She thought he was dead.
Four years after the disappearance of her beloved prince, Lady Allette Rittey returns to the fae realm to find Prince Senan very much alive—and on the verge of marrying a bloody princess.
Desperate for answers, Allette poses as a servant to gain access to his castle. But the wedding bells are ringing, and she’s running out of time before she loses him forever.
Prince Senan Vale has problems.
A lot of them.
Most pressing, an arranged marriage not to the woman he was meant for, but the princess of a neighboring kingdom.
When the king refuses to call off the engagement, Senan loses all hope.
Then his long-lost love returns from the grave.
Senan and Allette learn the truth of what kept them apart, discovering they have been betrayed by those closest to them.
The only way to be together is to flee the kingdom.
But first they must escape a castle full of traitors.
Bound by Gravity is the first in a series of fantasy romance duets that features fated mates and forbidden love.
I rarely read dystopian fiction, but I made an exception with this one because it has the urban fantasy element in it, and I admit that the book with its pretty stenciled edges caught my eye at Barnes & Noble. The monsters in the book are mostly those from lore like werewolves, vampires, sirens, etc. The main character Kierse breaks into a mansion to steel an artifact, and she breaks one of her rules by not getting out quickly enough. Instead she's lured into a stunning library where she's caught by a monster named Graves who resides there. She broke the Monster Treaty, so he could've killed her with impunity. But instead he hires her because he knows that she has powers she doesn't even know she has. Although Graves is a bit of an enigma wrapped in a mystery, so is Kierse. Supposedly he's some sort of warlock, and a big part of the plot is determining what the two main characters are. I won't post spoilers, but there are a couple of scenes that I didn't care for, and I don't think they were necessary for the story. Of the three fantasy books I read, this one was (only slightly) my least favorite, but I do recommend it if you like urban fantasy and the enemies to lovers trope. I will read the sequel The Robin On the Oak Throne, and I believe that this series is a duology.
Princess. Prisoner. Runaway. Queen.
Elowen Atarah, Princess of Imirath, came into the world like a firestorm made flesh. A princess with a link to five dragons should have been a blessing to her kingdom, but her blessing became her curse. The little girl in shackles became a knife wielding woman with a thirst for retaliation.
Now, Queen of Aestilian, a secret kingdom she forged through strength and survival, Elowen needs a way to feed her rising population. She never thought she would have the force to take on Imirath, but when the snarky Commander Cayden Veles of Vareveth, her father’s enemy kingdom, offers her a deal she’s been dreaming of for years, how can she not take it? Even if he ignites her temper like no other, nothing unites two begrudging allies more than a common enemy.
The pair of them, along with three accomplices, will navigate their partnership, politics, and attempt to pull off the greatest heist their world has ever known. Five people, all united through revenge, will have to transcend the odds stacked against them and infiltrate the impenetrable castle if they want to reap their rewards before someone reaps their souls. Putting aside their differences to accomplish a common goal because everyone knows…vengeance is a promise signed in blood.
My Review:
I received an ARC of Fear the Flames via a Goodreads giveaway. I'm so lucky I won it because I might not have read it otherwise; I tend to prefer cozy fantasies over high fantasy. I really love the main characters Elowen and Cayden, the world-building, and the fast-paced plot. I could not put this book down!
Elowyn and Cayden both suffered terrible losses as children. I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but I can discuss what's already in the Goodreads synopsis. Elowyn was born a princess, and upon her birth she was gifted five dragon eggs and a dire prophecy: either she would be a savior to her kingdom, or she would basically burn it down. That's quite a burden for a child, yet the dragons were blessings to her and her constant companions: They shared a unique, magical bond. Everything was fine until things went terribly wrong, and she and her dragons were separated and imprisoned. She barely escapes as a young child, and her strength, determination, and will enables her to build a secret kingdom in a cold and remote area. Her subjects are refugees, and her little kingdom loves their Queen Elowyn.
Elowyn and Cayden's "meet cute" happens quickly in the story, and it's quite dramatic. Both are on missions, Elowyn as a spy, and Cayden as the military commander looking for Elowyn. Cayden wants to use Elowyn to steal/rescue her dragons to help him and his kingdom defeat Imarath, Elowyn's old kingdom. Cayden, along with his brother and sister, and Elowyn with her adopted brother, work together to form a plan to breach Imarath's impenetrable fortress. Their plan involves several quests, each a component that will facilitate their goal of releasing the dragons. The friendships forged are a large part of the book, and the reader learns much about Cayden and Elowyn via these friendships. Cayden and Elowyn develop feelings for each other, but both have trust issues, especially Elowyn. I'm becoming a fan of the enemies to lovers trope, especially how Darling interprets it!
Olivia Rose Darling's world building is excellent: These characters are definitely not of our world. Yet, I don't feel lost or too overwhelmed with the different kingdoms and settings. The magical creatures and monsters are also a plus for me. I liked how the characters are in a forest and all of a sudden a monster of some sort appears and wreaks havoc.
The plot is paced perfectly for me, and it completely maintained my attention for the entire book. There were several surprising plot twists I was not expecting which I loved. I was a bit skeptical about the bond between Elowyn and her dragons because the separation she suffers from them is a constant source of pain for her. I think I've been won over as a dragon fan, and I can see why they are such a popular element in high fantasy books. I highly recommend it, but be forewarned that Fear the Flames is book one in a four part series. Thank-you, Goodreads, for hosting the giveaway, and thanks to the publisher for the ARC.
Finally, here are my reviews for my two book club selections for September.
I'm reviewing Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson first.
According to Goodreads:
Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.
I'm Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I'd killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it's a little more complicated than that.
Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.
Who was it?
Let's get started.
EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE
My brother
My stepsister
My wife
My father
My mother
My sister-in-law
My uncle
My stepfather
My aunt
Me
My Review:
We read Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone for an Instagram book club, and it is brilliant. It's a murder mystery set at a family reunion in a remote Australian ski resort during a snowstorm: No one can leave the mountain, and no one is coming up the mountain to help the investigation. The narrator Ernie is fantastic: He writes books on how to write mysteries, so he's a shoe-in already for solving the crime. The book is organized in sections, and each one focuses on a family member. In these sections we learn more about the suspects including a little of their histories and the circumstances surrounding their crimes of murder. Some of them are very surprising, and of course a couple of the murders occur at the reunion.
At first it was difficult for me to keep apace with all the characters, but the way the book is organized helps. Eventually I learned who was who. I love Ernie's voice: I felt like I could trust his narrative, and he is very endearing: I was pulling for him the entire book. If you want to read a very unique, extremely well-written murder mystery, then you must add this to your TBR immediately. I checked this book out from my local library (there was a wait list), but I'm planning on purchasing it and sharing it with my family and friends. The ending is shocking, and oh, so good! I love this book!
Now I'll review Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen.
According to Goodreads:
he startling, witty, highly anticipated second novel from the critically acclaimed author of Atmospheric Disturbances.
The story begins in 1618, in the German duchy of Württemberg. Plague is spreading. The Thirty Years' War has begun, and fear and suspicion are in the air throughout the Holy Roman Empire. In the small town of Leonberg, Katharina Kepler is accused of being a witch.
Katharina is an illiterate widow, known by her neighbors for her herbal remedies and the success of her children, including her eldest, Johannes, who is the Imperial Mathematician and renowned author of the laws of planetary motion. It's enough to make anyone jealous, and Katharina has done herself no favors by being out and about and in everyone's business.
So when the deranged and insipid Ursula Reinbold (or as Katharina calls her, the Werewolf) accuses Katharina of offering her a bitter, witchy drink that has made her ill, Katharina is in trouble. Her scientist son must turn his attention from the music of the spheres to the job of defending his mother. Facing the threat of financial ruin, torture, and even execution, Katharina tells her side of the story to her friend and next-door neighbor Simon, a reclusive widower imperiled by his own secrets.
Drawing on real historical documents but infused with the intensity of imagination, sly humor, and intellectual fire for which Rivka Galchen is known, Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch will both provoke and entertain. The story of how a community becomes implicated in collective aggression and hysterical fear is a tale for our time. Galchen's bold new novel touchingly illuminates a society and a family undone by superstition, the state, and the mortal convulsions of history.
My Review:
I like historical fiction, and I also love math. So I was very excited to read Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch for my "in person" book club because it's based on the witch accusations and trial of Johannes Kepler's mother Katharina. Riva Galchen based her novel on letters, books, and court records. Kepler is only a minor character in the novel, and this was perhaps my only disappointment in the book, that Kepler didn't play a larger role. One thing this does emphasize, though, is that he didn't have as much influence as one would think regarding his mother's predicament.
What I love about the book is Katharina's personality: She is witty, strong, rational, and she has a penchant for accurately bestowing nicknames on many in the village who deserve them. It was fascinating to me reading about ridiculous accusations, things that prove beyond a doubt whether or not a person is a witch and in cahoots with the devil. Throughout the book there are witness transcripts from when they were questioned for Katharina's case. Each section begins with a warning that if the witness lies, God will throw them into hell with the devil. Clearly many of the witnesses did not fear God nor this warning, because the accusations get increasingly outrageous as the investigation progresses.
If you're interested in the history of the witch trials in Europe during the early seventeenth century, you will enjoy this book. I recommend it strictly because of Katharina's character. Her interactions with villagers, her family, and her interior monologues are so much fun. Her mind is a very entertaining place to be!
Thank-you for reading my blog, especially this long post! Which one of these books intrigues you? Will you read any of them? What did you read during September?
Until next time...
Happy reading!
Ricki Jill
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