Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – The Serpent that Swallowed Its Tail

The third book of The Panagea Tales, The Serpent That Swallowed Its Tail, follows Kazuaki’s crew after the climactic showdown at the end of the book 2, but I’ll keep this review short to try to avoid spoilers.

With the crew spread out, one prominent character noticeably missing, and Panagea, itself, trying to rearrange in the face of new world, Book 3 definitely takes on a slower, more morose tone than the last two books. This book tackles some heavy themes head on, and builds even further on the intricate world-building of the first two entries. The characters are more spread out here, and although they eventually connect in the end, their narratives feel much more independent in this book. Still, the story retains the epic scale and beautiful prose that makes the series stand out. I will say I did miss a certain missing character in this book, and I missed some of the crew interactions and comradery I loved in the first two.

A solid entry in the Panagea Tales that I would definitely recommend to fans of the first two, and one that definitely left me curious for Book 4!

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Epic, dark, and unique. Let’s see what book 4 brings!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Fable

Fable was another solid read that I didn’t love. Fable is the story of a girl abandoned by her ship-captain father on a rough island where she desperately tries to scrape together enough coin to escape and confront her father.

I really loved the concept of this book along with the found-family themes on the rough and tumble high-seas and the subtle magic in an intriguing, unforgiving world. But I found myself really wishing for more connection between Fable and the other characters, particularly the love interest. Told from the first person, Fable seems to stay in her own head a lot, and although everyone in this world is supposed to be reserved and guarded, I really found myself wanting more inter-character interaction and connection.

I think part of the problem might be that this book does not stand alone in any way. I’d say it ends on a cliffhanger, but honestly it doesn’t really feel like an end. It feels like we got cut off in the middle of the book – so maybe the second book would bring that depth and satisfaction I was missing. The audiobook narrator wasn’t my favorite voice, but overall I enjoyed the listen, and would recommend to fans of seafaring YA.

If I see the sequel ever pop up in the library, I’d probably pick it up, but I don’t think I’ll be pining for it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think Tula has begun to dread the possibility of a reading slump! Ever hopeful, we continue to search the horizon for new, amazing reads.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash #3)

Okay, so to review.
Book 1: I thought the first half was boring, and the second sucked me in. 4.5 stars
Book 2: Totally got me with the side characters, the enemies-to-lovers romance, and the plot. 5 stars
And now here we are at book 3.

So… I jumped right into this book from Book 2, excited and ready, and for about the first 30% I was riveted… and then we ran into some problems. First, the romance seemed to overwhelm the plot, which isn’t super problematic, but the MCs were square in the honeymoon phase for pretty much the whole book. Their relationship didn’t seem to grow, and the smut was honestly kind of repetitive. The inside jokes that were cute in book 1 and book 2 (Miss Willa’s diary and Poppy’s neverending questions) felt stale here, and the plot as a whole just seemed to stall with lots of talking and not much doing. There were also a few plot points (won’t give away without spoilers) that also didn’t really work for me.

I actually hesitated reading this book with #4 not out yet since I thought I would be dying to get my hands on it. As it is, I think I’ll read it once it comes to the library, but I’m really hoping it has more to it then this one.

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

There’s always hope for the next one!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

Okay, so I had mixed thoughts on the first book (specifically I thought the first half was boring, and the second half was awesome), but it left off on a bit of cliff-hanger so I decided to give book two a try, and I was NOT disappointed.

I INHALED this book. Book two successfully intensified everything I enjoyed from book one. Although once again, I did think the start was a touch slow, I wasn’t bothered too much because I was already so invested in the characters. And the side characters really showed up here too in the best way. I absolutely loved Kieran. And this time, I loved learning about the world. The world-building definitely fleshed out and deepened here, but it was more seamlessly woven into book two.

It’s darker, it’s steamier (kind of veering into the weird, but this is a world of essentially vampires and werewolves so… you know), and in general, it’s just more awesome. Cas and Poppy are borderline dysfunctional and absolutely violent, but they seem so suited to each other, and their dynamic just totally works. If you’re unfazed by sex, violence, and language, and you enjoyed the second half of book one, then I wholeheartedly recommend. On to Book 3!

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Modern day Wolven reporting for duty here.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – The Interstellar Slayer

The Interstellar Slayer is a fun science fantasy adventure that takes us into a thoroughly interesting and detailed universe. In a way it reminded me a lot of The Mandalorian in the way that the story follows this rather taciturn assassin as he navigates through this rich new universe on a mission from his guild. There’s plenty of action to show off his interesting, magic-like abilities that make him so effectively deadly, and we also got a glimpse of some colorful side characters and lore which I’m sure get more facetime in future books.

Honestly, the only criticism I have this book is that it packs of lot of info into such a short book, and we didn’t get to know the characters as much as I would’ve liked. But with lots of sequels to follow, there’s still so much to explore and see through Hozark’s adventures. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for a fun new space-fantasy world to explore with a fresh new magic system and lots of action. Thanks so much to Booksirens for the free ARC!

 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½   

Cheers to a fun sci-fi! Alas, if only I had a cute mug to toast with!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Darling, there are Wolves in the Woods

Darling there are Wolves in the Woods by LV Russell follows Teya as she enters an enchanted, dark wood to find her sister who was stolen by the fey ten years past. As she struggles to survive the horrors of the wood, the complex fey, Lathaniel, become inextricably entwined with her journey.

I really loved the writing style of this book. The descriptions were incredibly evocative and painted such a vivid picture of the darkly magical wood. I also super loved just how dark this fairytale-like story was. It was just the right amount of creepy and disturbing without feeling like anything was added for shock value or out of place. Even though the woods are obviously a death trap you wouldn’t want to find yourself in, they sounded so beautiful, I could see how they would draw someone in. And I loved all the interesting descriptions of the dark magic that exists in this world.

I found Lathaniel to be a very interesting, complicated character… which, after countless years as a fey, a cruel race, and with his a thorny past, makes a lot of sense. Even though he’s very forward about his flaws and is dangerous in so many ways, I can see how Teya would be drawn to him. Teya though, was a bit frustrating to me. Teya has definitely had it rough too in life, but I found her to be rather mercurial in her relationship with Lathaniel, and I had trouble understanding her motivation for some of her choices. But I was definitely still rooting for her, and since there are sequels there’s still a lot of room for growth.

Totally recommend to anyone looking for a unique, dark fairytale with complex characters and beautiful writing.

 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐   

And, it’s been set free into the local Little Free Library. I have no doubt it’ll be snapped up in no time!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – A Storm of Silver and Ash

A Storm of Silver and Ash follows a young thief as she gets caught up in an assassination plot. Written in first person, Storm’s voice and personality pops off the page, and I really enjoyed the world building of the underworld guilds and the lore of the elves. I did think Storm’s light/young tone seemed a bit at odds with her image as an intimidating master thief and killer, but I’m not a huge fan of this style of first person that breaks the fourth wall, so this could just be me! Although there’s no romance in this story, I can see the outlines of the relationships that could be developed in the future sequels. Overall, a solid fantasy recommended for fans of voicey YA fantasy! 

 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐   

Fun fantasy? Tula is HERE for it!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Queen of Night

It’s a little difficult to describe this book without spoilers, so this will be a short review for a great sequel to finish this duology! Queen of Night by Katherine Macdonald veers from the sequel, and plunges into new territory with this sequel. I loved the raised stakes and the growth of the Persephone’s character as the strands of her life come together. I also really loved the peeks we got into Hades’ perspective, and the happily ever after was a perfect end to their sweet romance. On the whole, this book was more serious and heavier than book one. It starts off a littler slower than the first, but makes up for it with an intense, action-filled second half. If you enjoyed the first book, I absolutely think you will love this one! Highly recommend this duology and can’t wait to read more by Katherine Macdonald.

 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐  

Also, as a side note, the copy of Thief of Spring that I put in our local free library only lasted a week before getting snapped up. It makes me smile so big to think someone might be enjoying it right now! 😊

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Thief of Spring

So Thief of Spring by Katherine Macdonald follows a mortal (contemporary) girl who comes across a fae (who are actually interwoven with the legends of the greek gods) Samhain revel, and is spirited down to live in the underworld for 7 months with (fae) Hades.

Where to even begin. WHAT DID I NOT LIKE?! The writing style is clean and fresh and beautiful. The dialogue is snappy and keeps the plot moving. The author wove this huge, dark, tantalizing world seamlessly around the tale of Hades and Persephone, and it just totally blew me away. Then there were the characters! I am seriously attached to both Hades and Persephone.

Seriously, they are so cute it almost physically pains me. They’re both so lovely and hurt in their own way, and the gentle way they put each other back together in a slow-burn that you can just drink in is absolutely fabulous.

And then the ending! Okay, I knew something was up and stuff was about to go down… but it just all happened in this intense climax, that honestly just left my jaw hanging in the best way.

I’m not huge into sequels, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t download anymore until I cleaned out current Kindle TBR. But apparently I lied, because I bought it and it’s on there now. So yeah. Basically, this book was a huge, wonderful surprise, and if you love YA fantasy or YA romance (or even better, both) you will totally fall in love with this book. The romance is standard YA heat (maybe a mild PG-13), the language is mildish, and there are some Harry Potter and other pop culture references in case you’re not into any of that.

But I loved it so five glittering stars to one of my favorite books of the year thus far, and I can’t wait to read the sequel!

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟  

These are my excited “I can’t wait to read the sequel” eyes!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – The Girl in the Clockwork Tower

What a super cute steampunkish Rapunzel retelling! The Girl in the Clockwork Tower by Lou Wilham follows Persi, a seer forced to work for the evil and anti-magic MOTHER agency, and quirky goofball, Captain Manu, Persi’s assigned Uprising point of contact in a world filled with all manner of familiar magical people (Mermaids, Werewolves, Unicorns etc) and a few subtle pop culture references peppered in.

I absolutely loved the characters. Persi is super sweet, but shows a lot of courage as she tries to subvert MOTHER from the inside, and Manu is just this dramatic, pineapple-loving dandy airship Captain that you really can’t help but love. I absolutely loved the tongue-in-cheek banter between he and his grumpy goblin first mate, Benard. And Manu and Persi were super cute together—just a heroic pair of cinnamon rolls. And I also really liked that even though Manu and Persi are wholesome and have this innocence to them, the story really didn’t shy away from the horridness of MOTHER.

The only thing that was a little off for me was the pacing. I thought the middle dragged a bit, and then the ending felt rushed—without the full closure I was expecting. It sounds like this is going to be the first book in a series, but I still felt there were some threads of the story that seemed to be left hanging. I would totally recommend to fantasy fans looking for a unique retelling with loveable characters, fun banter, and a clean, sweet romance.

Thanks so much to Booksirens and the publisher for the free ARC!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐  

Fun world and loveable characters in a steampunk retelling. Thumbs up!

Thanks for reading!