BLOG TOUR: Shadow & Flame by Mindee Arnett Review

Publication date: June 4, 2019

I am so excited to be apart of the blog tour for Shadow & Flame!! Last year, Onyx and Ivory was one of my favorite books that I read so I am excited to help promote this series. Thank you so much to the author for allowing me to be apart of the Relay Riders and to the publisher for sending me a bound manuscript!

Tour schedule and giveaway below!

Synopsis:

From acclaimed author Mindee Arnett comes the thrilling conclusion of the stunningly epic, action-packed, and romantic fantasy adventure about a powerful girl possessed of strange magic, the outcast prince she loves, and the kingdom that has torn them apart.

Kate and Corwin are on the run, desperate for allies in a new world of war among the kingdoms of Rime. As the book opens, Kate suffers a massive loss, one that will shape the struggle for freedom of all wilders and magic folk—that is, if Kate can learn to control her own power.

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Review:

I was fortunately given an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. SO, AS IT WILL ALWAYS BE, THIS REVIEW IS 100% MY HONEST OPINION.

I am so happy with this book. It ended the series in the best way possible in my eyes and made me fall in love with the characters all over again.

Kate is one of my favorite YA protagonists. She is strong, clever, and, unlike most YA female protagonists, she is NOT whiney! That is something I truly appreciate that Mindee did with her characters. She made them all very believable and raw.

The magic system in this book is something else that is very unique to me. Magic that only works in a certain part of the world, magic that only works during the day, magic that can control the elements and the mind….. AMAZING!

I am sad that this is the end of a series that I have come to love and adore.

Rating

5 out of 5 stars! Thank you Mindee for creating a world where I could escape my crazy life and dream of being a wilder.

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Tour schedule:

https://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2019/04/tour-schedule-shadow-flame-rime.html

Giveaway:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d9681b86372/

**giveaway prize

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More information about the book:

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: June 4th 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Book links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40042001-shadow-flameAmazon: https://amzn.to/2VqGEcb

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadow-flame-mindee-arnett/1129468426?ean=9780062652690#/

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadow-flame/id1378947310?mt=11

Book depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Shadow-Flame-Mindee-Arnett/9780062652690?ref=grid-view&qid=1556193448699&sr=1-1

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/es/en/audiobook/shadow-flame

Google Books: https://books.google.es/books/about/Shadow_Flame.html?id=XRC3uwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Review: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Publication Date: April 2, 2019

I am so excited and honored to be apart of the blog tour for Wicked Saints! Thank you to the publisher and the author!

Synopsis:

When Nadya prays to the gods, they listen, and magic flows through her veins. For nearly a century the Kalyazi have been locked in a deadly holy war with Tranavian heretics, and her power is the only thing that is a match for the enemy’s blood magic. But when the Travanian High Prince, and his army invade the monastery she is hiding in, instead of saving her people, Nadya is forced to flee the only home she’s ever known, leaving it in flames behind her, and vengeance in her heart.

As night falls, she chooses to defy her gods and forge a dangerous alliance with a pair of refugees and their Tranavian blood mage leader, a beautiful, broken boy who deserted his homeland after witnessing his blood cult commit unthinkable monstrosities. The plan? Assassinate the king and stop the war.

But when they discover a nefarious conspiracy that goes beyond their two countries, everything Nadya believes is thrown into question, including her budding feelings for her new partner. Someone has been harvesting blood mages for a dark purpose, experimenting with combining Tranavian blood magic with the Kalyazi’s divine one. In order to save her people, Nadya must now decide whether to trust the High Prince – her country’s enemy – or the beautiful boy with powers that may ignite something far worse than the war they’re trying to end.  

Trigger warning: Self-harm. The author has been vocal about it, so just be aware and take care of yourselves!

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Review:

I was fortunately given an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. SO, AS IT WILL ALWAYS BE, THIS REVIEW IS 100% MY HONEST OPINION.

I’ve got to be honest…… I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I LOVED IT. There’s gods, and human monsters, and magic, and badass women characters, and dark broody male characters that you can’t help but swoon over. So basically, it has everything for a great YA fantasy novel. There were some Throne of Glass vibes (sneaking into the castle and posing as someone else to assassinate the king) and I was TOTALLY living for it!!

Nadya slowly moved up to one of my top favorite YA female characters- probably number 4 or 5. There was so much character development. She starts out as a firm believer in her faith and learns what it is to question things outside of what she has been blindly taught. Personally, I was even switching between who I thought was right and who I thought was wrong in all of the debates between Malachiasz and Nadya. And normally I would be a little annoyed if this awareness was brought on because of a male character, but in this case I didn’t mind it. I adored Malachiasz and all his sinister ways. ALSO, if you shipped Alina and the Darkling from the Grisha trilogy (like me) then this book is for you my friend!!!!!

The world and the magic system is so unique! It’s a very dark book, probably one of the darkest that I have read! I thought that it was going to deter me early on, however I was pleasantly surprised at how much I soaked up the world.

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Rating: 

Wicked Saints receives a 4 out of 5 stars from me!

**Thanks to Wednesday Books publishers for giving me this eARC via Netgalley 

The Dysasters by P.C. and Kristin Cast && SWEEPSTAKES

On Sale: February 26, 2019

ABOUT THE BOOK

P.C. and Kristin Cast, the #1 New York Times bestselling authors of the House of Night phenomenon, return to the scene with The Dysasters—the first action-packed novel in a new paranormal fantasy series.

Review: Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian

Pub Date: February 5, 2019

Synopsis 

An epic fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

“The Kaiser murdered Theodosia’s mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo’s country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess–a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn’t realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon.

Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage–Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser’s rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.

To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done.

Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.”- via Goodreads

Review

I was fortunately given an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. SO, AS IT WILL ALWAYS BE, THIS REVIEW IS 100% MY HONEST OPINION.

Review: Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

Synopsis:

In her childhood, Rose Franklin accidentally discovered a giant metal hand buried beneath the ground outside Deadwood, South Dakota. As an adult, Dr. Rose Franklin led the team that uncovered the rest of the body parts which together form Themis: a powerful robot of mysterious alien origin. She, along with linguist Vincent, pilot Kara, and the unnamed Interviewer, protected the Earth from geopolitical conflict and alien invasion alike. Now, after nearly ten years on another world, Rose returns to find her old alliances forfeit and the planet in shambles. And she must pick up the pieces of the Earth Defense Corps as her own friends turn against each other.

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Review:

This is the third book in the Themis Files Series.

Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Synopsis:

A lush, Viking-age inspired fantasy about loyalty, forgiveness, and the definition of family.

Seventeen-year-old Eelyn’s world is war. Raised to fight alongside her Aska clansmen in a generations-old blood feud against the Riki, her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki if she wants to make it back to the fjord after the thaw. But when she begins to see herself in the people she’s been taught to hate, the world Eelyn once knew begins to crumble. And after the village is raided by a ruthless clan many believe to be a myth, Eelyn is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend who has tried more than once to kill her. Together, they must end the blood feud between their clans or watch their people be slaughtered.

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Review:

I was luckily given an eARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review. So, as it will always be, this review is 100% my honest opinion. 

Review: Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Synopsis:

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…
and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn’t have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne’s offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi’s enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.

–via goodreads

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Review

Review: One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

Synopsis: 

The battle for the crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off.

Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

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Review:

Can I just say…. WOW! This book kept me on my toes from the beginning until the end. Going into the book, I wasn’t expecting any more or less from the first book (Three Dark Crowns). I wasn’t really invested in the first book until the end and was assuming that One Dark Throne would be the same way and I would be forcing myself to read it. However, the COMPLETE opposite happened.

Let’s talk about the characters:

I felt as though the majority of the books chapters were focused on the perspective of Arsinoe and Katherine. I didn’t mind this because they are both of my favorite characters. I do have to say though that towards the middle and end, Katherine was kind of creeping me out…. But, that made reading from her perspective so much more exciting.

Maribella was my least favorite sister in both Three Dark Crowns and One Dark Throne. For some reason, which I can’t quite put my finger on, I am not too thrilled with her personality. She seems whiny and spoiled, with really no character development when compared to her sisters.

Jules made the book two times more exciting!!! What we find out about her in this book and where she ends up, sets up so much for the next book and left me wanting more. She is a faithful and courageous friend, which is something I admire especially in context with the rest of book (cheating, killing, and pushing people into the Breccia Domain… I mean, come on).

Now let’s talk about the plot:

The intensity of this book was amped up to 100 in this installment of the series. From start to end, there was a constant push of the story line with nothing feeling as though it was dragging on or not flowing with the story.

I will forever love the matriarchal society. I caught myself automatically assuming a commander in the book was male until it was mentioned half a page later that it was a woman and I was just like WOW…. I can’t believe how other books have conditioned me to assume that those of high ranking and powerful positions are men!! And of course, we can’t forget the fact that the island is ruled by queens and every powerful character is usually A STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN (ex: Jules, Natalia, Maribella, etc).

Conclusion:

Kendare Blake definitely did not disappoint, resolving side plots that were brought over from Three Dark Crowns and introducing new and interesting story lines. I cannot wait until the third book of this series is published (expected date: September 4th, 2018)!!

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

My 10 Most Anticipated YA Releases of 2018

Hello lovelies!!

2018 is going to be a great year for book releases. It was hard to narrow down the books to only 10, but I did it. Most of these books that I am mentioning are fantasy books that part of a series (oops) because, as you know, contemporary and romance books are not necessarily my forte. So with that little introduction.. LET’S GET INTO IT!

**These books are in no particular order

Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

I think I speak for every “Shatter Me” fan when I say that this is definitely one of the best books that is coming out in 2018. Originally the Shatter Me series was a trilogy but last year Tahereh Mafi announced that she would be extending the series (talk about good news)!!! Restore Me is set to be published March 6th, 2018.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

I have been hearing so many people rave about this book!! It is the first in a series that Holly Black is starting called “The Folk of the Air”. The cover itself makes me want to pick it, but the synopsis makes me want to devour it. Fairies, High Courts, bloodshed…. I feel as if this is an amped up version of any Sarah J. Maas book. The Cruel Prince was released January 2, 2018.

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare has done it again with the Dark Artifices series. If you have read Lord of Shadows, you KNOW why I am anxiously waiting for Queen of Air and Darkness. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. And of course we have to wait until the end of the year for it to come out (December 4^th, 2018).

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

When I started the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber, I was expecting not to enjoy it. That was true for about half of Caraval and then something clicked in my head and I became addicted to it. The first book left me wanting more with it’s twisted unexpectedness. This series is Alice in Wonderland but with carnival aspects…… yeah it’s that intense. Legendary is expected to be released May 29^th, 2018.

These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch

A well-mannered lady, a tortured pirate, and an ambitious prince…. Need I say more?? The first book in this new fantasy duology will be released August 7^th, 2018.

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

I’m getting MAJOR Caraval vibes, I’m not sure why. As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I needed to read this series. I have high hopes and am crossing my fingers that I wont be disappointed. Thieves, rogues, and shady characters are always something that I feel can easily pull me into a story because you never know who to trust (every author I know has given me trust issues so don’t judge). Ace of Shades will be released April 10^th, 2018.

The Untitled third book of the Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake

Having just recently finished “One Dark Throne” I am on a Kendare Blake high. I NEED MORE: more Arsinoe, more Katherine, more Jules, more poisoners, more matriarchy, just more EVERYTHING of this world. The third book’s publication date is September 4th, 2018.

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

This is another book with a cover that I am in LOVE with. I think the plot is so interesting for this story and I would love to see where it goes. There’s forbidden love, a tortured princess, and rebels. What more could I ask for?! Ash Princess’ publication date is April 24^th, 2018.

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Vikings, family betrayal, strong leading character, VIKINGS?! I was approved for an eARC, so I will definitely be sharing a review with you in the months to come. Sky in the Deep will be published April 24^th, 2018.

Night Blood by Elly Blake

The final installment of the Frostblood series is almost here!! There’s a lot of indecisiveness of whether this series is good or not among the book community, but personally I enjoy this series despite the clichés. I feel like the series just started, so I am sad (but excited) that it is coming to an end. It is set to be published June 5^th, 2018.

 

May 2017 Wrap Up

Hellooooooo! YES, I know this is WAYYYY overdue and it’s also been a while since I have posted on here but please bear with me. My work schedule, class schedule, and home life is a little hectic right now but I promise I will NEVER LEAVE YOU GUYS!

So without further ado (because it’s already late lol) let’s get into it!

I actually had a pretty productive month for the month of May; there was one day before my work started that I literally read THE ENTIRE DAY AND FINISHED A WHOLE BOOK (start to end) and it was great!!!

One of the books I read was Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

• I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• When I finished the book I was super excited to start the next book (I literally went on Amazon and bought it within 2 minutes of finishing it)
• I love how there are so many different perspectives because there are so many characters
• I’ve heard this is a “Game of Thrones for a YA audience” and I cannot tell you if that’s true or not because I don’t watch or haven’t read Game of Thrones soooo… yeahhhh
• My favorite character: Princess Cleo
• Least favorite character: Prince Magnus
• Recommend? OF COURSE

Another book I read was The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Adieh

• I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• CAN I JUST SAY HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS BOOK
• The writing is so beautiful and elegant; the imagery set such a beautiful picture in my head for the story
• I read A Thousand And One Nights in high school and since this is a retelling it was really interesting to see how she used certain elements of the original story
• Favorite character: The prince (SO MUCH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT)
• Least favorite character: Shazi (I know I should love her but she kind of annoyed me)
• Recommend? Yes

Next: Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

• I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Not as good as the first book but I still love how she uses the whole concept of inter-dimensional travel
• PAUL WILL FOREVER AND EVER BE MY FAVORITE FICTIONAL BOYFRIEND
• Nothing will ever beat the Russia-verse
• Favorite Character: Paul duh
• Least favorite character: Theo
• Recommend? Yes

Another book I read was Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner

• I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• This is a contemporary book which is usually not my forte but I inhaled this book; I literally finished it in one day (as mentioned earlier)
• I work at a pool this summer so it was kind of cool to have a book set around swimmers and in the summer time
• It incorporated disabilities (one of the characters is an amputee, hence the title “phantom limbs”), and others go through PTSD and it’s evident throughout the story
• Recommend? YES

Last but certainly not least, I read 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

• I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐
• This is the definition of contemporary YA books
• It was a cute and quick read; but it was kind of cheesy
• I do want to say that I am a little jealous that she backpacked around Europe BY HERSELF at age like 17 (my mom would kill me)
• Recommend? Eh.. If contemporary is your thing then go for it