Waiting on Wednesday [#146]

Title: The Dark Days Deceit (Lady Helen #3)
Author: Alison Goodman
Publisher: Viking Books for  Young Readers
Publication Date: November 20, 2018

Lady Helen has retreated to a country estate outside Bath to prepare for her wedding to the Duke of Selburn, yet she knows she has unfinished business to complete. She and the dangerously charismatic Lord Carlston have learned they are a dyad, bonded in blood, and only they are strong enough to defeat the Grand Deceiver, who threatens to throw mankind into chaos. But the heinous death-soaked Ligatus Helen has absorbed is tearing a rift in her mind. Its power, if unleashed, will annihilate both Helen and Carlston unless they can find a way to harness its ghastly force and defeat their enemy (goodreads).

Book Review: The Dark Days Pact

Title: The Dark Days Pact (Lady Helen #2)
Author: Alison Goodman
Genre: Young Adult | Historical Fantasy | Romance | Magic
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 31, 2017
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased

June 1812. Just weeks after her catastrophic coming-out ball, Lady Helen Wrexhall—now disowned by her uncle—is a full member of the demon-hunting Dark Days Club. Her mentor, Lord Carlston, has arranged for Helen to spend the summer season in Brighton so that he can train her new Reclaimer powers. However, the long-term effects of Carlston’s Reclaimer work have taken hold, and his sanity is beginning to slip. At the same time, Carlston’s Dark Days Club colleague and nemesis will stop at nothing to bring Helen over to his side—and the Duke of Selburn is determined to marry her. The stakes are even higher for Helen as she struggles to become the warrior that everyone expects her to be (goodreads).

Oh, the angst!

Book Review: The Smoke Thieves

Title: The Smoke Thieves (The Smoke Thieves #1)
Author: Sally Green
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: May 1, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC

A princess, a traitor, a hunter and a thief. Four teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Four nations destined for conflict. 
In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a loveless political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell.
As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our four heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize (goodreads)? 

 

The comparison between The Smoke Thieves and Game of Thrones is accurate. 

Book Review: Rebel of the Sands

Title: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Genre: Young | Fantasy | Magic 
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 8, 2016
Source: Purchased
Format: Physical

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.
Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from. 
Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him... or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is (goodreads).

Rebel of the Sands just introduced a hell of an adventure!

Waiting on Wednesday [#100]

 

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Dark Days Pact (Lady Helen #2)
Author: Alison Goodman
Publication Date: January 31, 2017
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

June 1812. Just weeks after her catastrophic coming-out ball, Lady Helen Wrexhall—now disowned by her uncle—is a full member of the demon-hunting Dark Days Club. Her mentor, Lord Carlston, has arranged for Helen to spend the summer season in Brighton so that he can train her new Reclaimer powers. However, the long-term effects of Carlston’s Reclaimer work have taken hold, and his sanity is beginning to slip. At the same time, Carlston’s Dark Days Club colleague and nemesis will stop at nothing to bring Helen over to his side—and the Duke of Selburn is determined to marry her. The stakes are even higher for Helen as she struggles to become the warrior that everyone expects her to be (goodreads).

Book Review: The Dark Days Club

Title: The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1)
Author: Alison Goodman
Genre: Young Adult | Historical Fiction | Paranormal
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 26, 2016
Format: Audiobook
Source:  Purchased

London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap (goodreads)?

The Dark Days Club was all sorts of lovely! I honestly cannot imagine waiting another year for the next book!

Book Review: Half Bad

Title: Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy #1)
Author: Sally Green
Genre: Young Adult | Witches | Magic
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
Format: Physical
Source: Purchased

Wanted by no one.Hunted by everyone.
Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan's only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it's too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?
Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive (goodreads).

Half Bad was nothing I was expecting, and I say that in the best way possible.