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fantasy

reviews April 20, 2023

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

The Foxglove King (The Nightshade Crown 1) by Hannah Whitten

Lore has been living by her wits since she was a child, running poisons for the cartel that took her in, avoiding the attention of the law, and keeping her illicit affinity for death magic a secret.

When a job goes wrong and Lore is captured by the Sainted King’s warrior-monks, she expects death. But King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening – or face the pyre.

Thrust into a lavish court where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted, Lore must navigate an intricate web of politics, religion, and forbidden romance and solve the King’s mystery. A mystery more dangerous and twisted than Lore can even imagine. (publisher)

Lore is a poison runner and a spy for her adoptive parents in Dellaire. Magic is a rare thing in the world these days, and some people have noted Lore’s powers. Lore can use Mortem, a kind of death magic. After a poison running drop goes wrong, she is brought to the palace and now must spy for the king. Entire villages are being wiped out, and the king suspects that his son Bastian knows something about it. Lore’s mission is to spy on Bastian and act as a cousin to Gabriel, an aristocrat who is now a monk.

I liked Lore, but as someone who’s been a spy for some time, she’s not a very good one. Like, someone has been spying on her since she was a child. And the two people she spies on in the book know about the spying…

I didn’t really mind the love triangle, but oh well. Too many YA vibes for me. I liked all 3 people but not as a love triangle. And I did like the concept of Mortem and the whole death magic thing and all the court intrigue.

I enjoyed the author’s previous books and was looking forward to this new series. And while it had its flaws, I just wanted to keep on reading and wanted to know what happened next. And I definitely want to know how the story continues.

3/5

Published: Orbit (March 9, 2023)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

reviews August 2, 2022

In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan

In the Shadow of Lightning (Glass Immortals 1) by Brian McClellan

Demir Grappo is an outcast—he fled a life of wealth and power, abandoning his responsibilities as a general, a governor, and a son. Now he will live out his days as a grifter, rootless, and alone. But when his mother is brutally murdered, Demir must return from exile to claim his seat at the head of the family and uncover the truth that got her killed: the very power that keeps civilization turning, godglass, is running out.

Now, Demir must find allies, old friends and rivals alike, confront the powerful guild-families who are only interested in making the most of the scraps left at the table and uncover the invisible hand that threatens the Empire. A war is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group of outcasts are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it. (publisher)

This was my first book from the author even though I’ve heard good things about his books over the years. The book started a little slowly for me but picked up after a while. At first, I was a bit confused with the magic system and there are many characters so keeping track of them was difficult at first.

There are four pov’s: Demir, Kezzie, Thessa, and Idrian.
Demir is the main protagonist you could say. Demir is head of a minor guild family and returns home after his mother is murdered. He left nine years ago in a self-imposed exile after a war campaign in Holikan ends horrendously. Now he tries to solve who murdered his mother.
Kezzie is a disgraced bastard daughter and enforcer of a Vorcien guild family. She’s trying to get back into favour and is helping Demir to solve the murder.
Thessa is immune to the magic system of the world and can create godglass which is running out.
Idrian is a soldier and was part of the campaign in Holikan that ended badly. Has long ties with Demir and his family.

The magic system has godglass, glass that has different capabilities. Cureglass can heal, witglass makes you think clearly… But now sources are running out.

There are a lot of political machinations going on with all the ruling guild families, there’s a war going on, murder investigation. A lot of things going on. I have to say I wasn’t really a fan of the ending but I’m curious to see where this is heading. I enjoyed the book and I want to try his other series too.

3,5/5

Published: Tor Books (June 21, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

reviews June 30, 2022

For The Throne by Hannah Whitten

For The Throne (Wilderwood 2) by Hannah Whitten

THE FIRST DAUGHTER IS FOR THE THRONE
THE SECOND DAUGHTER IS FOR THE WOLF

Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Five Kings, but at a steep cost. Red’s beloved sister – Neve, the First Daughter – is lost in the Shadowlands. But Neve has an ally, even if it’s one she’d rather never speak to again – the rogue king Solmir. Together they must journey across a dangerous landscape to find the mysterious Heart Tree – and finally claim the gods’ dark, twisted powers for themselves. (publisher)

 

Neve has ended up in Shadowlands, mostly because of her actions in the previous book. And she’s stuck there with Solmir, who was the villain in book 1. They both try to stop the Five Kings from escaping the Shadowlands, but they have different ideas about how to do it. There are also some trust issues since Solmir impersonated Neve’s betrothed.

In the first book, we got a few chapters from Neve’s pov but I wasn’t really interested in those. I didn’t warm up to her at all. So, I was a bit apprehensive about this book before starting. But I really liked Neve in this book. Like Red, she makes rash, and bad, decisions but she’s more calculated and her intentions are darker. In this book, she must come to terms with some of her decisions in the previous book and think about her motivations for doing those.

With Red and Eammon I was rather indifferent at times. I liked them but didn’t love them. I did love Neve and Solmir though. Probably because I liked Solmir more than Eammon. In short, Red and Eammon were the boring pair and Neve and Solmir were the interesting pair.

I didn’t really warm up to Raffe’s chapters with the princess whose name I don’t remember. And I thought he believed her lies too easy. Well to be fair, they all did.

I liked Red and Neve’s relationship through the books and that it was the thing that carried through the books.

4/5

Published: Orbit (June 9, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

reviews April 15, 2022

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne

The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga 2) by John Gwynne

THE DEAD GODS ARE RISING . . .

Lik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest.

As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own – and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance.

Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her.

Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god.

Their hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead . . . and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth. (publisher)

This was one of the most anticipated books of the year and it didn’t disappoint. And I absolutely loved the recap of the previous book. Wish more books had one.

The book starts where the last book ended. Orka is trying to find his son, Varg wants to find his sister and Elvar is looking for her own vengeance. Orka is still my favourite by far. I liked Varg’s chapters but mostly because the other members of the group are interesting. Elvar’s chapters were the least interesting, but they weren’t bad. It was great to see that she has grown and found herself. I liked seeing how the different storylines merged with each other.

My only minor issue is with the pacing. There’s a lot of travelling in the book and it slowed the pace a bit at times. But that was pretty much my only problem, and it wasn’t a huge one. But there are also a lot of battles so there is plenty of action too.

I can’t wait for the next book and what happens next! Because it was an evil way to end the book…

4,5/5

Published: Orbit (April 14, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

reviews March 10, 2022

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Sixteen-year-old Olivia Prior is missing three things: a mother, a father, and a voice. Her mother vanished all at once, and her father by degrees, and her voice was a thing she never had to start with. She grew up at Merilance School for Girls.Now, nearing the end of her time there, Olivia receives a letter from an uncle she’s never met, her father’s older brother, summoning her to his estate, a place called Gallant.

But when she arrives, she discovers that the letter she received was several years old. Her uncle is dead. The estate is empty, save for the servants.

Olivia is permitted to remain, but must follow two rules: don’t go out after dusk, and always stay on the right side of a wall that runs along the estate’s western edge. Beyond it is another realm, ancient and magical, which calls to Olivia through her blood… (publisher)

Olivia Prior is an orphan who can’t speak, sees ghouls and grew up in Merilance School for Girls. She’s always been an outsider at Merilance because she’s a bit different. Then she receives a letter from an uncle and moves to a mysterious family home called Gallant. The house has a garden where is a gate and you shouldn’t open it. Because the other side is where Death lives.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I loved Shades of Magic books, but Addie LaRue was a bit of a letdown. And I guess this book lands somewhere in the middle. I mean I liked it and read it in one sitting, but there was something missing.

I liked Olivia but the other characters stayed kinda distant and I didn’t really care what happened for them. I liked that the main character was mute and I was fine with less dialogue. But most of the characters were kinda dull. I actually would have liked to learn more about Olivia’s parents and how they met. I did like the gothic feeling and the illustrations were pretty. But in the end, there was very little accomplished. Like things were pretty much like what it was in the beginning. So what was the point?

3/5

Published: Titan Books (March 1, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley