Fantasy

#BookReview Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare @cassieclare @SimonSchusterCA #ChainofThorns #TheLastHoursTrilogy #CassandraClare #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare @cassieclare @SimonSchusterCA #ChainofThorns #TheLastHoursTrilogy #CassandraClare #SimonSchusterCA Title: Chain of Thorns

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Last Hours #3

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on Jan. 31, 2023

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 800

Format: Hardcover

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

James and Cordelia must save London—and their marriage—in this conclusion to the Last Hours series from author Cassandra Clare.
Chain of Thorns is a Shadowhunters novel.

Cordelia Carstairs has lost everything that matters to her. In only a few short weeks, she has seen her father murdered, her plans to become parabatai with her best friend, Lucie, destroyed, and her marriage to James Herondale crumble before her eyes. Even worse, she is now bound to an ancient demon, Lilith, stripping her of her power as a Shadowhunter.

After fleeing to Paris with Matthew Fairchild, Cordelia hopes to forget her sorrows in the city’s glittering nightlife. But reality intrudes when shocking news comes from home: Tatiana Blackthorn has escaped the Adamant Citadel, and London is under new threat by the Prince of Hell, Belial.

Cordelia returns to a London riven by chaos and dissent. The long-kept secret that Belial is James and Lucie’s grandfather has been revealed by an unexpected enemy, and the Herondales find themselves under suspicion of dealings with demons. Cordelia longs to protect James but is torn between a love for James she has long believed hopeless, and the possibility of a new life with Matthew. Nor can her friends help—ripped apart by their own secrets, they seem destined to face what is coming alone.

For time is short, and Belial’s plan is about to crash into the Shadowhunters of London like a deadly wave, one that will separate Cordelia, Lucie, and the Merry Thieves from help of any kind. Left alone in a shadowy London, they must face Belial’s deadly army. If Cordelia and her friends are going to save their city—and their families—they will have to muster their courage, swallow their pride, and trust one another again. For if they fail, they may lose everything—even their souls.


Review:

Intense, action-packed, and thrilling!

Chain of Thorns is a suspenseful, gripping tale that takes us back to Edwardian London and into the lives of the most powerful Shadowhunter families in existence as they join forces to use their knowledge, weapons, and special talents to once and for all conquer demonic magic and vanquish Belial, the Prince of Hell, for good.

The prose is brisk and tight. The characters are multilayered, dependable, and fearless. And the plot is a riveting tale full of twists, turns, angst, loyalty, duty, heartbreak, danger, family, friendship, love, sizzling tension, tormented pasts, and supernatural abilities.

Overall, Chain of Thorns is an imaginative, passionate, epic, fantastical novel by Clare that is bursting with soul-searching dilemmas, sizzling romance, dangerous quests, and complex, intriguing characters. And while it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to this amazing cast of characters I’ve come to be invested in over these last three novels, it is nevertheless a superb ending to a fabulous series that I highly recommend and will undoubtedly miss.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

       

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shadowhunter Chronicles. She is also the coauthor of the bestselling fantasy series Magisterium with Holly Black. The Shadowhunter Chronicles have been adapted as both a major motion picture and a television series. Her books have more than fifty million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and three fearsome cats.

Photo by Kelly Campbell.

#BookReview A Curse of Queens by Amanda Bouchet @AuthorABouchet @SourcebooksCasa #AmandaBouchet #ACurseofQueens #kingmakerseries #kingmakerchronicles #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction

#BookReview A Curse of Queens by Amanda Bouchet @AuthorABouchet @SourcebooksCasa #AmandaBouchet #ACurseofQueens #kingmakerseries #kingmakerchronicles #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction Title: A Curse of Queens

Author: Amanda Bouchet

Series: The Kingmaker Chronicles #4

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Oct. 4, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Pages: 496

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

Discover an all-new adventure in USA Today Bestselling author Amanda Bouchet’s thrilling, white-hot fantasy series, The Kingmaker Chronicles!

The queen has been cursed, and no one knows who’s behind the plot to threaten the realm’s fragile peace. Desperate to help, Jocasta hatches a plan to find Circe’s Garden, a fabled island where she hopes to discover an antidote. But she can’t do it alone. She needs the strong arm and unflinching bravery of the warrior she’s loved since childhood—her brother’s right-hand-man and captain of the guard, Flynn of Sinta.

Together they can do the impossible. Yet with treachery brewing on Mount Olympus, one thing is clear: Thalyria and its new royals are still pawns in an epic game of power—one that might end in a War of Gods.


Review:

Complex, adventurous, and enthralling!

A Curse of Queens is an action-packed, seductive tale that takes us into the life of Jocasta, King Griffin’s younger sister and small-town healer who, after discovering the possible solution to the curse that binds her sister-in-law Queen Catalia and threatens overall peace in the kingdom, embarks on a treacherous journey to Circe’s Garden with the help of the one man who doesn’t seem to realize just how much he owns her heart, the talented and reliable captain of the guard, Flynn of Sinta in the hopes of finally discovering the magical antidote that could save them all.

The prose is brisk and tight. The characters are multilayered, fearless, and dependable. And the plot is a thrilling tale full of twists, turns, duty, danger, destruction, heartbreak, family, friendship, violence, tormented pasts, and unconditional love.

Overall, A Curse of Queens is a creative, passionate, epic fantastical novel by Bouchet that is brimming with dangerous quests, soul-searching dilemmas, sizzling romance, and complex, intriguing characters that once again kept me immersed and entertained from the very first page and is the perfect addition to the Kingmaker Chronicles series that I’m pretty sure I will never get enough of.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links. 

           

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amanda Bouchet

Amanda Bouchet grew up in New England where she spent much of her time tromping around in the woods and making up grand adventures in her head. It was inevitable that one day she would start writing them down. Drawing on her Greek heritage for the setting and on her love of all things daring and romantic for the rest, her debut trilogy, The Kingmaker Chronicles, took form. She writes what she loves to read: epic exploits, steamy romance, and characters that make you laugh and cry.

Her first novel, A Promise of Fire, won several Romance Writers of America chapter contests, including the Orange Rose Contest and the paranormal category of the prestigious Golden Pen.

Amanda is a French master's graduate and former English teacher. She lives in Paris, France with her two bilingual children who will soon be correcting her French.

Photo by Richard Beban.

#BookReview The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheStorytellersDeath #AnnDavilaCardinal #bookmarkedbylandmark

#BookReview The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheStorytellersDeath #AnnDavilaCardinal #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: The Storyteller's Death

Author: Ann Dávila Cardinal

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Oct. 4, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 9/10

From International Latino Book Award-winning author Ann Dávila Cardinal comes a gorgeously written family saga about a Puerto Rican teenager who finds herself gifted (or cursed?) with a strange ability.

There was always an old woman dying in the back room of her family’s house when Isla was a child…

Isla Larsen Sanchez’s life begins to unravel when her father passes away. Instead of being comforted at home in New Jersey, her mother starts leaving her in Puerto Rico with her grandmother and great-aunt each summer like a piece of forgotten luggage.

When Isla turns eighteen, her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies. It is then that Isla discovers she has a gift passed down through her family’s cuentistas. The tales of dead family storytellers are brought back to life, replaying themselves over and over in front of her.

At first, Isla is enchanted by this connection to the Sanchez cuentistas. But when Isla has a vision of an old murder mystery, she realizes that if she can’t solve it to make the loop end, these seemingly harmless stories could cost Isla her life.


Review:

Nostalgic, memorable, and intriguing!

The Storyteller’s Death is a captivating, mysterious tale that takes you into the life of Isla Larsen Sanchez, a young eight-year-old girl who, after being sent by her mother to Puerto Rico for the summer while her father is terminally ill, continues to happily spend every summer there with her extended family until things take a little turn when at eighteen she begins to have visions of events that have happened to her deceased ancestors in the past, and when those stories begin to turn violent long-buried family secrets that some would prefer to stay hidden will finally need to be unearthed and confronted.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are multilayered, conflicted, and curious. And the plot is a compelling blend of life, loss, love, family, friendship, secrets, surprises, heartbreak, culture, community, magical realism, and resentments.

Overall, The Storyteller’s Death is a hopeful, immersive, multi-generational saga by Dávila Cardinal that reminds us that when it comes to family life is a combination of all the messy, challenging, heartbreaking, complicated moments, as well as all the lovely, wonderful, touching times that happen in-between.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ann Dávila Cardinal

Ann Dávila Cardinal is a novelist and Director of Recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts where she also earned her MFA in Writing. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including father and son poets Virgilio and José Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning fiction writer Tere Dávila. Ann’s first novel, Sister Chicas, was co-written with Jane Alberdeston Coralin and Lisa Alvarado, and was released from New American Library. Her next novel, a horror young adult work titled Five Midnights, was released by Tor Teen on June 4, 2019. The story continues in Category Five, also from Tor Teen, released on June 2, 2020. Ann lives in Vermont where she cycles, knits, and prepares for the zombie apocalypse.

Photo Credit: Carlos Cardinal

#BookReview The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen @MeganBannen @orbitbooks #TheUndertakingofHartandMercy #MeganBannen #OrbitBooks

#BookReview The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen @MeganBannen @orbitbooks #TheUndertakingofHartandMercy #MeganBannen #OrbitBooks Title: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

Author: Megan Bannen

Published by: Orbit Books on Aug. 23, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Fantasy

Pages: 448

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Orbit Books

Book Rating: 9/10

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.

Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?


Review:

Heartwarming, humorous, and unique!

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a sweet, action-packed, enemies-to-lovers romance that takes you into the lives of Mercy Birdsall, a kindhearted undertaker who finds herself inadvertently attracted to an infuriatingly rude marshal while also falling for her anonymous pen pal, and Hart Ralston, the lonely, hardworking drudge slayer who longs for something more than just his job working day and night to protect the outside world from the magical creatures and devious souls of Tanria.

The writing is playful and tender. The characters are quirky, hesitant, and endearing. And the plot is an adventure-filled tale of life, loss, heartache, expectations, familial drama, mystique, chemistry, attraction, witty banter, humorous mishaps, supernatural characters, and love.

Overall, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a creative, charming, uplifting tale by Bannen that I absolutely adored and was a true delight to read with its highly entertaining storyline and abundance of precious characters I couldn’t help but root for.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

Thank you to Orbit Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Megan Bannen

Megan Bannen is a former public librarian whose YA debut The Bird and the Blade was an Indies Introduce Summer/Fall 2018 pick, a Summer 2018 Kids’ Indie Next List pick, and a Kirkus Best YA Historical Fiction of 2018 pick. While most of her professional career has been spent behind the reference desk, she has also sold luggage, written grants, collected a few graduate degrees from various Kansas universities, and taught English at home and abroad. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and their two sons.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe @AuthorKatM @PPPress #TheyDrownOurDaughters #KatrinaMonroe #inkedinpoison

#BookReview They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe @AuthorKatM @PPPress #TheyDrownOurDaughters #KatrinaMonroe #inkedinpoison Title: They Drown Our Daughters

Author: Katrina Monroe

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jul. 12, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8/10

If you can hear the call of the water,
It’s already far too late.

They say Cape Disappointment is haunted. That’s why tourists used to flock there in droves. They’d visit the rocky shoreline under the old lighthouse’s watchful eye and fish shells from the water as they pretended to spot dark shapes in the surf. Now the tourists are long gone, and when Meredith Strand and her young daughter return to Meredith’s childhood home after an acrimonious split from her wife, the Cape seems more haunted by regret than any malevolent force.

But her mother, suffering from early stages of Alzheimer’s, is convinced the ghost stories are real. Not only is there something in the water, but it’s watching them. Waiting for them. Reaching out to Meredith’s daughter the way it has to every woman in their line for generations-and if Meredith isn’t careful, all three women, bound by blood and heartbreak, will be lost one by one to the ocean’s mournful call.

Part modern gothic, part ghost story, They Drown Our Daughters explores the depths of motherhood, identity, and the lengths a woman will go to hold on to both.


Review:

Atmospheric, menacing, and dark!

They Drown Our Daughters is an eerie, gripping, multi-generational story that transports you to Cape Disappointment and into the lives of the Strand family and all the powerful emotions, spooky traditions, long-buried secrets, strange behaviours, and unimaginable tragedy that has tied them together for more than a century.

The prose is tight and intense. The characters are multilayered, vulnerable, and troubled. And the plot told in a back-and-forth style is an unsettling tale of life, loss, tragedy, desperation, familial drama, legends, secrets, tortured souls, supernatural phenomena, and the complex relationships that exist between mothers and daughters.

Overall, They Drown Our Daughters is a haunting, ominous, chilling tale that kept me engaged and intrigued from the very first page and is undoubtedly a unique, creative, promising debut by Monroe.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

          

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katrina Monroe

Katrina Monroe is the author of They Drown Our Daughters, coming July 2022 from Sourcebooks. She lives in Minnesota with her wife, two children, and Eddie, the ghost who haunts their bedroom closets.

#BookReview Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert @katee_robert @RaincoastBooks @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #WickedBeauty #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert @katee_robert @RaincoastBooks @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #WickedBeauty #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa Title: Wicked Beauty

Author: Katee Robert

Series: Dark Olympus #3

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Jun. 7, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Fantasy

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Raincoast Books, Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

She was the face that launched a thousand ships,
The fierce beauty at the heart of Olympus,
And she was never ours to claim.

In Olympus, you either have the power to rule… or you are ruled. Achilles Kallis may have been born with nothing, but as a child he vowed he would claw his way into the poisonous city’s inner circle. Now that a coveted role has opened to anyone with the strength to claim it, he and his partner, Patroclus Fotos, plan to compete and double their odds of winning.

Neither expect infamous beauty Helen Kasios to be part of the prize… or for the complicated fire that burns the moment she looks their way.

Zeus may have decided Helen is his to give to away, but she has her own plans. She enters into the competition as a middle finger to the meddling Thirteen rulers, effectively vying for her own hand in marriage. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather see her dead than lead the city. The only people she can trust are the ones she can’t keep her hands off—Achilles and Patroclus. But can she really believe they have her best interests at heart when every stolen kiss is a battlefield?

A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus that’s as sinful as it is sweet.


Review:

Smouldering, fervid and sinfully sexy!

Wicked Beauty is a tantalizing, action-packed retelling that takes you on a journey into the life of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus as they all enter their names into the competition to become the next Ares and vie to take to the one coveted open spot as a member of the Thirteen but first they will have to survive three dangerous trials that will test their intelligence, speed, agility, strength, and wit, and a passion burning between them that could destroy their dreams but solidify their desire and hearts forever. 

The writing is spicy and seductive. The characters are driven, consumed, and intense. And the plot is a provocative, exhilarating tale full of competition, sexual tension, red-hot chemistry, sizzling attraction, flirty banter, murderous intentions, threatening situations, and scorching menage (MFM) sex scenes.

Overall, Wicked Beauty is another salacious, dramatic, erotic treat by Roberts that just took the desire, danger, and dirty of the Dark Olympus series to a whole other level and has left me curious and exceptionally eager to read whatever she manages to come up with next.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Raincoast Books & Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katee Robert

Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet @AuthorABouchet @SourcebooksCasa #AmandaBouchet #APromiseofFire #kingmakerseries #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction

#BookReview A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet @AuthorABouchet @SourcebooksCasa #AmandaBouchet #APromiseofFire #kingmakerseries #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction Title: A Promise of Fire

Author: Amanda Bouchet

Series: The Kingmaker Chronicles #1

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Apr. 5, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Pages: 464

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

KINGDOMS WILL RISE AND FALL FOR HER

Cat Fisa isn’t who she pretends to be. She’s perfectly content living disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus, avoiding the destiny the Gods―and her dangerous family―have saddled her with. As far as she’s concerned, the magic humming within her blood can live and die with her. She won’t be a pawn in anyone’s game.

But then she locks eyes with an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south and her illusion of safety is shattered forever.

Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker―the woman who divines truth through lies―and he wants her to be a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm. Kidnapping her off the street is simple enough, but keeping her by his side is infuriatingly tough. Cat fights him at every turn, showing a ferocity of spirit that burns hot…and leaves him desperate for more. But can he ever hope to prove to his once-captive that he wants her there by his side as his equal, his companion…and maybe someday, his Queen?

Containing exciting bonus material (including maps, illustrations, and an expanded look at the world of Thalyria), fans of Jennifer Armentrout, Scarlett St. Clair and Sarah J. Maas will burn for this spicy romantic fantasy.


Review:

Fantastical, fierce, and action-packed!

A Promise of Fire is a suspenseful, gripping tale that takes us to the kingdoms of Thalyria and into the lives of the powerful, hot-headed Cat and the ruthless, warlord Griffin as they join forces to battle those who wish them dead, try to resist the ever-growing attraction quickly building between them, and decide to embark on a journey to bring peace to the realms.

The prose is intense and passionate. The characters are complex, unique, and gifted. And the plot is a riveting tale of twists, turns, passion, angst, wrath, loyalty, heartbreak, duty, sizzling tension, violence, humour, mysterious pasts, and supernatural abilities.

Overall, A Promise of Fire is an imaginative, seductive, highly entertaining tale by Bouchet that is brimming with bloody battles, grit, determination, heat, sexual chemistry, adventure, gods, healers, and other magical elements. It kept me invested and engaged from the very first page, and with its cliffhanger-type ending has undoubtedly left me counting down the days until I have the opportunity to read the next novel in The Kingmaker series, Breath of Fire, to find out how this epic battle continues.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links. 

           

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amanda Bouchet

Amanda Bouchet grew up in New England where she spent much of her time tromping around in the woods and making up grand adventures in her head. It was inevitable that one day she would start writing them down. Drawing on her Greek heritage for the setting and on her love of all things daring and romantic for the rest, her debut trilogy, The Kingmaker Chronicles, took form. She writes what she loves to read: epic exploits, steamy romance, and characters that make you laugh and cry.

Her first novel, A Promise of Fire, won several Romance Writers of America chapter contests, including the Orange Rose Contest and the paranormal category of the prestigious Golden Pen.

Amanda is a French master's graduate and former English teacher. She lives in Paris, France with her two bilingual children who will soon be correcting her French.

Photo by Richard Beban.

#BookReview Electric Idol by Katee Robert @katee_robert @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #ElectricIdol #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Electric Idol by Katee Robert @katee_robert @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #ElectricIdol #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa Title: Electric Idol

Author: Katee Robert

Series: Dark Olympus #2

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Jan. 18, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Fantasy

Pages: 375

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8.5/10

He was the most beautiful man alive.
And if I wasn’t careful, he was going to be my death.

*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Psyche and Eros that’s as sinful as it is sweet.*

In the ultra-modern city of Olympus, there’s always a price to pay. Psyche knew she’d have to face Aphrodite’s ire eventually, but she never expected her literal heart to be at stake…or for Aphrodite’s gorgeous son to be the one ordered to strike the killing blow.

Eros has no problem shedding blood. But when it comes time to take out his latest target, he can’t do it. Confused by his reaction to Psyche, he does the only thing he can think of to keep her safe: he marries her. Psyche vows to make Eros’s life a living hell until they find a way out of this mess. But as lines blur and loyalties shift, she realizes he might take her heart after all…and she’s not sure she can survive the loss.


Review:

Witty, dark, and wickedly seductive!

Electric Idol is a steamy, provocative retelling that takes you on a journey into the life of Psyche Dimitriou, a candidate to become the new Hera who, after causing a scandal and falling under the wrath of Aphrodite, finds herself needing the protection of a fake marriage to the one man, Aphrodite’s fixer and son, Eros who has literally been sent to take her heart.

The writing is fluid and enticing. The characters are consumed, sassy, and endearing. And the plot is a delightfully salacious tale of desire, temptation, mystique, attraction, chemistry, danger, and sizzling romance.

Overall, Electric Idol is an alluring, fun, spicy tale that I absolutely adored. It is the second title in the Dark Olympus series by Robert that I am now totally hooked on and is, in my opinion, a series that just keeps getting better and better.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katee Robert

Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Where I Can’t Follow by Ashley Blooms @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #WhereICantFollow #AshleyBlooms #bookmarkedbylandmark

#BookReview Where I Can’t Follow by Ashley Blooms @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #WhereICantFollow #AshleyBlooms #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: Where I Can't Follow

Author: Ashley Blooms

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Feb. 15, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Women's Fiction

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 9/10

Walk through the door and leave all your problems behind…but you don’t know what’s on the other side. And once you leave, you’ll never come back. Will you go through?

Maren Walker told herself she wouldn’t need to sell pills for long, that it was only means to an end. But that end seems to be stretching as far away as the other side of Blackdamp County, Kentucky. There’s always another bill for Granny’s doctor, another problem with the car, another reason she’s getting nowhere.

She dreams of walking through her little door to leave it all behind. The doors have appeared to the people in her mountain town for as long as anyone can remember, though no one knows where they lead. All anyone knows is that if you go, you’ll never come back.

Maren’s mother left through her door when Maren was nine, and her shadow has followed Maren ever since. When she faces the possibility of escaping her struggles for good, Maren must choose just what kind of future she wants to build.

From critically acclaimed author Ashley Blooms, Where I Can’t Follow explores the forces that hold people in place, and how they adapt, survive, and struggle to love a place that doesn’t always love them back.


Review:

Heart-wrenching, thought-provoking, and memorable!

Where I Can’t Follow is an incredibly moving novel that takes us to small-town Kentucky where emotions run high, tragedy seems to strike, poverty is the norm, opioid addiction is rampant, hope appears futile, and the door to an easier, happier place always seems to be floating nearby.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are raw, fragile, and conflicted. And the plot is a sobering, compelling tale of life, love, loss, family, friendship, addiction, mental illness, suicidal ideation, socioeconomic depression, desperation, self-preservation, survival and a touch of magical realism.

Overall, Where I Can’t Follow made me think, made me feel, and resonated with me long after the final page. It’s a unique, emotional, absorbing tale by Blooms that is an excellent reminder that thorns can prick, roots can turn rotten, growth requires nurturing and love, and believing you’re worthy goes a long way when the road ahead seems hopeless and daunting.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ashley Blooms

Ashley Blooms is the author of Where I Can’t Follow, which was named a Most Anticipated novel by Good Housekeeping, Gizmodo, and Tor.com, among others. Her debut novel, Every Bone a Prayer, was long-listed for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize. She’s a graduate of the Clarion Writer’s Workshop and received her MFA as a John and Renee Grisham Fellow from the University of Mississippi. Her fiction has appeared in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Strange Horizons, among others.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Neon Gods by Katee Robert @katee_robert @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #NeonGods #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Neon Gods by Katee Robert @katee_robert @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #NeonGods #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa Title: Neon Gods

Author: Katee Robert

Series: Dark Olympus #1

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Jun. 1, 2021

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Fantasy

Pages: 380

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8.5/10

He was supposed to be a myth. But from the moment I crossed the River Styx and fell under his dark spell… he was, quite simply, mine.

Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that’s ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city’s dark facade.

With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity and makes a devil’s bargain with a man she once believed a myth… a man who awakens her to a world she never knew existed.

Hades has spent his life in the shadows, and he has no intention of stepping into the light. But when he finds that Persephone can offer a little slice of the revenge he’s spent years craving, it’s all the excuse he needs to help her—for a price. Yet every breathless night spent tangled together has given Hades a taste for Persephone, and he’ll go to war with Olympus itself to keep her close…

A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that’s as sinful as it is sweet.


Review:

Titillating, edgy, and unique!

Neon Gods is a dramatic, spicy retelling that takes you on a journey into the life of Persephone Dimitriou, the dutiful, intelligent daughter of Demeter who, after finding out her marriage to the cruel, ancient Zeus has been arranged, flees to the only place she thinks she’ll be safe, across the River Styx, into the arms of the one man she never believed truly existed, the devilishly handsome, darkly sexy Hades.

The writing is sultry and smooth. The characters are intense, impulsive, and brazen. And the tantalizing, alluring plot is filled with desire, temptation, danger, deception, mystique, palpable attraction, sizzling chemistry, violence, and erotic sex scenes.

Overall, Neon Gods is an intriguing, seductive, mystical tale by Robert that had just the right amount of mystery, steam, mythology characters, and bad boy vibes to keep me engaged from start to finish. As most of you know, I don’t read a lot of fantasy, and I have never read a novel by Katee Robert before, but I have to tell you I really enjoyed this one, and I can’t wait to read what happens in Dark Olympus next.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katee Robert

Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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