Book Review: Wicked Saints [Blog Tour]

Title: Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1)

Author: Emily A. Duncan
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: April 2, 2019
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.
A prince in danger must decide who to trust.
A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. 
Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.
In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light (goodreads).

Wicked Saints was a powerful start to a series I can't wait to read more of. 

Waiting on Wednesday [#156]

Title: Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1)
Author: Emily A. Duncan
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: April 2, 2019

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.
A prince in danger must decide who to trust.
A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. 
Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.
In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light (goodreads).

Les Petites Revues [#11]

January releases are starting off strong! This week I bring you a twisty adult fantasy, intense heist, and sweet adult romance. 

Les Petites Revues [#10]

Title: Two Can Keep a Secret
Author: Karen M. McManus
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 stars

Two Can Keep a Secret proves that McManus knows how to deliver a twisty mystery and I will be gobbling up every book she comes out with. Two Can Keep a Secret isn't as WTF-worthy as One of Us is Lying, but it's pretty up there. Two Can Keep a Secret followed Ellery and her twin as they were sent to her mother's hometown while their mother was in rehab. There, they learned more about their aunt who disappeared years ago and the other girls who had disappeared since then. When I say this one is windy, I mean it. McManus would make you think that you knew what was happening, then pull the rug from under your feet. For all of us mystery readers who have a tendency of guessing the ending, you may be able to guess what happened, but you'll still feel shocked. Let me just say, that last line was enough to make me say, "whoa". 

Title: White Stag (Permafrost #1)
Author: Kara Barbieri
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher
Rating: 2 stars

Sigh, White Stag sounded good on paper but it was not my kind of YA Fantasy. I'm a fan of broody, dark fantasy that is dedicated to its world. White Stag felt very YA-lite, it was full of humor (even though there ere some pretty dark situations) and usage of U.S. American terms like "cooties". From the beginning, I knew it wasn't meant for me and I just never got into the world. There were goblins who seemed to be more like fae than goblins and not a lot of descriptions regarding their powers and physical appearances. The plot itself was very fast-paced, but maybe a bit too fast-paced for me. The ending had a twist that I found interesting, but that was the best thing to happen to the book in my opinion. So if you're a fan of books like Royal Bastards or anything by Amanda Hocking, you may enjoy this one more. 

Have you read any of the below? 

What are your thoughts? 

January releases are you looking forward to?

Les Petites Revues [#9]

It's another week of mini reviews! This week I review an engrossing contemporary novel, a problematic urban fantasy, and a boring romance. What a mixed bag!

Book Review: The Raging Ones

Title: The Raging Ones (The Raging Ones #1)
Author: Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie
Genre: Young Adult | Science Fiction | Romance 
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: August 14, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: e-ARC

In a freezing world, where everyone knows the day they will die, three teens break all odds. 
Franny Bluecastle, a tough city teen, dreams of dying in opulence, to see wealth she’s never known. Like the entire world, she believes it’s impossible to dodge a deathday. 
Until the day she does. 
Court Icecastle knows wealth. He also knows pain. Spending five years in Vorkter Prison, a fortress of ice and suffering, he dreams of life beyond the people that haunt him and the world that imprisoned him. 
Mykal Kickfall fights for those he loves. The rugged Hinterlander shares a frustrating yet unbreakable connection with Court—which only grows more lawless and chaotic as their senses and emotions connect with Franny. 
With the threat of people learning they’ve dodged their deathdays, they must flee their planet to survive. But to do so, all three will have to hide their shared bond as they vie for a highly sought after spot in the newest mission to space. Against thousands of people far smarter, who’ll live longer, and never fear death the way that they do (goodreads).  

I am confused and unimpressed. 

Book Review: Star-Touched Stories

Title: Star-Touched Stories (The Star-Touched Queen #2.5)
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Genre: Young Adult | Short Stories | Romance | Fantasy | Magic
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: August 7, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC

Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.
Death and Night
He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes. 
Poison and Gold
Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Queen Gauri and King Vikram's new reign presents itself, she is thrown into the path of the fearsome yet enchanting Spy Mistress. To help her friends, Aasha will have to battle her insecurities and perhaps, along the way, find love. 
Rose and Sword
There is a tale whispered in the dark of the Empire of Bharat-Jain. A tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth (goodreads)? 

 

I could live in this series. 

First Thoughts [#176]

First Thoughts is a feature where I give my initial impression of my current read.

Book Review: Sky in the Deep

Title: Sky in the Deep
Author: Adrienne Young
Genre: Young Adult | Historical Fiction
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.
Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.
She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating (goodreads).

Meeehhhhhhhhhhh.

Book Review: Between the Blade and Heart

Title: Between the Blade and the Heart (Valkyrie #1)
Author: Amanda Hocking
Genre: Young Adult | Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC

Valkyries have one great responsibility: to return immortals to the afterlife by slaying them. As a Valkyrie, Malin has always known that the balance of the world rests on her ability to carry out orders. But when Malin discovers that her mother spared the life of an immortal who was destined to die, her world is thrown into chaos. 
Malin not only wrestles with the knowledge that her mother might not be who she thought—she’s also thrust into the path of a gorgeous blue eyed guy named Asher who needs her help slaying the rogue immortal who destroyed his family. The balance of the world is at stake. And, as Asher competes with Malin’s ex for her love and loyalty, so is her heart (goodreads).

The Blade and the Heart reads like a Young Adult novel from 2011. 

Waiting on Wednesday [#125]

Title: Between the Blade and the Heart (Valkyrie #1)

Author: Amanda Hocking

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Valkyries have one great responsibility: to return immortals to the afterlife by slaying them. As a Valkyrie, Malin has always known that the balance of the world rests on her ability to carry out orders. But when Malin discovers that her mother spared the life of an immortal who was destined to die, her world is thrown into chaos.
Malin not only wrestles with the knowledge that her mother might not be who she thought—she’s also thrust into the path of a gorgeous blue-eyed guy named Asher who needs her help slaying the rogue immortal who destroyed his family. The balance of the world is at stake. And, as Asher competes with Malin’s ex for her love and loyalty, so is her heart (goodreads)