I have added quite a few books to my temporary/permanent bookshelf lately, temporary being Kindle Unlimited Shelf. Here are my Top Ten Books that have been added to my bookshelf and that I plan to read or have read recently!

1 Nissa: A Contemporary Fairy Tale

I have finished this book already, and I absolutely loved it. My full review is coming soon, I was just lucky enough to get it when I saw that it was free from someone on Instagram I think. Great book!

2: Pathways (Kingdom Chronicles Book 1)

I don’t know anything about this book besides the fact that it is a Princess and the Pea retelling and it was free on Kindle Unlimited. I can’t wait to check it out!

3: Beauty and the Beast (Timeless Fairy Tales Book 1)

Another book that I don’t know much about besides the fact that it is a Beauty and the Beast retelling and that it is free on Kindle Unlimited. Can’t wait to get started!

4: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Beyond The Four Kingdoms Book 1)

And yet another classic fairy tale retelling on Kindle Unlimited! I wanted to give all these new authors a chance, and I cannot wait to dig into these stories. I can already tell that they are going to be good.

5: Hunted: Alba’s Story (Destined #5)

I’ve already finished and loved this book, so I can’t wait to write my review for you all. This was the last book currently published in the Destined serries, so I am looking forward to the sixth book which is probably coming out fairly soon.

6: Odriel’s Heirs

An author recently emailed this book to me, so I am interested in checking out this YA fantasy novel!

7: Death Warden

Another YA fantasy novel sent to me by an author that I absolutely NEED to get around to reading. It sounds amazing!

8: The Fight for Magicallus

I don’t read children’s/middle grade fantasy books much, but this was another book sent to me by an author that I have been enjoying so far. Can’t wait to write my full review of it.

9: Awakening the Vampire

I received this book a while back and never got the chance to actually read it, so I am looking forward to finally finishing this book in the Shadow-Walkers series. Hopefully I will have thi sreview finished for you all before the end of next month.

10: Once Tales, Myths, and Legends of Faerie

Another book sent to me by an author. I’m determined to stay on top of these rquests in 2020, so I can’t wait to get to this book either.

I hope you all enjoiyed my list, and thanks for reading!

Twisted: Belle’s Story Review (Destined #3)

Belle was in Ella’s story as one of the privileged students at the Royal Academy. She was also hurt in the attacks, but her family had the money to actually fully heal her. At least, that is the story told in Fated, Ella’s story.

The truth is that Belle was only pretending to act like a stuck-up privileged student to try to bring down her abusive father. She hates her father and was looking into his finances at the bank to see why her family stayed rich during the plague when all the other families took a financial hit. She thinks that she is onto something when the attack happens, and, and the brain damage she gets from the blast causes her to lose part of her memory. Her father refuses to let a healer heal her fully, and chooses to threaten her into submission. Without complete memory of what she was trying to achieve and who she was close to, Belle also has to deal with the prince trying to hit on her. He seems rather close to her, but she can’t even remember why.

I didn’t like Belle in Fated very much, but she only showed up for a brief moment. I wasn’t sure what to expect in a book that would be completely about her, but I knew that I wanted to finish the series. This book was a pleasant surprise.

Belle wasn’t as stuck up as I originally thought she was. She was only acting rude to Ella in order to make her father believe that she was on his side. Everything she did was an act to keep her father on her side, even though she was working against him. I was so sad when she lost her memories, she had been doing so well and was so close to her goal and then everything disappeared before her eyes because of the memory loss. She was one of the strongest “rich girl” characters that I have ever read in a story before, so I hope to see more of her in the books to come.

The only small complaint I had about this story was how much time Belle spent confused. It was kind of annoying after a while as a reader from Belle’s POV to know what she was supposed to be doing, and still see her wandering around, confused and in pain from her unhealed injury. I was only frustrated for a small amount of the book, but it was worth mentioning.

Another thing worth mentioning was that I couldn’t see much of the chemistry between the prince and Belle. They were an okay couple, but I didn’t love them as much as the couples in the previous two books. Overall, I think that this book would rank at the bottom of the books in this series, but because the series is so good, I think it is still a 4 star read.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books

Fated: Cinderella’s Story Review (Destined #1)

Ella is the only non-mage in her household. Her stepmother Zel has to stay hidden because she is a powerful mage. She was under the control of someone who held her True Name and was forced to kill many with her powers in the past, so she has many enemies. Now that Zel has two twin daughters who are also mages, she has to make sure that she and her girls stay hidden. If Zel is arrested, the family will be torn apart. So Ella does all in her power to keep the bakery running to support her family. She is also studying at the Royal Academy to try to get a better job to move her family out of the small apartment at the bakery. A mage named Weslan shows up at the bakery looking for protection, and his staying at the bakery threatens Ella’s family’s safety. When a bomb goes off during her final exam and she is hurt, her chance for graduation goes out the window. Ella has to pick up the pieces of her life and find a new way to protect her family.

I have run this blog for 3 years now, and I have read countless fairytales and fairytale retellings throughout my entire life. Something just always draws me to these stories of love and fantasy. I can say, hands down, that this is the best fairy tale retelling series I have ever read. At first I was thinking it would be second only to Court of Thorns and Roses, but the other books in this series continued the fairy tale retelling theme, and it quickly bumped its way up to first place for that category.

Ella isn’t your typical Cinderalla. Zel isn’t cruel to her. She isn’t forced to work for her stepsisters. She does all the work that she does simply because she loves her family and would do anything for them. She wants to get a job by graduating from the Royal Academy so that they can live more comfortably. She would work every day that she lived if it meant that they were safe, and she wouldn’t let anyone get in between her and her family. This is what made her so admirable to me. Family came first, in everything, and she was willing to work hard to keep them safe, even if it stressed her out.

I would also say that this fairy tale retelling deviates some from the original story, which I enjoyed a lot. There is an entire story about Mages versus those with no powers. Those who hold the True names of mages can force them to do their bidding, which means that the Mage population is greatly oppressed in this world. This story is woven delicately in and out of the original Cinderella tale, to make a unique and powerful one of its own. This is what made it my favorite fairytale retelling of all time, and that’s how this book dragged me out of my reading slump.

This story flows perfectly from scene to scene. I don’t believe that the POV ever shifted from Ella, but if it did, it wasn’t confusing in any way and fit right into the rest of the story. There were no dead points in the story or characters that I found to be irritating, so everything made for a very pleasant read.

I won’t spoil anything else as this book was a quick read for me and I don’t want to give any major plot points away. I would recommend this series to anyone who loves fantasy novels or who wants to read a fairytale retelling. This entire series is free through Kindle Unlimited, and book 6 is coming out this year, so I am extra excited to see what Kaylin Lee has in store!

Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 books

Webtoon Wednesday: My Deepest Secret Review

Warning: This review will have some mentions of animal abuse, so if this bothers you, I suggest that you don’t read this review or this Webtoon!

I typically don’t like Drama/Thriller Webcomics or Webtoons, but I found myself drawn to this one. Emma is a sweet girl who has a boyfriend named Elios. They met while working at a coffee shop and have been together for several months, but Emma is still too scared to get close to him. He is so handsome, everything he does makes her freeze up, but she loves being his girlfriend. Emma thinks that her boyfriend is perfect and could do no wrong. The readers see another side of Elios.

In the first episode, a stray cat pees on Emma’s shoes and grosses her out. Emma leaves to clean off her shoes in the shop, leaving Elios outside with the cat for a few minutes. As the two pass a trashcan, readers see the body of the cat laying next to the can, spattered in blood. I was totally not expecting this for the first episode, but this was how readers know that something is definitely not right with Elios.

This Webtoon will bounce back and forth between the POVs of Emma, another character that she meets in the beginning episodes, and a general POV that just gives more information about the story from no specific character’s viewpoint. There are some points in the story where you can see what Elios is doing, but there isn’t anything besides a few flashbacks that are actually from Elios’ POV so far. I’m expecting more of his POV to be in the next season, where things kick up a notch from the look of the cliffhanger.

The only complaint I have about this comic is that it seemed to be moving a bit slowly. We are 39 episodes in, and the author is currently on a break, but I don’t think that Emma thinks that anything is really off about Elios yet. Only a bit off, even though readers know he has done a lot of messed up things already. I also wish we knew a bit more about what happened to Emma when she was a child. We only have flashbacks of some sort of traumatic experience, but I feel like telling the full story of her childhood would greater enhance the reader’s understanding of why Elios has latched onto her so and why she feels so connected to him.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this Webtoon to anyone looking for a dramatic thriller with some horror elements.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 paintbrushes

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I actually don’t have ten books for this list, as I typically don’t usually anticipate books coming out. I always get surprised when new books come out, and I typically don’t find myself waiting for the next book of a big series! I also always have books to read, so I don’t really find myself waiting around for a specific book to come out. But I want to try to do all the TTTs for 2020, so here are my top 5 books that I am looking forward to reading this year!

1) House of Earth and Blood

I love Sarah J. Maas’ Court of Thorns and Roses series, and I don’t know when the next book in that spinoff series is coming out. While I was in the process of looking for the next ACOTAR book, I found out that Maas is going to be coming out with an entirely new series about Angels and Demons in March of this year! I personally haven’t finished the Throne of Glass series, so I hope to be able to finish those books and then pick this one up when it comes out. Read the synopsis by clicking the book cover!

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2) The Chosen #2

I really do enjoy Taran Matharu’s books, and I was lucky enough to be on a blog tour for the first book of this series, The Chosen. I didn’t absolutely love The Chosen, but I definitely liked it a lot and I think that this series has a lot of potential. I can’t wait to see what book 3 has in store for Cade. Read the synopsis by clicking the book cover!

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3) Masters’ Mistress

I read the prequel to the Angel Eyes series many months ago, and I absolutely loved it. These books do not romanticize slavery in any way, the men of this world are beaten and broken because they lost the war and have been abused by the women of the world for so long. Jake’s Redemption was an amazing read, I wasn’t expecting the prequel to be so fleshed out. I actually forgot that I was only reading a prequel to the main series after a while. Now, I am excited to see what will happen to rebellious Bret and kind Angel in the next book of this unique series. Read the synopsis by clicking the book cover!

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4) The Damned

I loved The Wrath and the Dawn, but I haven’t finished that series yet. I loved Flame In The Mist, but I haven’t finished that series either even though I got Smoke In The Sun signed by Renée Ahdieh! I haven’t even STARTED The Beautiful yet, but I know that I am going to love it. Therefore, I know that I am already excited for The Damned to come out next year. Read the synopsis by clicking the book cover!

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5) The Gilded Ones

This book I had no idea about until I started creating this list, but I am super excited for it. This book is about a 16 y/o girl named Deka who lives in fear of her blood ceremony. If she has red blood, she will become a member of her village. But on the day of her ceremony, her blood runs gold, and she will face the consequences of her impurity. Then she is offered a place in an army of girls who also have the “impure” blood, and so she has to leave the village she has always loved. I am actually going to try to get an advance copy of this book if it pops up on Netgalley, so wish me luck! Read the synopsis by clicking the book cover!

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Thanks for reading my Top 5 picks for next year, which books are you anticipating?

Let It Be Me Review (Love Unexpected #1)

Megan has been a live-in nanny for Adam’s son Charlie for 5 years. She dreams of being a teacher, and she has been trying to find another job for years. When she finally gets the job she wants, she wants to help Adam make sure that Charlie has a good nanny. Someone who actually cares about him and won’t leave him again like his mother left him.

But Adam doesn’t think that a nanny is good enough, he wants a wife who will actually be committed to staying with him and his son. Now, Megan has to work as a matchmaker to find Adam a woman who will fit both him and his son. Adam thinks that he can just find a wife like a business transaction, a situation that will just be mutually convenient for both himself and the woman. Megan knows that in order for Charlie to have a good childhood, there needs to be love in the home. Now, she just has to prove to Adam that she is right.

I have read quite a few boss-employee romances before, but this one was extra special because there was a child involved. Charlie’s childhood was at stake here, as his dad couldn’t be there for him when he was overworking himself in his office job. Without a nanny, no one would be there to supervise and care for Charlie as he grew. Charlie was already feeling isolated because his dad was always busy with work; losing Megan would be devastating for him. Megan is hurt when Adam just wants to marry as a business transaction and not for love, so she could just try to set Adam up with anyone to hurt him. But instead, she actually cares and tries to find Adam a good match for Charlie’s sake.

The only thing that bothered me slightly about this book was how it woudld drag on and on sometimes. I would get tired of seeing Adam and Megan stuck in the same spot chapter after chapter. They could both tell their feelings for each other were real, but by the middle of the book they kept dancing around the subject. Eventually I just wanted them to either part ways or get together, as I didn’t think they wer a good match. Then things changed and I was back on the Alex x Megan train.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new adult family romance novel.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books

The Deep ARC Review

The Deep is a fantasy novel about the descendants of African slave women thrown overboard into the sea by slave owners. Pregnant women were thrown overboard for being “sick and disruptive cargo,” but what would have happened if their babies adapted to the new environment and survived anyways? The zoti are the answer to this “what if.” They are born from the bodies of women thrown overboard, but rather than having legs they have tails and can breathe underwater. They do not remember where they came from, as it is too painful for them to remember. Only Yetu is cursed with being the Historian. She is overcome by the pain of the History, of all the horrific memories of the first zoti and of the women thrown overboard. She barely remembers who she is, and she cannot rid herself of the History lest the rest of her people suffer as she does with the memories. But one day, she can’t take it anymore, and flees to the surface. She leaves the rest of her people in the process of the Remembering, the yearly pain of the memories coming to the surface again, and she flees to discover herself outside of the painful memories of the ancestors.

I came into this novel expecting a hard-hitting dark fantasy book that mixed history with the secrets of the ocean in a beautiful way. WHat I read was a confusing story that jumped around in time, where I was never sure of who was speaking. Sometimes the POV only referred to the main character as “We”, sometimes the POV was clearly from Yetu, and sometimes I could never tell who was speaking at all. I kept reading hoping that things would clear themselves up by the end of the story, but they didn’t. The book was so short that I never truly felt any connection to Yetu or her people, and I couldn’t figure out how the side characters were even important to the story at all.

One thing that confused me the most in this story was Yetu’s multiple (?) love interests? I could not tell whose POV the story was supposed to be being told from at the time, but Yetu was with a male side character, and then she was talking to and seemed to be romantically interested in a female character Oori. I am not completely sure if it was even Yetu with the male character, as that occurred during a POV switch where the only pronoun being used was “we.” But it made the story confusing to read as it seemed like Yetu was with both this male character and the female character at the same time, just going back and forth between the two. This is simply one example of something that didn’t add up within the story.

I also couldn’t understand why the other zoti didn’t understand why Yetu was in such pain being the Historian. She was cursed with the Rememberings constantly, and she had to lead them through their own Rememberings as well, so why didn’t they understand her pain. They were clearly in pain during the Rememberings, so why was it so difficult for them to understand that this was how she felt all the time?

The only part that I did like about this book was the dark fantasy aspect. I was horrified by the description of the zoti helping the newborn zoti out of the bodies of their dead mothers, but I loved how it was described and how the instant connection was made from this horrific real world to the underwater fantasy one. I also did enjoy reading some of the flashbacks of history, even though I felt like they could have been expanded on.

If this book had been longer and focused on Yetu’s story alone, I believe I would have really enjoyed it. If the book had been this length and been a collection of short stories from the Rememberings without trying to connect the main plot of Yetu, I believe I would have enjoyed that as well. But as this story was written, it feels more like a hodge-podge of information than a coherent tale, and I could not recommend it.

I received an advance copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 books.

Freya Snow #13: Pandora Review

Freya knew she was going to be the Queen of the Underworld because her father was the king, but she knew she had time until her father would die and she would have to take that position. When her father gets sick and reveals that he is dying, Freya is distraught. Not only does she have to deal with her father being gone, she has to deal with maintaining order in the Underworld as she transitions from Princess to Queen. On top of all that, Freya’s mother is back in her life and Pandora’s Box has to be closed, and Alex is back in her life after several years of being with the Enhanced.

This book truly shows how Freya has grown throughout the series. At first she was a teenaged foster child, unsure of herself but eventually sure that she had a crush on her friend Damon. Then, she was in her late teens and gaining her powers as an Angel, and falling for an Enhanced human named Alex. Now she is in her 20s, happily married to Damon, and preparing to name her fiancée Alex as her heartbond. She thought that everything was going well with her life, but now her father dies and her mother is back as a ghost. When she was a teenager, she hated her mother for leaving her on Earth as a baby and not helping bring her back to her father, the King. Now, she is a Queen, older than her mother who is frozen as a 19 y/o ghost, and she has lost both of her parents. I am unsure of how close we are to the end of the Freya Snow series, but this book seems like a perfect setup for the end. Freya is finally reaching the peak of her powers, and she even has all of her true loves by her side. It is truly a beautiful thing to read.

I also enjoyed how Alex was woven into the story. Damon and Freya are both autistic, but Alex is not. There are some things that Alex picks up on that Damon and Freya would not. There are some connections that Damon and Freya have that Alex is not a part of, whether it be magical or just emotional. But she still manages to fit into their dynamic. I’m unsure if Damon and Alex are ever going to have a romantic relationship or if they will always just be connected through Freya, but I am happy either way. The only thing I was confused about was how Jan would weave into this story. She is technically still with Alex, but Alex is living with Freya in the Demon World. I hope this is cleared up in the next few Freya Snow or Engineered Rebel books!

I finished this book quickly as I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next with some of my favorite characters. This book didn’t end off on the best note though, and I can’t wait to find out what happens to Freya and her friends/family/lovers in the next installment of this series. Everything is at the point where all the side series are crossing over with the main Freya Snow novels, and it is really unique to be able to see what the side characters are also doing while Freya is going through this time in her life. I would definitely suggest to check out the Engineered Rebel and Royal Cleaners series if you are enjoying this series!

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an adult LGBT+ romance novel.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 books

The Royal Cleaner #7: Torn Review

Caroline, Seph, and Mina have finally started to accept their feelings for one another, and have begun to live as a polyamorous couple. Nothing can ever go perfectly for this group though, and Seph has to get used to being diagnosed as Litcorde and to her new powers as an Oracle while still being in the honeymoon stage of her new relationships. Also, Gregor and Mina’s ex-husband are getting along quite well, but Gregor is struggling with dating someone so new to discovering himself.

I was so so so so happy to see Seph happy (at least somewhat) with Mina and Caroline! I felt bad for her in the previous novel as she kept pining after the married couple while they were oblivious to her advances. She has put herself to the side for so many books, and now she gets the chance to work on herself. Even though Uther is still a threat, she has to work on her powers before she can take him on properly. I was happy to see the book focus on her and her own issues for a bit without having Caroline or Mina or Gregor to worry about. Seph was so used to putting on a brave face to protect her brother that she had suppressed her feelings and had ignored the signs of her being Litcorde.

Speaking of Gregor, I am also happy that he was able to find happiness in this book! He spent most of his time protecting Caroline in their fake marriage and hadn’t pursued any romantic interests of his own in many years, so to see him have an interest in someone was a pleasant change. I wasn’t expecting Arjun to be his love interest, but I am glad that Diya’s father is somehow included in this world of magic.

This book again focuses on the more domestic side of the characters, which I truly enjoy. Since the series is intertwined so closely with the Freya Snow books, most of the action ends up occurring in the main series. These characters of floating in the aftermath of those books, which is an interesting and unique way to tell the story. You can see how the Demon World is working behind the scenes, as Freya has larger issues to worry about than the somewhat smaller issues of the Royal Cleaners.

Overall this was another great installment in this novella series, and I can’t wait to see what happens to these characters next! I would recommend this series to anyone looking for an adult romance novel with a polyamorous and LGBT+ couples.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 books