Eight siblings, eight books, eight love stories. Set in Regency London these books follow the well-to-do Bridgerton family as each of them finds their unique happy endings. Illegitimate children, hidden jewels, midnight duels, secret identities, and endless scandal: these books have it all!
Continue reading “The ‘Bridgerton’ series by Julia Quinn”To be published 19/01/2022…
Kissen is the only member of her family to have survived after the villagers decided to sacrifice them to a fire god. Gods will do anything to get prayers and in the end the humans are the only ones who suffer. Now she dedicates her life to killing gods, fortunate that the King has decided to pay for such services.
Continue reading “‘Godkiller’ by Hannah Kaner”SPOILER ALERT: THIS REVIEW REFERS TO THE OUTCOMES OF BOOK ONE (Gilded). IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT, I SUGGEST YOU TRY THIS REVIEW INSTEAD: ‘Gilded’ by Marissa Meyer
To save the souls of five children, Serilda has promised to marry the Erlking and pass off her unborn child as his own. How she will save herself and her baby after the children are freed is a whole different problem.
Continue reading “‘Cursed’ by Marissa Meyer”SPOILER ALERT: THIS REVIEW REFERS TO THE OUTCOMES OF BOOK ONE (Once Upon a Broken Heart). IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT, I SUGGEST YOU TRY THIS REVIEW INSTEAD: ‘Once Upon a Broken Heart’ by Stephanie Garber
Evangeline’s life has been fully unravelled and turned upside down. The man she thought she was going to marry is now a vampire. The step-sister she thought she could trust is a malicious sorceress. Her new husband, Prince Apollo, is in a spell-induced coma. Her lesson from this? Never ever trust Jacks, the Prince of Broken Hearts. His heart is not broken; it simply doesn’t exist.
Jacks has promised to wake Apollo if Evangeline will open the Vallory Arch for him, said to be filled with either the greatest treasure or the greatest weapon. Judging from previous experience with Jacks, a weapon seems most likely. With this in mind, and her new-found magic at her fingertips, Evangeline is determined to find another way. If only the Fates weren’t quite so good at manipulating events to get their own way…
This book has a bit more of an obvious structure and end goal than ‘Once a Broken Heart’, although just as much mystery. As the second book in this series, I was hoping more of these mysteries would be solved and was disappointed to find this was not the case. However, these mysteries did help to pull me along through the narrative at a faster pace than I might otherwise have read.
I was sad to see that Evangeline seemed as much a puppet in this book as she was in the previous one. In contrast, the character of Jacks is explored in a lot more detail and the hints of his backstory really worked to give a greater depth to his character. These little distractions from the main plot made up some of my favourite parts of the book.
[ originally shared by the British Fantasy Society: https://www.britishfantasysociety.org/reviews/out-today-the-ballad-of-never-after-by-stephanie-garber-from-hodderbooks/ ]
SPOILER ALERT: THIS REVIEW REFERS TO THE OUTCOMES OF BOOK ONE (The Mask of Mirrors). IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT, I SUGGEST YOU TRY THIS REVIEW INSTEAD: ‘The Mask of Mirrors’ by M.A. Carrick
Ren’s real face is starting to disappear under the masks of Renata, Arenza, and the Black Rose. Grey Serrado and the Rook are more at odds with each other than one would expect, considering they are the same person; the Rook will go to great lengths to maintain his secret identity, regardless of how much Grey might wish to share the truth.
Vargo’s secrets are becoming less secret by the day, although his spider might just be relieved at the effects. Sedge is torn between knot bonds and blood ones, and even Tess is struggling to maintain the seemingly simple mask of a lady’s maid. With everyone holding their own secrets tight, it might take them a bit longer than necessary to work out that they all have the same (perhaps unreachable) goal.
There are so many twisted threads in this plot, not the least because almost every character has multiple personas and secrets. At first, this was daunting, but as I read on, it became a driving force as I waited eagerly to find out which secret would be unravelled next and how those involved would react. Ren, in particular, seems to struggle with these personas and the different aspects of her real personality that they each magnify. I found Arenza to be especially interesting as it gave insight into her Vraszenian heritage and the mixed emotions that this inspires in her. As well as expanding on Ren’s character, this also served to elaborate aspects of the world-building that are so vital to the politics of the novel.
Where the previous book focused on pattern reading, this one explored numinatria in greater depth, adding an understanding of the setting which was previously missing and allowing me to feel more like I belonged in the world set out. It also gave a better insight into the characters with knowledge of numinatria, particularly in the ways that they shared and used this knowledge.
Overall this rather chunky book is definitely worth persevering with, although I would recommend reading slowly! You will be well rewarded with multiple dramatic reveals and character relationships that you can’t help but root for (romantic and otherwise). The end of this book may leave you frustrated, but it will also leave you eager for the third book. The good news is that this is a trilogy, so the next book is also the final book, which we hope means it plans to tie up a few more loose ends.
[ first shared by the British Fantasy Society: https://www.britishfantasysociety.org/reviews/the-liars-knot-by-m-a-carrick-from-orbitbooks-bookreview-fantasy/ ]
To be published 02/02/2023…
Once there were ninety-nine clans, each specialising in a different type of practitioning. Over the years the clans warred and united and merged and warred again. Then the first Emperor squashed all other rebellion, created the Hin Kingdom, and outlined a universal Way of Practitioning. This new way was intended as self-defence and demonic practitioning was strictly outlawed. Then the Elantians came, eradicating both the clans and the Hin with their metal-based based magic.
But none of this history matters to Lan, living as a Hin Songgirl under Elantian rule. The only history she cares about is her own: specifically what the tattoo on her wrist means, why no one else can see it, and why and how her mother put it there with her dying breath.
Continue reading “‘Song of Silver, Flame like Night’ by Ame̒lie Wen Zhao“To be published 08/11/2022…
Drew recently inherited her gran’s beloved bookshop. It’s an unexpected bequest, but Drew doesn’t hesitate to put her photography dreams on hold in order to continue her gran’s legacy. The fact that she hasn’t read a book since school is inconsequential and when gran’s old book club take it upon themselves to arrange an author event, Drew takes it in her stride. That is until she meets the author, who looks exactly like one of his own romance heroes come to life…
Continue reading “‘Better than Fiction’ by Alexa Martin“To be published 10/11/2022…
SPOILER ALERT: THIS REVIEW REFERS TO THE OUTCOMES OF BOOK ONE (Daughter of the Moon Goddess). IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT, I SUGGEST YOU TRY THIS REVIEW INSTEAD: ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ by Sue Lynn Tan
Xingyin has been successful in freeing her mother. The moon is now their home rather than their prison. Unfortunately, this also means the moon is now open to visitors. Prince Liwei is a welcome visitor, although his regular visits raise questions that Xingyin is not sure she has the answers to. Wenzhi is less welcome and less easy to ignore than Xingyin would have liked. Yet he is still easier to deal with than the strangers whom her mother insists they make welcome, especially when her instincts are afire with suspicion. The question is who will Xingyin turn to for help when her instincts prove right?
Continue reading “‘Heart of the Sun Warrior’ by Sue Lynn Tan”To be published 08/12/2022…
Yaga is immortal. Her mother is (or rather, was) the Earth Goddess Mokosh. Her father: an unknown mortal man. Her closest friends: an owl named Noch, a wolf named Dyen, and her house with chicken legs which is named Little Hen. Her one calling in life: to heal and help the people of Russia.
Continue reading “‘The Witch and the Tsar’ by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore“To be published 16/02/2023…
The war took a harsh toll on the village of Brudonnock and the flu took an even harsher one. Moira Jean carries the pain of loss with her every day. When she lost the love of her life she also lost her future; now she feels stuck in Brudonnock, in an endless cycle of work and sleep. One night of drinking and dancing and forgetting was supposed to take the edge of her pain, but they danced in the wrong place and far more is taken from her than she bargained for. Her friends are trapped in the Land Under the Hill and she only has until Beltane to free them. If only she knew when Beltane was…
Continue reading “‘The Thorns Remain’ by JJA Harwood”
Escape to the Bookshelf