Onyx Storm - Review

Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, # 3)

By: Rebecca Yarros

Publication: January 21, 2025 by Entangled: Red Tower Books

779 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Dragons

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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

Goodreads description--THE STORM IS COMING . . .

Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons.
No more time for uncertainty.
Because the battle has truly begun; and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre.
The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves - her dragons, her family, her home, and him.
Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.
They need an army.
They need power.
They need magic.
And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.
But a storm is coming... and not everyone can survive its wrath.

Onyx Storm was one of my most anticipated releases for 2025. We all waited for over a year between Iron Flame, which had a killer cliffhanger, and Onyx Storm so there was a ton of build-up when it comes to expectations. I tried to stay away from podcasts, reels, shorts, or content that would speculate about Onyx Storm, the plot, the characters, etc. And I did fairly well with that. But all that to say, expectations were high. And unfortunately, I find when expectations are super-high, it's hard for any book to live up to the hype. Onyx Storm fell a little flat for me initially. Let me explain why. 

Iron Flame ends with that mega cliffhanger that I already mentioned. If you don't know what the cliffhanger is, you probably don't want to keep reading because there will be spoilers for the prior books included in this review. Xaden has drawn from the earth which has started the process of turning him venin. Because we didn't know much about the process of someone turning, we (I) falsely assumed that one pull and he'd be straight venin. Apparently, that's not how things work. But when a book ends in a negative cliffhanger (where a major event happens that leaves the characters in a negative place), I almost dread reading the next book because I know there are going to be more bad events to come before we can get to the good. And well, that's also to be expected from the 3rd book in a 5-book series. And of course, that is true for Onyx Storm. Thankfully, things weren't as bad as I worried they would be simply because Xaden isn't immediately evil.

Onyx Storm keeps you in perpetual fear of wondering if Xaden is going to draw power again, and if he does, at what point will he have crossed the line into too far gone. I guess this is probably a good thing because Violet is in the same place. No matter how much faith she has that Xaden would never hurt her, she can't say that he wouldn't channel again. And so you remain in the same anxious place as Violet. This creates the desire to keep reading.

A large portion of Onyx Storm's plot is the "Quest Squad" traveling to various islands south of "The Continent" in hopes of discovering Andarna's kin and the 7th dragon breed. I found this whole quest a little frustrating. I wasn't excited about any of the islands they visited. Too much time was spent trying to show how each island is different from each other. And yeah. I kept reading simply from a pressing desire to know what was going to happen, but if I look back on this portion of the book, I find it boring. And if I were re-reading the series, I would dread getting to this section. 

I found myself feeling like I was missing information a couple of times. Sometimes I wondered if that was because I hadn't re-read the previous two books before jumping into this one. Sometimes, I wondered if Rebecca Yarros was being mysterious intentionally. Sometimes I flat asked myself what in the world she was talking about. And sometimes I felt like I understood what was being said, but it didn't make any sense. More than anything, the more I've thought about Onyx Storm the more I've realized that Rebecca Yarros is writing much deeper than I realized, and she's one of those authors where nothing is said or done meaninglessly. So now, I need to go back and re-read all three books to see what foreshadowing I've missed*. Some authors aren't capable of making every detail mean something. I'm realizing she is one of the authors who can.

Many of the things I highlighted were only to help me write my book review. When I went back to re-read some of my highlights, I think I inadvertently highlighted some very important parts that will play into the future. I weeded through all of my highlights to find my favorite quotes:

I loved the dedication.

-To the ones who don't run with the popular crowd, the ones who get caught reading under their desks, the ones who feel like they never get invited, included, or represented. Get your leathers. We have dragons to ride.

Now for the book content:

-The only thing stronger than the power prowling within me is the resolve stiffening my spine.

-"But do not mistake my unflinching support of you, my mate, and Andarna for any form of faith in him."

-"Pain isn't a competition," I assure him. "There's always enough to go around."

-"Do not dehydrate on my account," he lectures.

-"Do you really think this is the only room where I've felt tormented? Pain isn't new to me, Jack. She's an old friend I spend most of my days with, so I don't mind if she sings to you. Honestly doesn't even look like the same chamber with how you've redecorated. It's a little monochromatic for me."

-"We live by the Codex--" I try again. "I live by you." ... "I am yours and you are mine, and there's no law or rule in this world or the next that will change that."

-"He didn't love me, not the way I deserved to be loved, and no amount of power is worth staying with someone who doesn't love you."

-"My loyalty is to Violet first above everything, everyone else," Xaden says. "Then Tyrrendor. Then Navarre in the moments it's worthy--usually when Violet is in residence."

-Do not mistake a dragon's bond for fealty. If you expect a dragon to choose their rider over the well-being of their own kind, prepare for two things: disappointment and death.

-"Don't barter it away," I beg as he stares at the sea, and the words spill out of me faster and faster as his eyes harden and he resurrects the defenses it took me a year to break past. "The pain. The mess. Give it to me. I'll hold it. I know that sounds ludicrous, but I'll find a way." I lace our fingers. "I will hold everything you don't want to feel because I love every part of you."

-"The best leaders are the ones who never want the job. This is your mission because Andarna chose you. Tairn chose you."

-"You're not a trigger. You're the only thing I can't fathom losing. Wielding to protect you has always been an instinct, but now it's...uncontrollable."

-"If he hurts me, then he's not him anymore."

-"Your inability to follow simple orders will get her killed, and I will not lose her as I did the one who came before!"

-"Am I not everything you wanted me to be? Am I not as fierce and courageous as he is? Is this not what I am supposed to do? Sharpen my claws on the scales of the enemy?

-"I love you and I want you to feel complete"...

-"I was whole and now I'm not"...

-"You've been breathing, and that's enough for me."

-"Acknowledging your fear for the lightning wielder does not compromise you." Feirge calls me out just like always. "Ignoring it does. Accept the emotion and move on."

-"You have been the gift of my life"...

I can't include any more quotes because even if I'm being vague, there's just too much to spoil. 

It's been 3 days between finishing Onyx Storm and writing this review. And the more time I have to sit with the events, the more my feelings on the book have changed. I still feel like not much happened to advance the overall plot of the book until the last 100 pages. A few key pieces here and there. And I still feel like (highlight for spoiler) the cliffhanger for Iron Flame is basically the same cliffhanger as Onyx Storm but with a few missing dragon riders, dragons, and eggs. But I'm beginning to see that this story is so much more complex than I ever gave credit, and I need to apologize to Rebecca Yarros for taking three books to realize how in-depth her writing really is. My initial rating might have fallen around the 3.5 Star range, but the more I think about it, Onyx Storm gets 4 Stars. Have you read Onyx Storm? What did you think? Let me know!

*Since writing this review, I have re-read Fourth Wing and may have an Upon Further Review post coming from that in the future. I also plan to re-read Iron Flame, but first-time reads have to come before re-reads.

**Also, I've accidentally plunged head-first into the world of theories for the remainder of the series. The sheer amount of videos dedicated to fan theories are insane and on a level I've never seen before. Just the fact that there is enough space for all of these videos means this series is deep and on another level. This would not be possible for just any series.

Fate & Furies - Review

Fate & Furies (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 3) 2

By: Helen Scheuerer

Publication: February 22, 2024 by Alchemy

466 Pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( 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 always knew you would be the end of me.” With darkness cursing the world around her, Althea Zoltaire is desperate for vengeance. But as she hunts Wilder Hawthorne across the kingdoms, brutal secrets begin to unravel. Not knowing what – or who – to trust, Thea and her companions find themselves entwined with a destiny far greater than one man. Together, they must navigate the haunting revelations that could shatter the very foundations of the midrealms. Yet it’s not only the world at stake, but Thea’s heart too. As everything teeters on the verge of destruction, her fate collides once more with Wilder’s. Will their reunion ignite the fiery passion between them amidst the ashes of betrayal? Or will it end in a heartbreaking, deadly showdown? In a journey fraught with danger, where the lines between enemies and allies blur, Thea must decide where her loyalties lie, and who will stand at her side against the looming evil. Get ready for an epic adventure brimming with steamy romance, and a sprawling world of magic and monsters. Fate & Furies is the penultimate book in the spellbinding epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr and is perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, The Bridge Kingdom, and The Witcher.

Oh man! The cliffhanger ending for book 2, Vows and Ruin, was killer! And because I just had to know what was going to happen, I devoured Fate and Furies. I had to know if that cliffhanger was just a misunderstanding or if there was more to the story that met the eye. Of course, I could make assumptions, but I had to know.

***This is all the warning you will get that there will be spoilers ahead for the previous two books in this series.***

Thea is reeling from Wilder's betrayal. She is hunting him to bring justice to him for his traitorous actions. But mostly for revenge. Yet since that day, she hasn't been able to access her magic either. Kip and Cal are with her, hunting him. Wilder has been throwing one creature after another at them. And he always seems to stay just out of reach. Yet, Thea learns that there's much going on in the midrealms that she doesn't know about or understand. 

I appreciated that Thea and Wilder's reunion wasn't a smooth transition. Thea captures Wilder, and he wants an opportunity to talk to her. Yet she isn't quite up for listening. Her heart is broken from his betrayal. And even though he has been working behind the scenes for Thea's good, even when she couldn't see that, Wilder is hurt, too. He thinks Thea should have trusted him and what they had together. His reasoning was a bit of a cop-out to me. Out of the previous two books, where they had worked together on many different scenarios, I think he would have been open with her about what he believed might be going on. That's the entirety of many book plots. Two characters have minimal information but work together to discover the truth. But if he'd done that, then there would have been no conflict.  I do appreciate that these two had things to work through. Because that's real life. We all have baggage and trauma that we bring into relationships. And those things hurt our partners more often than not. We have to work to overcome them. And we have to overcome the idea that our love is so big that we could never hurt each other. Everyone hurts the people they love. Most of the time, unintentionally. But we are all imperfect people. Learning how to forgive each other and work through all of those feelings is real. And I appreciated it being included. 

I do like the build-up that I'm beginning to see of Torj and Wren, and I can't wait to check out their spin-off series. Wren is a force in her own right. 

Too many of my favorite quotes:

-The unrelenting sadness came in those quieter moments, with the scent of leather in the wind, with the sight of Hawthorne's tin of peppermint tea sticking out of her saddlebag. Cursing colourfully, she untied the horses. All the midrealms were in uproar over his betrayal, even twelve months later, and though she wore the same mask of anger day in, day out, the sorrow beneath that surface grew taut. Sorrow for what she had lost, including the flicker of hope she'd had for the future.

-With more vigour than she intended, she unbuckled and unlaced the outer layers of her armour, hating that he'd been the one to give it to her. Every time she put it on, she was plagued with the memory of him kneeling before her, his touch skimming across her body as he strapped her into it. A small part of her had considered getting rid of the set for that reason alone, but it was too fine a make, too good a fit, and she'd never find a decent replacement on the road. So every day, she wore it with resentment, and every time it saved her from bodily harm, she cursed Wilder Hawthorne anew.

-He had been content once, slaying monsters, across the midrealms and answering to no one. But now he mourned a different taste of life. True happiness had found him for a brief pocket of time. Flashes of memory assaulted him, snatching the air from his lungs.

-The noise hauled him back to reality, the one in which Thea wasn't his, and he was only hers in the sense that he was her enemy.

-"I don't want you," she told him, knees buckling. "I don't believe you." He closed the small gap between them, still clutching her hand. "My shirt smells like you," he murmured, the sound a low rumble in the shell of her ear. "I still have your marks on my back from our last night together. You claimed me long ago, Thea. You don't get to say I'm not yours now."

-It had taken him years to accept what he knew about the shadow-touched folk, years to pull these pieces into place about what had been transpiring in the midrealsms for all this time. But what he could not accept was that Thea didn't believe him. He had thought they were stronger than that, that she understood what he felt for her, that it was more powerful than any darkness descending upon them.

-"He loves you. That was never in any doubt. Not to us. I'll wager that everything he does is for you."

-"I told myself that it was enough," he murmured into her hair, his voice hoarse. "That I should be grateful for the time we had. It was more love than most people get in a lifetime. But the truth is, Thea... A thousand lifetimes with you wouldn't be enough."

-"You didn't trust me with the truth," ... "You didn't trust me, full stop."

-"No more questions?" he prompted. Thea seemed to consider this before she spoke again. "I have endless questions," she told him slowly. "But I feel as though I no longer have the right to ask them..."

-"Who do you want to be, then?" she asked, pushing her plate away, unable to eat another morsel. "Someone worthy," Wilder replied...

-"What measure of time is enough to be life-changing?"

-"...the smallest blade can make the biggest difference."

-"When I stand against the gods at the end of my days," he told her fiercely, "I will regret nothing. Not the lies I've told, nor the lives I've claimed or the rivers of blood I've spilt. I do not regret a single moment, because every one of them led me to you."

-"You have my word as a Warsword, sire; justice will be served."

Even though I hate doing this for review purposes, I went straight into book 4 without sitting down to write my review of Fate and Furies. When I do that, it makes it hard to separate the events of each book. I'm so thankful to be able to highlight on my Kindle so that keeps me straight. 

Fate and Furies was a fast read for me. The cliffhanger from the previous book drove me to keep reading. I needed to know if the characters I loved would find forgiveness or if they would be forever enemies. And I dove right into the next book in the series as soon as I finished this one. Language and on-page description are high for me, but the plot makes those things I'm willing to skim or skip over for the most part. Fate and Furies gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read Fate and Furies? What did you think? Let me know!

The Serpent and the Wolf - Review

The Serpent and the Wolf (Dark Inheritance Trilogy, # 1)

By: Rebecca Robinson

Publication: November 19, 2024 by S&S/Saga Press

352 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Magic

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--Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon, Rebecca Robinson’s thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.

All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?

The description for this book tells you everything you need to know. And I wonder how much more I can share without spoiling things. 

The book starts with Vaasa and Reid having just completed their wedding ceremony. Vaasa had no intentions of actually being married even though it was necessary for her to complete the ceremony. She has one goal "get away and find out how to get rid of this magic inside her that killed her mother." And so, she runs. But running only gets her so far, and she doesn't find the knowledge she needs. 

Reid is intrigued by his political bride. He doesn't expect her to immediately fall in love with him, but the fact that she completed the ceremony means that maybe they can help each other. And it just so happens that she isn't hard to look at, Reid offers her a deal. For three years, she will do what is necessary to pretend to be in love with him and help him win political favor in his country. After that period, she can walk free and he will hand her a divorce. In the meantime, he will also do what he can to help her learn about the magic inside her. His country is on the brink of war, and he desperately wants to help those he loves. 

Vaasa agrees to his terms. Most of all, she wants to learn how to get rid of the magic inside. She doesn't understand or trust it. And she's worried that she will die just like her mother did. Only, the magic isn't what Vaasa thinks, and there's no way to get rid of it. Vaasa, however, will have to learn to accept it if she doesn't want it to control her. 

As Vaasa and Reid begin relying on each other politically and magically, the bonds between them grow. Vaasa is terribly hurt by her father and brother's treatment of her. She is now a threat against her brother's throne. And her brother was never politically trained by their father like she was. 

Favorite quotes:

-"Very well. You take your time coming to the conclusion I already have." Stepping toward the door, desperate for this discussion to be over, Vaasa asked, "And what's that?" Reid beat her to the door, placing his hand upon the knob to open it first. "That we are well matched."

-"I told you. You underestimate just how much I enjoy a good game of blades."

-"I have missed you, wife."

-He often looked at her as if she were a puzzle, and she didn't like the idea of being solved.

-"That is because there is no difference. The magic is your intuition, and you will never learn to wield it if you do not learn to listen to it."

-"You call it anger, you call it fear, but it is none of those things. What lies inside of you is pain. The kind that burns worlds to the ground." Pain.

-"Your father underestimated the weapon he built. And through his cruelty, he forced you to play for yourself and yourself alone. But I will play for you, if you will play for me, too."

-"Dismissing your emotions doesn't make them disappear, it only gives them reason to rise later without your consent."

-No one had ever loved her in the light.

-"Tell me exactly what you want, so I can stop guessing and just give it to you."

-She would never forgive herself if she messed this all up. If she started something she couldn't finish and ended up without a home or a dream again.

-"You always pick a fight when you feel out of control."

-"I have collected a thousand words, and yet I cannot find a single one to tell you what comes alive inside of me when you are near."

-"Remind me who I am. Where I am. Because I think you are the only one who really knows."

-"You are my wife, and everything begins and ends with that."

-How sad to have spent a lifetime always afraid. To have looked upon love and kindness and feared it.

The Serpent and the Wolf was much better than I was expecting it to be. The emotional journeys of the characters were deeper than I expected. The twists were surprising. Overall, I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would. I decided that The Serpent and the Wolf gets 4 Stars, and if I had the sequel in my hands I would pick it up immediately. Have you read The Serpent and the Wolf? What did you think? Let me know!

Can't Wait for Onyx Storm

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, # 3)

By: Rebecca Yarros

Expected Publication: January 21, 2025 by Entangled: Red Tower Books

? pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Dragons

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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

Goodreads description--THE STORM IS COMING . . .

Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons.
No more time for uncertainty.
Because the battle has truly begun; and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre.
The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves - her dragons, her family, her home, and him.
Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.
They need an army.
They need power.
They need magic.
And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.
But a storm is coming... and not everyone can survive its wrath.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

All Things Halloween Review - Vows and Ruins

Vows & Ruins (The Legends of Thezmarr, # ) 2

By: Helen Scheuerer

Publication: September 21, 2023 by Alchemy

536 Pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy

Source: Personal Library (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--Against all odds, Althea Zoltaire emerged from her trials as a champion. Now, she must train even harder and prepare herself to become a true warrior of Thezmarr.

But Thea’s world is turned upside down as she struggles to navigate her newfound magic and uncover the secrets of her past. Slowly, she begins to untangle the truth about her family, her powers and the evil that threatens to engulf the kingdom.

When Wilder Hawthorne returns to be her official mentor, everything changes. Dark forces are gathering, and he will stop at nothing to prepare her for the challenges to come, even if it means breaking her.

As war looms and their quest for answers leads master and apprentice deeper into danger, the undeniable connection between them intensifies – defying all odds, but also threatening to tear them apart.

With secrets unravelling and evil closing in, Thea and Wilder fight to save the world, and each other. The fate of the realms rests in their hands – will they emerge victorious, or will the darkness consume them both?

Full of action, adventure and steamy romance, Vows & Ruins is the second book in the spellbinding epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr and is perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, From Blood and Ash and The Witcher.

Whew guys! I don't even know what I'm going to say about this one.

I got Blood & Steel on audiobook for review and really enjoyed it. It ended with a little bit of a cliffhanger. But I knew I had to wait a while for the audiobook to release for Vows and Ruins or I would probably get the print version. Well surprise me, but not much time went by when nearly the entire series was released in print and the audiobook version for book 2 was released as well. When my birthday came up, I snagged the audiobook version as it wasn't that expensive at the time. Mollie Stark & Sebastian Grove narrate the same as Blood and Steel; they do an outstanding job. (*Side note: I often wonder what male audiobook narrators think of the books they're narrating.)

Vows and Ruins picks up with Thea training to be a Warrior of Thezmarr. But Wilder is MIA. She's still training, but she is angry. And she isn't taking good care of herself. She's recently discovered a significant piece of information about herself, and she isn't coping very well with the stress of it all. Wilder shows up just in time to help her get back into a more balanced headspace of self-care and training. He decides that they need to take their training on the road because that is where all Legends learn most of their training.

Wilder and Thea do this dance back and forth between trying to maintain a professional relationship and getting it on. They do good, and then they cave. The back and forth was a little much for me. But what was really much for me was the frequency and description they ended up together. If readers were missing this action from the previous book, Vow and Ruins ought to have made up for it. For my personal reading level, the on-page sex was a bit excessive. This was probably made worse for me by having the audio version where skimming ahead isn't as easy as the print version. Also, there was something about hearing these scenes out loud instead of reading or skimming them that gave me second-hand embarrassment. 

As far as plot goes, Vows and Ruins had multiple plot twists. One plot twist was pretty obvious. And I think Helen Scheuerer was pulling a sleight-of-hand trick where she was keeping our attention on this flashy, in-your-face, twist all while sneaking a major blindside from behind our backs. Maybe other readers/listeners caught this plot twist, but I missed it. And I felt the emotions all the more because of it. 

Vows and Ruins was really good. I wanted to keep listening until I finished it. I got a good bit of crocheting done during this one, and of course, dishes washed and meals cooked, as well. Wilder and Thea were a bit of a roller coaster. Their back and forth was a bit much at times. The on-page sexual scenes exceeded my preferences, but it's the plot that keeps me coming back for more. Yet again, we have a pretty major (even bigger than before) cliffhanger at the end of this book. I will be continuing this series to find out what happens next. Vows and Ruins gets 4 Stars. Have you read (or listened to) Vows and Ruins? What did you think? Let me know!

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

All Things Halloween - These Twisted Bonds

These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, # 2)

By: Lexi Ryan

Publication: July 19, 2022 by HarperTeen

481 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy

Source: Personal Kindle Library - On sale this week!

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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

Goodreads description--Brie finds herself caught between two princes and two destinies while the future of the fae realm hangs in the balance.

After Abriella's sister was sold to the fae, she thought life couldn't get any worse. But when she suddenly finds herself caught in a web of lies of her own making ­- loving two princes and trusting neither - things are not quite as clear as she once thought.

As civil war wages in the Court of Darkness, Brie finds herself unable to choose a side. How can she know where she stands when she doesn't even know herself anymore? In this darkly romantic thrill ride, the more Faerie is torn apart from the inside, the clearer it becomes that prophecies don't lie and Brie has a role to play in the fate of this magical realm - whether she likes it or not.

As I mentioned in my review of These Hollow Vows, I read the first book of the spinoff, Beneath These Cursed Stars. Reading out of order didn't seem to be such a big deal at first, but man it was frustrating to know how things end up but not know how they got from the ending of These Hollow Vows to the beginning of Beneath These Cursed Stars.

These Twisted Bonds starts almost immediately where These Hollow Vows ends. Abriella is escaping Sebastian and the Court of the Sun because he betrayed her by bonding with her while knowing that it would kill her and forcing her to drink the Potion of Life thereby turning fae. As she's escaping, she learns about a camp of children basically being used as slave labor by the Seelie Queen. She stops off to help them and makes a new friend in the process. 

I don't know how Sebastian could hope that Abriella would forgive such an utter betrayal simply because he claims to love her. And I do think he does in his own way. But she asks him later why he wouldn't have told her and given her the choice to make. His answer is that she wouldn't have chosen to do what he needed her to do. And so he removed the choice from her. I don't see how that can be love. She accuses Finn of betraying her as well. Finn, also, didn't give Abriella all the information that he could have for her to make an informed decision about her future. But his motives were purer than Sebastian's.

The Court of Shadows is now in chaos. Sebastian has the Crown, but he can't sit on the Throne because the power of the Throne didn't pass to him when he gave Abriella the Potion of Life. Finn has worked behind the scenes for the good of the court for 20 years. He worked to help the everyday commoner while his uncle Mordeus ruled with cruelty and horror. He has always planned to take the throne, but one thing after another comes up to distract him from that. So it's one brother pitted against another. Both are vying for the Kingship of the Court of Shadows. And both are vying for the girl, Abriella. 

Only the bond between Sebastian and Abriella kept Finn and Abriella from moving forward sooner than they did. I have to be honest and say that Abriella stayed bonded to Sebastian for much longer than I expected her to. And I wish more was available about Abriella and Finn being bonded together. That's an experience where the reader is really left wanting. Abriella and Finn do have a connection that draws the two together though. 

I found the world-building to be better in These Twisted Bonds than perhaps the other two books from this world. The story about the forming of the courts and the history behind them all was interesting and made a lot of motives and information make sense. Although, there was a lot of buildup to a coming war that didn't quite pan out. The resolution felt a little anticlimactic to me in this area. And some problems were so conveniently resolved that it felt too pretty. For example, These Twisted Bonds gives an idyllic impression that Jas is all honkey-dorey and sewing dresses and outfits left and right. She seems so perfectly fine. And this is completely at odds with the beginning of Beneath These Cursed Stars. I imagine this is because Lexi Ryan wasn't sure if she would publish another book when concluding this one she wanted things to feel wrapped up just in case. Or maybe she never intended to write another book. 

Favorite quotes:

-"None of us asks for the burdens we bear, but that doesn't make the way we handle them any less significant."

-But the vocal minority was behind him, and they had power and influence of their own. They supported Mordeus when he stole the throne from Oberon, because they knew Finn was dedicated to the commoners--his rule would've redistributed the power and privilege in their court.

Never underestimate the ones who don't want to give up their power, even if they're the minority, especially if they're the squeaky wheel.

-"I recognize a good soul when I meet one, and good souls are never alone for long."

-"I've had my fill of chasing emotionally unavailable females."

-"I don't think love is about what we deserve."

These Twisted Bonds was what I needed to fill in the gaps. I appreciated how Misha came into the story and his contribution. I was a little surprised that he reached "best friend" status over someone like Pretha who Abriella knew longer. There was no salvaging the wreckage that Sebastian wreaked on Abriella's life and their relationship. Finn and Abriella spend most of the book working towards salvaging the Court of Shadows and figuring out how they could be together. I thought some of the conflict resolution was too easy, but overall, I give These Twisted Bonds a solid 4 Stars. Have you read These Twisted Bonds? What did you think? Let me know!

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

Can't Wait for The Serpent and the Wolf

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

The Serpent and the Wolf

By: Rebecca Robinson

Expected Publication: November 19, 2024 by S&S/Saga Press

352 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Magic

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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

Goodreads description--Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon, Rebecca Robinson’s thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.

All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

Can't Wait for Fear the Flames

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames, # 1)

By: Olivia Rose Darling

Expected Publication: September 17, 2024 by Delacorte Press

384 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Dragons

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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

Goodreads description--An exiled princess teams up with the last man she thought she could trust in the start of a dazzling and unforgettable epic fantasy romance series.

As a child, Elowen Atarah was ripped away from her dragons and imprisoned by her father, King Garrick of Imirath. Years later, Elowen is now a woman determined to free her dragons. Having established a secret kingdom of her own called Aestilian, she’s ready to do what’s necessary to save her people and seek vengeance. Even if that means having to align herself with the Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, the most feared and dangerous man in all the kingdoms of Ravaryn.

Cayden is ruthless, lethal, and secretive, promising to help Elowen if she will stand with him and all of Vareveth in the pending war against Imirath. Despite their contrasting motives, Elowen can’t ignore their undeniable attraction as they combine their efforts and plot to infiltrate the impenetrable castle of Imirath to steal back her dragons and seek revenge on their common enemy.

As the world tries to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes impossible to resist. Working together with their crew over clandestine schemes, the threat of war looms, making the imminent heist to free her dragons their most dangerous adventure yet. But for Elowen, her vengeance is a promise signed in blood, and she’ll stop at nothing to see that promise through.

An immersive fantasy filled with a sizzling reluctant-allies-to-lovers romance, a world to get lost in, dangerous quests, dragon bonds, and an entertaining band of characters to root for, Fear the Flames marks the stunning debut of Olivia Rose Darling.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

Rule of the Aurora King - Review

Rule of the Aurora King (Artefacts of Ouranos, # 2)

By: Nisha J. Tuli

Expected Publication: March 19, 2023 by NJT Author

272 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Fae

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 am not his conquest. I am not his to claim. I am my own castle.” Freed from the golden clutches of the Sun King, Lor now finds herself in the hands of Nadir, the Aurora Prince. Convinced she’s hiding something, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make her talk. But Lor knows the value of secrets—she’s been keeping them her entire life—and she’s not letting hers go without a fight. When Lor and Nadir team up to search for a lost item that holds the key to her past and her future, she isn’t sure if she can trust him. All she knows is she won’t fall for his promises and make the same mistakes again. Lor also hasn’t forgotten her vow to destroy the Aurora King. As Atlas hunts her across Ouranos, Lor plots to bring down the Imperial Fae who took everything. But she soon realizes that the future of the continent is about so much more than just her shattered legacy. The Rule of the Aurora King is the second book in the Artefacts of Ouranos series and combines romance, intrigue, action, and adventure. If you love enemies to lovers, fated mates, and fake dating, don’t miss this exciting next installment!

I jumped right into Rule of the Aurora King after finishing Trial of the Sun Queen. Lor rejected Atlas, the Sun King, and was thrown in the dungeon. But Nadir came to rescue her and held her prisoner himself until he could figure out what his father wanted with her. That's where we pick up. Lor refused to talk until Nadir brought her Tristan and Willow. And that's where things start.

I was almost immediately annoyed that Nadir and Gabriel's behavior toward Lor was similar. Gabriel used to call her Tribute as a means of putting her in her place, and Nadir called her Inmate. Maybe this is meant to be funny or attractive in the bad-boy sense. But I think it's the author trying to make Lor stand up for herself. 

Lor and Nadir are at a standoff. He finally gives a little by bringing Tristan and Willow to her and so she decides to trust him with some of her secrets. She is the long-lost descendant of the ruined Heart Queendom. The three siblings have been hiding their Fae bodies by appearing human. Willow only has enough magic to do that, but Tristan has a little more. Lor has a lot of magic, but it's locked deep inside her. She can no longer access it. She can still feel it, and it responds to Nadir in a way that no one else has ever triggered in her. That leads me to believe the two might be mates, but none of that is revealed in this book.

Regardless, Nadir and Lor share a common enemy: Rion, the Aurora King, Nadir's father. Nadir hates him for being a terrible ruler and most of all for the trauma and abuse he's put Nadir's mother through leaving her a shell of herself. Lor hates him because he killed her parents and had her and her siblings thrown into prison as children and everything they have suffered since has been his fault. He also abused Lor to get her to reveal her magic to him...which she did not.

But that reminds me, Lor blames Nadir and Amaya, and basically anyone and everyone else, for the trauma that she experienced being in prison for no reason. She claims that Nadir doing nothing to stop the imprisonment of people who have done nothing wrong is unforgivable. She specifically states she can never forgive him for his part. This was starting to bug the snot out of me. You don't know what you don't know. And you can't be held accountable for something you don't know. You can't even ask the right questions when you don't know there are questions to be asked. How could he have known? Perhaps if he'd chanced upon the right question? But even still. We should all do the best we can with whatever information we have and when we know better then we can do better. But no one can be held accountable for what they don't know. This was a character flaw that I was beginning to think should be attributed to the author more than to the character. 

Almost all of my highlights were frustrations or incongruencies I noticed. How can someone who has been locked in prison for twelve years and has fought over a bar of soap know how to do their own makeup? The random LGBTQ comments that weren't as common in this book, but still existed with zero plot enhancement. And what? Does the main character believe in socialism? Or should I say, does the author believe in socialism? That seems to be a common theme. How can anyone possibly be rich when they are poor people suffering? How can someone sleep in a soft bed when others don't have a bed at all? How can someone have jewels and go to parties when others are being tortured for no reason? It isn't the purpose of my book review to actually answer all of these questions, but I noted this as an annoyance. Also, she comments about Nadir needing to work through his issues by himself without offering him comfort when he needs it. Of course, we all are responsible for working out our own issues, but none of us exists in a vacuum. We can be plenty influenced (and helped...aka encouraged) by the comfort and a kind word from others whether they can empathize or not. 

One of my biggest complaints about Trial of the Sun Queen is that Lor abruptly turned on Atlas after the last challenge. She did such a 180 from where she was that it felt jarring. She went from pursuing a relationship to "I never want to see you again." And she did the same thing with Nadir in Rule of the Aurora King. So maybe this is supposed to represent a character flaw...impulsiveness? But it feels more like a writing flaw--like a quick and easy way to create conflict or even conflict resolution. More polished writing could make the necessary transitions without feeling so jerky. It's like being a passenger in a car where the driver has never driven a manual transmission before. The shifts are jerky and rough, but an experienced driver can make the transitions between gears seamlessly so the passenger might not even notice what is happening. 

I also have to note the trigger warnings. There's sexual assault and trauma--not specifically written on the page, but implied and discussed in the past tense. There's also physical abuse and trauma. Sexual content is present in the book, as well as quite a lot of language. And I already mentioned the random LGBTQ scenes that were brief but unnecessary. 

There's an additional narrator, Serce, who is Lor's grandmother. Her parts were interesting, although I can't say that I looked forward to reading any of her chapters. 

All of that being said, I plan to continue the series to find out what's going to happen next. I want to find out if Nadir and Lor are mates as I'm predicting. I have enjoyed these two books and read them both quickly. But I don't think the writing is as smooth or polished as I would like. I had some glimpses of similarity to A Court of Thorns and Roses, but nowhere near the quality of writing as Sarah J Maas. Rule of the Aurora King gets 3.5 Stars. Have you read Rule of the Aurora King? What did you think? Let me know!

Lost Crows and Fallen Stars - Review

Lost Crows and Fallen Stars (Bonds of the Imnicus, # 1)

By: Abelia Sumpter

Publication: April 9, 2024 by Rose & Lavender Press, LLC

383 pages

Genre: New Adult, Science Fiction

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--For romantasy readers who want to dip their toe into sci-fi, this enemies-to-lovers thriller will enchant you before it breaks you.

Today I met my husband for the first time . . . again.

Milo Arris–the young ruler of two planets–is as cruel as he is handsome, and for some reason, he chose me to be his wife. He chose me to be the Columess–the girl he seems to hate more than the invaders who wiped my memories.

But I have bigger problems than Milo’s cold words. Servants in the palace are hiding strange burns on their bodies. A maid is murdered at the ball. Not to mention there’s the looming mystery of why my memories were wiped to begin with.

Danger lurks in the shadows, and with every strange occurrence, I fear someone aboard the Imnicus may be putting both our lives in jeopardy.

Lost Crows & Fallen Stars is a new-adult space romantasy. Please see the author’s website for a full list of content warnings.

I was sucked into the story of Lost Crows and Fallen Stars pretty quickly. Amnesia stories bring intrigue from the questions immediately thrust upon the character and the reader. Margot wakes up from what appears to have been an attack where she was tortured for information. She doesn't know who she is, but her lady's maid is brought to the hospital to help her figure out who she is. We learn that she's the Colum's wife (Colum = King). 

Let's pause here and discuss this world. This is a science fiction story. The Colum, Milo, is the ruler over two plants, Lavenai & Ashtanabo. His home is on a space station, type of ship, or something that hovers near both planets. His father was Colum before him and conquered Lavenai. From what he shares with Margot, it seems like Lavenai just wants its independence back and is causing problems for Milo and his rule. He paints the picture that he's just trying to help Lavenai get back on its feet after the war, but they are rejecting all his attempts to aid them.

Milo has a group of special, military type of soldiers that he keeps close called proditors. They have superhuman abilities that deal with the mind when they touch other people. I got the impression that each one has a little uniqueness to their abilities, but only one was discussed in detail as to what that proditor could do. These people are stronger than the Colum but are his most trusted warriors, I guess. I'm struggling to find the right description for aspects of this book. There are five of these proditors that live on the Imnicus (the ship/space station where the Colum lives) that are the strongest and closest to Milo. I'll come back to them in a bit.

There was so much about this book that didn't make sense to me or didn't feel fully fleshed out. Margot wakes up from her amnesia and only remembers her first name. She gets immediately annoyed when she learns she's married and her husband hasn't come to visit her. It felt like she wrote him off immediately based on that. The two have a combative beginning. She's told they fell in love, but she's annoyed by the smallest things that he does. At one point, he even tells her that he hated her even before the amnesia. So how did they have this whirlwind love affair that resulted in their marriage while simultaneously hating each other? Aside from that, Margot makes several assumptions about life and other people in a way that doesn't seem to make sense given her amnesia. Granted, I don't fully understand how amnesia works, but I felt she was too opinionated over things she didn't know anything about.

Margot takes down a proditor that snuck up on her. They explain that her body has this muscle memory that her brain might not realize is associated with past memories. She's told she was a soldier who quickly worked up the ranks to become a spy. Apparently, she was extremely good at this. Later, we find out that Margot wasn't all that athletic when it came to physical fights, so how she had the muscle memory to take down a proditor doesn't make sense. The muscle memory thing is not over yet as far as not making sense. She opens a locked tablet with a passcode that her brain doesn't remember, but her fingers apparently do. She's ultimately sent on a spy mission for Milo. Before the mission, no one is particularly concerned about her amnesia because "don't worry, her muscle memory will take over." I feel confident that spies probably use their brains and training just as much as any muscle memory. The goal of a good spy would be to never need to be in a combat situation, right? Anyway, the only opportunity the reader has to see Margot spying is that she once follows Milo around for a week, trying to sneak up on him. He tells her almost immediately that he knew she was following him. And then we learn he even knew where she was so she didn't catch him off guard. This could be explained away with some spoilers, but I don't think the explanation makes any more sense than anything else about this book. Not to mention that we do learn that Margot wasn't all that capable of a spy in the first place.

Margot and Milo supposedly fall in love. I say "supposedly" because there are no events that happen that should create any deep connection between these two. Sure, they have several surface-level interactions. But there's no depth of feeling involved. There's no analysis of the other person's character that inspires any emotion. It's just like we're told they fall in love, and so we're supposed to believe it. Perhaps this is a telling versus showing problem. If anything, I believe there was some attraction and lust, but I didn't experience anything that would lead me to believe these two were in love at all.

Back to the proditors. The term crows is used about the proditors and their abilities. Someone's crows are sick. Someone else's aren't powerful enough to give them full proditor abilities. These guys are so confusing. There are 5 of them on the Imnicus. Two Margot has an immediate liking to. They feel like old friends in a way. One of them, she doesn't meet until her spy mission, and then he is only mentioned in passing. This HAS to be set up for some piece in the future of the series because otherwise, he was entirely unnecessary. One appears to hate her for no reason she can determine. One keeps getting her drunk and seems like he just wants to hang out with her. How their abilities work, how they work for Milo, nearly everything about them is just confusing. What in the world do crows have anything to do with anything? How many crows are there?

There's a giant twist that should make things make more sense. In some ways, the twist does, but in other ways, I just ended up with more questions. 

I read Lost Crows and Fallen Stars really quickly. I was driven forward to keep reading because I wanted the answers to Margot's memories. Who was she before all of this happened to her? But so much of this world and the events of this story didn't make any logical sense. I had more questions after the book than I did to start with. And I can't fully say that I loved any of the characters. Margot was made out to be some top-level spy with an epic love story with her husband that she doesn't remember yet falls in love with again. Milo seemed like a good enough leader with perhaps a short temper, yet I couldn't find anything in his character to draw Margot to him. And I couldn't see why he came to love her either, except perhaps she showed a little spunk. There are plenty of spoilers I can't talk about, but I have to say that I'm not sure if I'll continue this series or not. I'm curious about what might happen next, but with so much not making sense logically and with characters that I don't really care about, I am not sure I'll find the desire to continue the series all that strong when the time comes. I'm giving Lost Crows and Fallen Stars 2.5 Stars. Have you read Lost Crows and Fallen Stars? What did you think? Let me know!

Blood and Steel - Review

Blood and Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 1)

By: Helen Scheuerer

Publication: December 12, 2023 by Dreamscape Media

Duration: 14 Hours, 53 Minutes

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy

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--With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.

Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.

All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?

If you like fierce sword-wielding heroines and brooding, tortured heroes, you will devour this sexy, addictive fantasy adventure.

Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, From Blood and Ash and The Witcher, BLOOD & STEEL is an epic romantic fantasy with enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn spice, found family, and a sprawling world of magic and monsters. Blood & Steel is the gripping first book in the heart-pounding, epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr.

I can't remember all of the details. Since I have the audio version, hunting down the deets would be nearly impossible. Here's what I remember: a while back, a prophecy stated that doom would come at the hand of a woman holding a blade. And well, that happened already. And the evil that threatens this fantasy world has been creeping closer by the day ever since. And since then, women have been forbidden to wield a blade. Women who used to be warriors are relegated to librarians and teachers. But Althea has only ever wanted to be a warrior of Thezmarr. Her death year was prophesied, and now she's racing against her death to achieve legendary status.

Because Thea wants to become a legend, she has been practicing in secret. But she's not allowed to spar against a real opponent or actually train, so she's terribly behind all the other recruits. Thea stumbles upon a meeting between the three top warriors in the realm. Wilder spies her, but he doesn't draw attention to her...then. He does later catch her wilding a blade that he knows isn't hers. And he hauls her in to answer for her crime. Thea pleads to be allowed to train and is ultimately sent to appeal to the king. Wilder is forced to escort her there and back.

Once there, Thea has to convince the king to allow her to become a recruit. I can't discuss the details, but Thea is allowed to join the recruits. And well, not many are in favor of a woman joining the ranks of the men. She finds a few friends who help her, along with some old friends. Honestly, the friendships between Thea and the other recruits are probably the most well-developed pieces of this story.

Wilder and Thea's story was slightly more shallow than I wanted. They have a physical attraction, but there's not a ton of talking that is needed to develop those deeper connections. But I still wouldn't fully describe their relationship as surface-level because they do have several shared experiences that build a bond. I just know that for truly deep romantic characters that will always be the greatest of the great (think Freye and Rhys level) they need more than physical attraction and a few shared experiences. I would like to see this progress more throughout the series. As always, wondering how the romance will go drives me to read more and more.

And then there's Thea's sister. She is studying the potions aspect of the realm--a place where women have been relegated but not one where she is weak or a victim of her gender or circumstances. I can't remember her name, but she's hiding secrets from Thea while being a great sister.

The audio version was even more entertaining due to the dual narrators, Mollie Stark & Sebastian Grove. Sebastian's voice sounded familiar, but I've not listened to any other books he's narrated. I'd recommend both narrators. And I think I appreciated this book even more because I listened to it instead of reading it. I love multitasking by listening to a good audiobook while doing chores or, lately, crocheting.

Blood and Steel was better than I was expecting it to be. I think the audio version added to my appreciation for the story because I kept listening during times when I would have been stalled due to life circumstances. I've recently learned to crochet, and audiobooks are a great option to help me pass the time while crocheting. The audio narrators did a great job. And I can't wait to continue the series. However, I expect to have to continue in print because I don't know if I can wait for the release of the 2nd book on audio when I know it's already available in print. Blood and Steel gets 4 Stars. Have you read (or listened to) Blood and Steel by Helen Scheuerer? What did you think? Let me know!

All Things Halloween Review of A Queen of Thieves and Chaos

A Queen of Thieves & Chaos (Fate & Flame, # 3)

By: KA Tucker

Publication: September 5, 2023

606 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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

Goodreads description--From internationally bestselling author K.A. Tucker comes the third novel in her Fate and Flame series, an adult fantasy novel that should be read in series order.

"You betrayed your brother to steal a broken crown."

The kingdom stands on the brink of chaos. Atticus' grip on the realm is faltering, and as threats arise ever closer to home, he is driven to increasingly desperate acts to hold onto power.

With Islor's fate now in the balance, Zander stands to defend the Rift from the oncoming Ybarisan army. With the king's forces scattered, he must risk unlikely new alliances.

And behind the walls of Ulysede, secrets wait for its new queen. Romeria knows that the paths of the hidden city will lead her to answers. But will they be enough to save the realm – or is their fate already sealed?

A Queen of Thieves and Chaos was simultaneously one of my most anticipated books and also one of my most dreaded. I had a fear about the path these books were headed down and I didn't want to be right. In the end, I wasn't right or wrong. I will say that KA Tucker didn't go in the direction that I was concerned about...yet. Romy hasn't exactly surpassed Zander in that Zander is still acting in a monarchial role for Islor even though Romy has the rule of Ulysede and theoretical ties to Ybaris. Zander and Romy are working together, of course, but Romy isn't dictating to Zander because she's reached some status he's unable to attain. ...Yet anyway. KA Tucker could still go in that direction, but as of this book it didn't seem like that would be where she'd headed.

A Queen of Thieves and Chaos is different from the previous two books in that additional narrators have been added. Mostly, Atticus, Gracen, and Agatha. Atticus's POV was needed to know what was happening in the heart of Islor since Zander is on the run. Gracen is needed to humanize Atticus. Plus since Zander and Romy have made it to pretty solid ground in their relationship, the introduction of a new romance is great for holder reader's attention who also loves this aspect in books. *raises hand* Me. It's me. I'm that reader. Agatha was a little more boring for me because she's all technical behind-the-scenes information. Necessary, but not as interesting as the exciting bits of the story. Agatha is the Master Scribe. 

We have two big bads for the most part in this book. There's the original Princess Romeria's mom, Queen of Ybaris. And there's also Atticus who has taken control of Islor. Atticus is facing his own enemies. The royals that seek to overthrow him just as he overthrew Zander. And then, of course, Zander intends to take back his throne as well. Atticus is doing his best to strategize. And reading his perspective makes it easy to see what he sees, but Atticus isn't the best statistician. 

All of the side characters are important and come off the page as I'm accustomed to KA Tucker doing. There are old friends of Romy's that are still in Cirilea, some are still in the palace and have made friends with Gracen. Some a new. Of course, there's Jarek. He's one of my favorites. There was a chemistry or tension that seemed to float between him and Romy that I had to kind of question. Again, I was getting Blood and Ash vibes. Eden. Zander and Atticus's sister that I can't remember her name right now. Tyree. Elias. And others that are even spoilers.

Favorite quotes:

-"The rich don't like giving up being rich."

-"You have already lost. You just haven't realized it yet."

-"People believe what they want to believe, even when the truth is laid bare, unfiltered and undeniable, before them."

-"You ar the worthiest of causes I have ever met, that I ever will meet, and I will follow you into the rift if you ask it of me. But do not ever ask me to leave your side."

As I said A Queen of Thieves and Chaos was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023. I was dying to get my hands on it. Yet I was apprehensive about Zander turning into a subject of Romy's. So far that hasn't happened, and both are working together and separately to achieve their collective and individual goals. I like this approach. I felt like one of the Big Bads I mentioned above was handled a little too easily. There was a lot of build-up for a short conflict. Either way, I'm stoked to continue the series with book 4. Atticus and Gracen's relationship has helped to continue building interest beyond Romy and Zander. A Queen of Thieves and Chaos gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read A Queen of Thieves and Chaos? What did you think? Let me know!

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

All Things Halloween Review of Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, # 1)

By: Rebecca Yarros

Publication: May 2, 2023

528 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Dragon

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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

Goodreads description--Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

One Sunday, I was visiting blogs, which I don't get to do very often, and stumbled upon one that caught my eye. I can't remember the exact wording, but the blogger stated they didn't enjoy a book that was getting a ton of buzz and love. However she worded her comments piqued my interest, so I looked up the book on Goodreads and decided almost instantly that it sounded like something I would like. I added it to my wish list, and Husband bought it for me for my birthday. I still put off reading it for a while because I needed to focus on review books first. I finally found time to pick it up, and I have to say that I didn't want to put Fourth Wing down. We never have lazy days where we just let the kids watch TV all day, but Husband wasn't feeling well, it was 101 degrees outside, and I was enthralled. So I read every chance I got that first day and read about 80% by midnight. I needed to sleep because I knew that was too much to finish at a reasonable time for me. And I finished the other 20% the next day.

Fourth Wing has everything you could want from the first release in a new fantasy series. You have a flawed leading character--Violet is fragile. Her bones break easily, her joints and ligaments are weak as well. She is short. And generally not physically strong. She is, however, brilliantly intelligent. She spent her entire life training to go to the scribe quadrant. But her mother, one of the nation's top military leaders, decrees that Violet will enter the dragon rider's quadrant instead.

The rider's quadrant is a vicious school of tests and challenges that will end with more cadets dead than alive. Often times the tests kill the cadets. Just as often, the other cadets will do the killing. And what deaths remain are likely from the dragons themselves! Unique schools like this are why series like Harry Potter, Vampire Academy, Divergent, Red Rising, and even Throne of Glass have been wildly popular and universally loved.

And I mean dragons! The appeal of these mythological creatures is fascinating. Perhaps because they're imaginary, we love the different iterations of dragons throughout various literature and media. Fourth Wing's dragons are some of the best I've come across, from the varieties and their discerning qualities to their ability and willingness to bond to humans. Plus, the bond enables a psychic connection with their riders. These dragons are so well done. I applaud Rebecca Yarros for her imagination and vivid depictions in bringing them all to life.

The friends are an interesting variety as well. There are friendships that form almost instantly, those that have spanned entire lifetimes, those that form unexpectedly, and even ones that form begrudgingly. The personalities differ as much as the dragons and the abilities they bestow upon their riders. Violet's older sister, Mira, warns her against forming friendships in the rider's quadrant. Allies are important, but friendship can often be a liability. Plus, when cadets are dying more frequently than surviving, forming friendships means saying goodbye to people who have shared pieces of their hearts with you and vice versa. But Violet doesn't survive the rider's quadrant by following the path others have established. She must survive by her own instincts and her own journey through the tests and trials.

Speaking of abilities, Rebecca Yarros also did an excellent job creating a wide range of abilities since there are so many different characters. None of the signets were too similar to each other. And I loved the intrigue of wondering what new talent would be gifted to the next cadet. She even forms opposite sides of a coin without it appearing to be mirror talents.

The enemies were fierce. We start off with Violet being warned by her sister Mira to steer clear of Xaden Riorson because he will kill her as soon as he gets the chance as revenge for what her mother did to his father in executing the king's justice for his father's rebellion. Violet meets him almost immediately. Nearly the same time, a brutal new cadet sets his sights on her as an easy target to weed out the weak links. Only Violet embarrasses the new cadet, and he swears revenge that he will kill her. And he's not the only person she ticks off during her first year. Xaden is hard to read. He forces Violet into his wing since he's a wingleader. He bounces back and forth between giving her advice that will help her survive, ignoring her completely, and sending others to her in ways that could be construed either for or against her.

Of course, the driving questions are about whether Violet will survive each challenge she's faced with. If she does, will a dragon want to bond with her? At least until you get to a point where you have answers to these questions, and then you want to know what will happen next. I can't reveal those questions to you as they'd be spoilers.

Favorite quotes:

-"They choose for reasons they don't see fit to share with us." He pushes off his desk. "And not all strength is physical, Violet."

-You are not attracted to toxic men, I remind myself...

I had to laugh at that one.

-"One does not live a century without being well aware of the space one takes up."

-"Justice is not always merciful."

-"I know you just want to keep me safe,...,"I whisper. "But keeping me safe is also keeping me from growing, too."

-"I will hate you for this." "Yeah." He nods, a flash of pure regret crossing his face as he draws away. "I can live with that."

-"Andarna is my favorite."

-"You can ride me when the flesh rots off my bones, wingleader."

-"Whatever you feel is natural. Allow yourself to feel it, but then let it go."

-"...if we let fear kill whatever this is between us, then we don't deserve it."

-"One generation to change the text. One generation to choose to teach that text. The next grows, and the lie becomes history."

I was so disheartened when I finished Fourth Wing and went to go purchase Iron Flame only to find that it wasn't released yet. The unique school setting where the cadets die more often than survive. The friends. The enemies. The romance. The DRAGONS. All of it was exactly what I look for in a series. Now, I will say that once the characters leave the setting of the school and undoubtedly have to face the corrupt government, things have the potential to go south like series such as Divergent and The Hunger Games. We shall see if The Empyrean series can survive the traps that other series before it fell into or will it thrive similar to series like Red Rising and Throne of Glass. That being said, Fourth Wing gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read Fourth Wing? What did you think? Let me know!

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

All Things Halloween Review of The War of Two Queens

The War of Two Queens (Blood & Ash, # 4)

By: Jennifer L Armentrout

Publication: March 15th 2022 by Evil Eye Concepts, Inc

628 pages

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Vampire, Werewolves

Source: Borrowed from the e-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--From the desperation of golden crowns…

Casteel Da’Neer knows all too well that very few are as cunning or vicious as the Blood Queen, but no one, not even him, could’ve prepared for the staggering revelations. The magnitude of what the Blood Queen has done is almost unthinkable.

And born of mortal flesh…

Nothing will stop Poppy from freeing her King and destroying everything the Blood Crown stands for. With the strength of the Primal of Life’s guards behind her, and the support of the wolven, Poppy must convince the Atlantian generals to make war her way—because there can be no retreat this time. Not if she has any hope of building a future where both kingdoms can reside in peace.

A great primal power rises…

Together, Poppy and Casteel must embrace traditions old and new to safeguard those they hold dear—to protect those who cannot defend themselves. But war is only the beginning. Ancient primal powers have already stirred, revealing the horror of what began eons ago. To end what the Blood Queen has begun, Poppy might have to become what she has been prophesied to be—what she fears the most.

As the Harbinger of Death and Destruction.

Spoilers for previous books ahead. Proceed with caution.

I usually procrastinate starting books where one of the main characters is separated from the other at the end of the previous book. A new book starting off where the characters are in a bad place frustrates me because I never know how long it'll be before they're in a better/happier place. But I understand why these books and situations are necessary.

Jennifer L Armentrout has led the reader and the characters towards one specific event in this series for several books. She's been dropping hints and straight up telling everyone what was coming. I was hoping she wouldn't go in this direction, but I know that authors don't bring things up unless they're used in the story. Casteel being captured by the Blood Queen was necessary for Poppy and Kieran to advance in their relationship. I didn't mind this because it felt natural. Except, I was pretty sure I knew the reason behind it all. I had to skim "the scene" because I'm not down with polyamory. And honestly I'm not sure if JLA is going in that direction or if that was a mostly one time thing because it didn't seem that way from the rest of the book. And I'd really hate to abandon this series so far in.

Since I'm complaining, I'll mention my other issues with this series. I have a lower tolerance for physical scenes. Poppy and Casteel are always going at it. JLA is descriptive whenever they're together. I find their interactions less than believable quite often. My other issue is that who Poppy really is keeps growing with each book. She's the Maiden. No, that was a lie. She's going to be a Princess. No wait...now queen. Oh, but now she's Ascended, and she's become a god. No wait, just kidding now she's more than that. Ok I must stop because I'm getting into spoilers for this book. But Poppy continues to grow stronger, and so does the Big Bad she's fighting. One last complaint was the language. The f-bomb is all over this book. It's definitely Casteel, Kieran, and Reaver's favorite word.

At this point, I'm most interested in Malik and Millicent than anything else.

One big positive for me was that I mostly didn't want to put this book down. With over 600 pages, I read The War of Two Queens in 5 days. And that's with 3 kids (7 years old and under) guys. Any free minute I had was reading this book during those 5 days. Granted, I skimmed a few parts: the joining and a few other scenes.

The places I highlighted were placed I saw potential foreshadowing, but I did find this quote interesting:

-“Mortals are easily influenced. They can be convinced of anything by nearly anyone. Take from them, then give them something or someone to blame, and even the most righteous will fall prey to that.

The War of Two Queens hooked me. And I mostly enjoyed the journey. I was sure events were leading toward an inevitable direction, but I held out hope that JLA might choose a different path. She didn't. She went exactly where I was afraid she was going. And because of that, I'm not sure how much I'm going to enjoy the series from here. I plan to read the next book with the option to DNF at any point if it gets too much for me. I definitely had my struggles with this book, but I feel like most of them come in the analysis rather than the experience. The War of Two Queens gets 4 Stars. Have you read The War of Two Queens? What did you think? Let me know!

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