September 2024 Book Reviews
RATING: 5 STARS
Gilded Descent forms a world where all magical creatures exist and hide their existence from the human world. They live in plain sight but hide their magic for fear of relation. The council is the governing body that resides over the world, they decide everything.
Merrick lives in a coven; her mom is the high priestess. Merrick is disliked by the world she lives in. Constantly ridiculed and rejected she seeks comfort in Marcus a master vampire. Things change for the worse and Merrick begins to spiral unleashing the darkness she kept caged.
I enjoyed reading this book, at first, I didn't like Merrick because she bounced around so much. After realizing she has been rejected and hated her whole life, I can completely understand why she clings to anything that gives her the love and attention she craves. It changed my perspective on her and I started to enjoy reading the book, I finished in a little under 6 hours. Blake Ironmore is a great author, and I can't wait to finish the Gilded Ruins series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
RATING: 5 STARS
Forbidden magic occurs in a world where a king's mission is to eliminate magic to bring the world into a modern era. Mages born when both moons are full are considered moon-born, the king has decided that they are the next target in his goal to eliminate magic.
Kyllan a 15-year-old mage lives with his aunt, uncle, and sister in a castle directly controlled by the king's inner circle. His uncle works for the king and hates magic, so he stands with the king to forbid the use of magic. After Kyllan's secret is revealed, he must escape to the forest where his master resides. After arriving in the forest, he is sent on a quest to save his world and take on the evil king.
Barbara Ferrier did a fantastic job writing this story, I loved the originality and world-building. She truly captured the mind of a 15-year-old when faced with life-changing events and having their secret exposed. The world is beautiful, I love the portrayal of the beasts that were mentioned, and the lavish kingdom hidden away. I loved the characters, the willingness to work together, and the acceptance they offered Kyllan. I can't wait to read the rest of the series; I highly recommend this book to those who love magic, uncovering secrets, quests, and animals.
RATING: 5 STARS
ARC Reader for Voracious Readers Only – This is my honest review and opinion about Elemental.
First off, I wanted to thank the author Liane Mahugh for sending me an ARC copy and allowing me the privilege of reading and reviewing Elemental.
Elemental takes place on Solara Prime, a planet that is home to an advanced civilization where some have developed the capability to control the elements. Raya, a 16-year-old girl can control the elements beyond her peoples’ wildest dreams, she is a prodigy and has been selected for a secret mission to travel to Earth. While training for this mission everything takes a turn for the worse when an organization known for their attacks sets their sight on the mission leaving Earth. After stopping their efforts to sabotage the ship, Raya is sent into space for a 6-month journey. After hitting debris while outside of Earth’s atmosphere she crashed lands in Canada. With no way to return home, she hopes to find the necessary parts to repair her ship and complete her mission.
Raya is someone that has been told all her life she is special and will go far, she can do things no one else can. She is one of a kind and instead of letting that get to her head she is still levelheaded and caring. Raya’s character goes from someone who is unsure how her future will look to accepting something that sends her light years away from home. I loved the characters Raya, Dev, “Uncle” Jake, Priya, and Quinn. They were all unique and fit together quite well. I loved that the plot also had “villains” it showed how greedy people can be when introduced to something they want to control or take away from.
I really enjoyed reading this book, it was an original take on fantasy, science fiction, and aliens. The story was unpredictable, making it an interesting read with twists and turns, it was a page turner for me, and I had difficulty putting it down. Liane Mahugh has created a book worth reading, I cannot wait to finish the series and find out what happens with Raya.
RATING: 5 STARS
The saga continues with book 2!
The Secret Kingdom follows Kyllan and his 3 teammates as they learn magic and take on a new dangerous mission. Tasked with giving an artifact back to those it was taken from, Kyllan, Jules, Azealia, and Rendon are attacked by bandits keen on stealing artifacts throughout the lands. Black Eyes believes that all the crystals "belong" to him, and he will do anything to get them. The group's next mission is to stop the bandits and recover the stolen magical items.
The world of the ancient kingdom 300 years ago is beautiful, I love that animals communicate with mages and rely on each other for protection throughout the kingdoms. I also love that magic is seen as needed to balance the world in ancient times instead of back in Kyllans, where it is frowned upon and illegal. The author Barbara Ferrier did a fantastic job with continuing the series, the book is unpredictable leaving the reader guessing what will happen next as events unfold. I can't wait to divulge in the next book to continue the story of Kyllan and his important task of saving his world.
RATING: 5 STARS
We Are Voulhire Book 1 takes place in the land of Voulhire, that was united under one rule many years ago by King Saint Idus. His dynasty lasted 700 years before its collapse and a new dynasty took its place. Voulhire is known for its technological advancements in the north, the city of Virko in the south, and the beautiful capital city that houses the king and his court Soulhire.
King Wilhem is the present-day ruler, betrayed by a friend he is hiding a secret that if exposed to the common folk could ruin his reign and reputation. There are only a select few that he let in on his little secret and one is Lord Eldus, the man he promoted to reign over Hillport after the devastation the last two lords caused. He is tasked with rebuilding the south and entering Voulhire into the golden age, but the enemies will do everything possible to prevent that from happening.
Meanwhile in another city Galen has recently traveled from the Land of the Princes, he was given papers that made him a citizen of Voulhire and inherited his great uncle's blacksmith business. He knows nothing about being a blacksmith, but his uncle left him detailed instructions to learn the trade.
This book seemed to be written as a way point for the reader to imagine the beautiful world that was created while also knowing key cities and characters throughout the story. You learn the characters emotions and feelings, what certain cities offer, what the cities and characters look like in exceptional detail, and what the occupation/background of each character is. It's a very slow burn and unlike anything I have read before. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, the world building was fantastic.
RATING: 5 STARS
Thank you so much to Annika Snow for sending me an ARC copy and allowing me the privilege of reading and reviewing Spark of Pursuit.
Spark of Pursuit created a world where immortals and mortals live together. Each immortal has unique magic – shapeshift, wraith, light etc. After a war between the two Kalla Technologies created a weapon for mortals to use against an immortal, it helped to level the playing field.
Ara is a socialite and “heir” to the Kalla throne, her brother Coren is the one that sits on that throne and controls Kalla. Ara is known for her partying and rehab visits, making it known to everyone that is why she was not chosen to inherit the company. After being in Cirindril for 15 years she returns to Veilfall after her brother had called her for help. After finding out the reason he called, she takes on a different persona to find the culprits behind the crime, she never imagined who she would run into. Used to being on her own, she makes a valiant effort to push away the feelings that arise when she comes face to face with Graydon, an immortal police officer who is investigating the same crime as her.
Spark of Pursuit is such a phenomenal read, it was such a chore to put down the book and stop reading the excitement that filled the pages. When I say I highly recommend reading this book you will not regret it I mean it with every fiber of my being. The characters, plot, villains, world building, everything was perfect I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book, it is original and keeps the reader enthralled with every world on the page as the plot thickens and secrets reveal themselves.