All Things Halloween Review of The Death King

The Death King (Death, # 1)

By: Penelope Barsetti

Publication: August 29, 2024 by Hartwick Publishing

341 pages

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Dragons, Abuse

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--I was fifteen when the Death King came for us.

With a mighty black dragon and the ability to command the dead, he raised an army of our fallen soldiers to fight for him—and conquered us in the night. My father, King Laurier of Scorpion Valley, couldn’t stop him. I tried to flee but came face to face with the man in black armor, the man who looked more like a god than a human. Instead of killing me, he chose to show me mercy…but it didn’t feel like mercy.

Not when the next ten years of my life are spent as a slave in the Arid Sands, digging for Black Diamonds from sunrise to sunset. I'm also the personal slave of General Titan—a man who has grown obsessed with me. The work under the hot sun is unbearable—but I prefer it to his company any day. I’ve never tried to escape because there’s nowhere to run in the desert, but all of that changes when I hear the news—that the Death King is coming.

I sneak out in the middle of the night to steal his dragon, but that backfires in my face—because you can’t steal a dragon. Khazmuda is no mindless beast. He can speak directly into my mind and hear my thoughts in return. The Death King is about to kill me, but Khazmuda changes his mind—because I have the gift.

The ability to speak with dragons.

The Death King spares my life once again and takes me back to his castle. He has no idea who I am, has no idea what he did to my family ten years ago. He asks me to fight for his cause—but he won’t tell me exactly what that cause is. And then he tells me he wants more from me…desires me more than any other because, like him, I have the gift.

I can’t deny he’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, with eyes black like midnight, a jawline as sharp as his dragon’s talons, the height of a mountain, and shoulders as broad as a stream. But no amount of attraction will ever change the fact that he destroyed my life. The answer is no—and it’ll always be no.

But the Death King doesn’t accept that answer.

Trigger Contains dark themes including rape and suicide.

I got this one on audio after seeing an overall 4.4 rating on Goodreads. Before I talk story let me briefly discuss the audio aspects. This book has dual narration. Ramona Master reads for Calista, and Michael Ferraiuolo reads for Talon. (*Note, I'm not entirely sure about spellings since I don't have a physical copy of this book to double check.) I liked Ramona Master better than Michael Ferraiuolo. Although the panic and fear were audible in Ramona Master's narration of Calista's emotions (as well as her other emotions), sometimes I felt her performance was a bit too exaggerated in places for me. Michael Ferraiuolo was a little bit of a struggle. I liked his voice for Khazmuda better than her regular voice for Talon. Sorry, the voice didn't seem to fit the character to me. 

Now let me say that I have no idea how The Death King has such a high overall rating on Goodreads. Who are you people rating this mess as 5 Stars? First, the most obvious pet peeve of mine is language. There's no need for every 3rd word to be the f-word. But I guess when the characters are on each other like rabbits throughout the book one page of sexual content turns right to the next page, language like that is somewhat expected. I mean it was constant. I began to wonder what happened to the actual story there for a bit. And the descriptive terms used made me cringe. Perhaps that isn't too surprising. I have a lower tolerance for this than probably most people but yeesh. And this is made worse by the fact that Calista spent 7 years being raped daily before being freed from General Titan's captivity. Yet the man who destroyed her life and basically turned her into his own whore is supposed to erase all the trauma she's endured? When she finally has the power to say yes or no she's going to give it up so freely and be treated no better because he claims he's not going to hurt her during sex even though his restraint is not because he wants to restrain himself. I mean how are we supporting this, people? How is this 5 Stars?

And then Khazmuda basically vouches for Talon with Calista. "There's more to him than you understand. He is so hurt he isn't the same person he used to be. His story is so painful it can't be recounted without being relived." Yet come to find out, his story is exactly the same as Calista's except there's a different villain featured in his. I was thankful that this was at least brought up and not completely ignored. Yet it doesn't change anything. 

I was so intrigued by the description. The Death King kills Calista's family,  and she's sent to servitude until it's discovered that she can talk to dragons which is an ability much needed. The Death King would then need to get Calista to come to his side. Surely there would be some reason for his actions that can't be seen. It is possible. Rhys turned out to be the good guy after all. And bonding with dragons turned out awesome in Fourth Wing . But no. Not much happened in the entire plot that can't be summed up by this short paragraph. Well except that Titan is missing and it should be assumed he's going to hook up with the shamans to get a dragon for himself to steal Calista back from Talon. 

Despite being intrigued by the minuscule plot, I will not be returning to this series. Any possible redemption for any of the characters isn't worth trudging through this much language, sexual content, and terrible decisions. The Death King gets 2 Stars... *the miniscule plot saving it from an entire DNF. Have you read (or listened to) The Death King ? What did you think? Let me know!

P.S. Where in the world did the necromancy pieces fit in? So weird. 

*Let it be known that I skipped ahead during certain scenes...multiple times. It was just way too much.

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.

Only a Breath Apart - Review

Only a Breath Apart

By: Katie McGarry

Publication: January 22nd 2019 by Tor Teen

368 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Are our destinies written in stone? Do we become nothing more than the self-fulfilling prophesies of other people's opinions? Or can we dare to become who we believe we were born to be?

Jesse Jameson is in line to inherit the land that's been in his family for generations--there's just one catch: to prove his maturity, he has to win the approval of his former best friend, Scarlett Copeland, and her father. But when Jesse finds out that Scarlett's father is abusing her, he must decide what truly matters most: his family's land or helping the girl he's fallen in love with.

I finished Only a Breath Apart several days ago*, but I put off writing my review because I just wasn't sure what I was wanted to say. This turned out to be one of those "it was good but..." books for me.

"It was good but..." It wasn't what I was expecting. While each of the things the book is focused on is mentioned in the description, I guess I thought there would be less surreal/fantasy (i.e. the curse and psychic stuff), less controlling father, and more midnight meetings.

"It was good but..." The plot left me wanting more. While I enjoyed the controlling, abusive father storyline from one standpoint... It's real. It's sad. It happens entirely too frequently. I wish there had been a happier theme running throughout this story. While Scarlett and Jesse both work to overcome their issues and move forward with their lives the majority of the book was kind of sad to me rather than hope-filled. The ending had hope and I guess that's what really counts.

The romance "was good but..." I wanted more. Jesse and Scarlett have a lot of history to work through before they can get to the juicy stuff.

I'm not sure there was exactly anything wrong with Only a Breath Apart beyond not being what I expected it to be. Katie McGarry is still a favorite author of mine. And in truth Only a Breath Apart does have a deep and important message. I particularly liked the inclusion of Pastor Hughes. Only a Breath Apart gets 3.5 Stars. Have you read Only a Breath Apart? What did you think? Let me know!

*Review first written February 2019, but first published on Somewhere Only We Know December 2019.

Faking Normal - Review

Faking Normal

By: Courtney C Stevens

Published: February 25th 2014 by HarperTeen

336 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Abuse, Realistic Fiction

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--An edgy, realistic, and utterly captivating novel from an exciting new voice in teen fiction.

Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.

I read The Lies About Truth a while back for review, and I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. It wasn't a perfect book, but when I got to the end of my review copy and found the first chapter to Faking Normal I was hooked already. The description above is kind of weird to me. It seems very backwards. Within the first chapter and really the majority of the book, Bodee's story is much more transparent than Alexi's is. Bodee's story is really revealed within that first chapter and Alexi's story is dragged out throughout the majority of the book. The description hints at it and the book drops some pretty big clues but what I can say without feeling like I'm giving too much away is that Alexi was sexually assaulted over the summer and has been holding that inside of her.

Alexi was a character that I connected with very quickly. Her experience has changed her. And one of the ways she demonstrates that is by reaching out to the kid that no one is friends with. When Bodee finds himself in an extremely painful situation, Alexi can't just do nothing. Granted she doesn't really say or do much of anything, but that one small act creates a bond between these two. They begin speaking in the hallways at school. And even though Bodee doesn't have a clue what happened to Alexi over the summer, he's able to see that she's in pain very similar to pain he's witnessed himself.

Bodee was great. I loved him so much. Despite being a loner, Bodee sees beyond himself. He's perceptive and deep even though he's quiet and sullen. Bodee's ability to help Alexi even when his own life and experiences have been so difficult is admiring. He could easily see himself as a victim and think only of himself during this time, but he's so much more than that. Alexi stands up for and helps Bodee, but he does just as much and more for her as well. Their friendship was so slow building and realistic. I loved it. While the two did seem to have an instant connection and an ability to be utterly honest with each other when they both lie so well to everyone else, I never really felt like they rushed into anything.

Courtney C Steven's writing was even better in Faking Normal than I remember it being in The Truth About Lies. I highlighted a ton, and so here are my favorite quotes:

-I'm more like Heather than she knows. Scared ... and hoping a boy will love me someday even though I'm a mess.

-"It happens in my sleep," I say. "Mine too," he says. "I wake up and it's a different color."

-Sometimes the lies I tell Heather aren't little and white. They're a dab of honey-beige foundation applied to the blemishes of my life.

-We're already more than the sum of my lies. So I just breathe and look away, trying not to lie with my face, but to stand in the presence of the truth. It hurts.

-Faking normal is a skill I learned seventy-seven days ago, but tonight it's going to require everything I have.

-The power of Bodee is in the way he reads me, see through me, and then understands the truth behind the facade. He's the guy who can walk straight through the House of Mirrors on the first try.

-"A man is partially made up of his words."

-It's funny how the things you don't like are the things you miss when they're gone.

-"He matters more than you planned?" "No." I swipe the tears away. "It just sucks not to matter more than that."

-I've lived all but two weeks of my life without Bodee. But now, sitting with him in my fort, I know these two weeks have been God walking right into my life like he has flesh and Kool-Aid colored hair.

-Evidently, the gestation period for a bad idea is about ten seconds.

Faking Normal will easily fit into my top ten favorite books I've read this year (2015 when I wrote this post). It was so much more than I expected. This is a deep book full of painful events and the light that finding a friend within the darkness can bring to someone's life. I highly recommend this book. Heavy topics, little language, but deeply emotional. Faking Normal gets 5 Stars from me. Have you read Faking Normal? What did you think? Let me know!

Unbreakable - Review

Unbreakable (Unbreakable, # 1)

By: Rebecca Shea

Published: July 23rd 2013 by Rebecca Shea

343 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Personal Kindle Library (freebie)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Re-edited and updated as of September 7, 2013

USA Today Best Seller

*This book contains mature subject matter and is not intended for those under 17 years of age.*

Jessica Harper is the epitome of perfection. She's a good daughter, makes excellent grades, and always strays on the safe side of life. The last thing she thought would ever happen was falling in love with her best friend's brother. But sometimes fate just has a way of bringing two people together.

Wide receiver for the University of Arizona, Gabe Garcia, seems to have it all. When his feelings for Jessica come to surface, Gabe will give up everything to be with her.

But what happens when a tragedy abruptly changes the course of your life? For Jessica and Gabe, everything they thought they knew about each other will be questioned. Sometimes, there are scars in life that are cut too deep to completely heal.

Will their love prove to be unbreakable, or will it shatter and prove fate is just another lie?

I picked up Unbreakable because Colleen Hoover said she read it and really enjoyed it. Plus it was a freebie! Can’t pass that up, right? I’ve had Unbreakable in my possession for months and just haven’t gotten around to it. Well I’ve been trying to make my way through Deliverance (Deception, # 3) by CJ Redwine and while I’m enjoying it, the progress is just slow. I wanted something I could pick up, get hooked, and not put down until I finished. So I decided it was time to crack open Unbreakable (see what I did there?).

Jess has grown up being more a part of the Garcia family than she has her own. Her mother passed away when she was child and her father hasn’t gotten over it. As a means of coping, he’s thrown himself into his work as a firefighter, working his way up the ladder to Chief. Jess is so close to the Garcia’s that she actually calls them Mom and Dad. So when she starts developing feelings for Gabe it’s a little awkward. And she’s unsure if he could ever see her as anything more than his almost little sister. But Jess and Gabe have a moment and after that time looks are passed, touches here and there, and a few hinting comments have them moving forward in an inevitable direction.

Jess and Gabe were a great couple. The progress quickly into a physical relationship which draws them even closer together. Gabe is thinking in his head things that he’s never thought before—marriage, kids, a future. Everything seems like it’s going just swimmingly. Except that it wouldn’t be much of a book if that happily ever after takes place 45% in. I was loving their relationship and how committed they both were, but I just felt this growing pit in my stomach. Something bad is coming. It had to. And well…it did.

Trauma strikes and leaves both Jess and Gabe reeling. Yet the two react a bit differently. Jess needs space. She needs time to wrap her head around things and that means escaping. She takes an internship and moves across the country leaving a very devastated Gabe behind. Gabe is trying to be open to giving Jess whatever she needs. If that’s space then he’ll give her space. If it’s time then he’ll give her time. But it is killing him in the process.

Unbreakable is told from alternating perspectives. About 60% in a new narrator joins Jess and Gabe and that threw me for a loop. A third party means the happily ever after that I dreamed of for Jess and Gabe may or may not be possible. They may or may not be able to overcome. What if the “happily ever after” is meant to come about in a different way than I expected? NO!!!!

Favorite quotes:

-“Don’t go,” I whisper. “Love me enough to stay.”

-“Live so that you may live.”

I was 100% hooked, but I won’t say I was as emotionally affected as I could have been. Jess made some decisions that weren’t my favorite even when I could understand why she made the choices that she did. Gabe had my heart as he stood loyal to Jess even through their time apart. I won’t say how things ended, but I’m definitely interested in checking out the other books in the series (which I didn’t know was a series until I finished Unbreakable). I will also say that Rebecca Shea definitely seemed like she knew her characters even when what she knew about them might not be clear to the reader. I can respect that. Ultimately Unbreakable gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read Unbreakable? What did you think? Let me know!