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Monstrous Design Book Review
From Goodreads: 1794, London: Camille and Al are desperately hunting Olympe’s kidnapper. From the glamorous excesses of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens to the city’s seedy underbelly, they are caught in a dangerous game of lies and deceit. And a terrible new enemy lies in wait with designs more monstrous than they could ever imagine… Can Camille play on to the end or will she be forced to show her hand? In Paris, the Duc is playing his own dangerous games. With Ada in his thrall, old loyalties are thrown into question. The Battalion are torn apart as never before, and everything – Ada’s love for Camille, her allegiance to the…
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Of Princes and Promises Book Review
From Goodreads: Caterina LaValle is determined to show she’s still the queen of St. Rosetta’s Academy. Sure, her crown may be slightly askew after her ex-boyfriend, Alaric, cheated on her, but she’s a LaValle. She’ll find a way to march right back in there, her hands clutching the strings to the whole puppet show. This time, she’s going to be untouchable. Rahul Chopra knows that moment he shared with Caterina LaValle at the winter formal meant something. Surely she feels it, too. He’s a little uncertain how someone like him (socially inept to a point way past “adorkable”) could fit into her world, but he’s loved Caterina for years. He knows…
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Kingdom of Souls Book Review
From Goodreads: A girl with no gifts must bargain for the power to fight her own mother’s dark schemes—even if the price is her life. Heir to two lines of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. Yet she fails at bone magic, fails to call upon her ancestors, and fails to live up to her family’s legacy. Under the disapproving eye of her mother, the Kingdom’s most powerful priestess and seer, she fears she may never be good enough. But when the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate enough to turn to a forbidden, dangerous ritual. If she has no magic of her own, she’ll…
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The Chosen Book Review
From Goodreads: Throughout history, people have vanished with no explanation. A group of teenagers are about to discover why. Cade is settling into a new boarding school, contemplating his future, when he finds himself transported to another realm. He soon discovers their new world is populated with lost remnants from the past: prehistoric creatures, ancient relics, and stranger still — people. Overwhelmed by his new surroundings, Cade has little time to adjust, for soon he and his fellow classmates are forced to become contenders in a brutal game, controlled by mysterious overlords. But who are these beings and why did they choose these teens? Cade must prepare for battle .…
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The Prison Healer Book Review
From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds,…
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Rule of Wolves Book Review
Please note, this review is SPOILER FREE for Rule of Wolves, but will include spoilers for King of Scars, as well as Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom, and the Shadow and Bone trilogy. I know a lot of people are reading the Grishaverse books for the first time with the TV series, so I wanted to be clear! From Goodreads: The Demon King. As Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible. The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much…
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Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody
Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody From Goodreads: Return to the City of Sin, where the final game is about to begin…and winning will demand the ultimate sacrifice. Only days after a corrupt election and brutal street war, one last bloodthirsty game has begun. The players? The twenty-two most powerful, notorious people in New Reynes. After realizing they have no choice but to play, Enne Scordata and Levi Glaisyer are desperate to forge new alliances and bargain for their safety. But while Levi offers false smiles and an even falser peace to the city’s politicians, Enne must face a world where her true Mizer identity has been revealed…and any misstep…
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The Blackstone Ritual Book Review: A Discussion About Author Ethics
Okay, so this review will be a little bit different from any others that I have written, mostly because along with reviewing the book, I want to talk about the manipulative marketing techniques the author appears to have employed in order to boost sales of his books. This review will contain spoilers, mostly because this review is (hopefully) intended to prevent people from supporting an author that seems to resort to these tactics. In many ways, the situation is reminiscent of the Handbook for Mortals by Lani Sarem, who conned her way onto the NYT Bestseller List by bulk buying copies of her own book. From Goodreads: Throughout the kingdoms…
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Cinderella is Dead Book Review
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron From Goodreads: It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step…
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All the Stars and Teeth Book Review
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace From Goodreads: Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice. She will reign. As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer — the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic. When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes…
