Genre: Fantasy & Magic

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Oct 12

{Review+Giveaway} Berserker by Emmy Laybourne @FierceReads

Berserker is a young adult norse fantasy novel by Emmy Laybourne. Emmy Laybourne is an author with such diverse skills. She has written apocalyptic stories, fantasy stories, monster stories and I have to say I am a huge fan of hers. My favorite book of hers is Sweet, but Berserker was a good read as well. The description of Berserker immediately caught my attention. I love anything having to do with mythology, and norse mythology is super interesting to me. Plus, the tag line is killer- “Are Hanne’s powers a gift from the old Norse gods, or a curse?”. I was instantly intrigued. What are her gifts? Berserker is told in multiple points of views. Hanne is our main character, but we also get to meet her siblings, and Owen, a cowboy from the west. Which brings me to the thing that I enjoyed most about this book, and what I am excited to see explored more in upcoming novels. I loved the dual setting. Berserker takes place both on… Read more »

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Oct 06

{Review+Giveaway} THE ADVENTURER’S GUILD by @ZackLoranClark & @NickEliopulos @DisneyHyperion

THE ADVENTURER’S GUILD is a middle grade adventure story by authors and friends Zack Loran Clark & Nick Eliopulos. The Adventurer’s Guild was a ton of fun! I really enjoyed this book. And can I just go off on a tangent really quickly to mention how detailed and gorgeous this book is? From the absolutely stunning map end pages, to the wonderfully designed chapter pages, I really love all the detail that went into the hardcover version of this book. It gets an A+! I love a good middle grade novel. And I love a good adventure novel filled with magic. And The Adventurer’s Guild knocked both of those loves out of the ball park. This was a great book! The Adventurer’s Guild follows two friends, Zed and Brock. I loved their friendship. What I loved the most about it, is that the boys come from different class levels in the story. Brock is expected to join the merchants because of his wealthy family. And Zed wants to make… Read more »

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Sep 26

{Release Day!} The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo @FierceReads

Happy Happy release day to Leigh Bardugo and fans of the grisha verse because today is a special day for two reasons! One, Leigh’s new book, The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic. And because there is a new announcement for another book in the Grishverse! First let’s check out The Language of Thorns because this book is seriously beautiful. I love how much time was spent on the details, from making the book feel lux to all of the beautiful illustrations from the fantastic Sara Kipin. A post shared by BookBriefs (@bookbriefs) on Aug 8, 2017 at 5:02pm PDT Happy Monday everyone! I hope your week is off to a good start. My day is going great. And I don’t know about you but I am SUPER EXCITED about the #thelanguageofthorns by @lbardugo releasing tmrw. I am so excited for this book! You can slide to see close ups of some of my #grishaverse swag. . . . Who else is excited for this book?… Read more »

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Sep 18

{Review} Mask of Shadows by @LinseyMiller @SourcebooksFire ‏

Mask of Shadows is the first book in an untitled series by debut author Linsey Miller. I have been loving fantasies lately, so when I saw this book, my interest was immediately piqued. I loved the idea behind the story. Basically, the queen has a different ring for every finger of her left hand- an opal, ruby, emerald. Each of the rings symbolize one of the Queen’s personal assassins. When the Queen’s Opal dies, there are auditions AKA a competition to fill the spot. Insert our main character Sal. The book was a little Three Dark Crowns and hunger games- esque because the competitors have to kill each other off to win the spot as the Queen’s Opal. There were some pretty graphic, and interesting, deaths in this novel. I also really enjoyed the twist of the competition- no one can be caught killing another competitor. If you are caught you are disqualified (and probably never to be heard from again, kind of disqualified.) I thought this rule made things extra interesting. Most… Read more »

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Aug 25

${ARC Review} Fireblood by @Elly_Blake @TheNovl$

{ARC Review} Fireblood by @Elly_Blake @TheNovl

Fireblood is the second book in the Frostblood saga and should be read in order. This review might contain light spoilers from the first book. If you are new to the series, you can check out my review of the first book HERE Fireblood is the second book in the young adult fantasy Frostblood Saga series by Elly Blake. I read Frostblood at the end of last year and I really loved it. I have been itching for the second book in the series ever since. I loved the lore and myths behind the Firebloods and the Frostbloods. and I am so, so happy to say that I loved Fireblood just as much as Frostblood. I am so ready for book three, Nightblood! I need it right now! Fireblood was just as action packed as the first installment, and we learned so much more about the Firebloods, the Minax and the history of the world. There are plenty more secrets to be revealed in the next book. If you remember… Read more »

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Aug 24

{Review} The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee @yeebookauthor @abramskids ‏@PiqueBeyond @ACBYA

I am so so glad I read The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee! Seriously, this book was fresh and exciting and so so much fun. I can’t remember having read anything like this in a while! The Epic Crush of Genie Lo is based on chinese folklore and mythology, which I loved for so many reasons. I love the magic elements of it, I love anything mythology related and I really loved that it was based on the folklore of a country I don’t know much about. Learning about the Monkey King and Buddha, the hundreds of demons, and all the deities was so so interesting. Plus, there were all kinds of twists and turns that I am so not spoiling because I loved them so much! When Quentin met Genie he knew her right away, but we don’t know how. And how he knew her was nothing I was guessing and I completely LOVED IT! Ok, ok, if you really want to know what I loved about this… Read more »

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Aug 22

{Excerpt+Giveaway} REUNITED by @ColleenHouck @DelacortePress ‏

Praise for REAWAKENED Series “[A] must-read for thrill-seekers and fans of alternate worlds.”—RT Book Reviews “Rick Riordan fans who are looking for another series will delight in this fantasy.”—SLJ “Littered with Egyptian mythology and snappy dialogue, this romantic adventure is a good choice for graduates of Rick Riordan or fans of Houck’s Tiger’s Curse series.”—Booklist “Fans of paranormal romance will love the Egyptian spin on this story of devotion and sacrifice, and Lily’s humor, combined with plentiful dangerous escapades, will keep readers engaged.”—VOYA “The author weaves her story out of Egyptian lore, cinematic magic, selfless love, and . . . is clever enough to remain surprising even to the last sentence.”—Kirkus Reviews “Houck’s moving depiction of the love between Lily and Amon is memorable.”—Publishers Weekly “Wonderfully written and…the heart-pounding adventures are topped only by the heart-melting romance.”—The Deseret News “A sparkling new novel with a fully imagined world and mythos, and crackling romance! Egyptian mythology has never been this riveting!”—Aprilynne Pike, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Wings series, on Reawakened, book one in… Read more »

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Aug 21

{ARC Review+Giveaway} CINDERELLA NECROMANCER by F.M. Boughan @FaithBoughan @Month9Books

Cinderella Necromancer is a fantasy re-imagining of Cinderella. But this is a dark tale of Cinderella. One that I really enjoyed! It is sold as, “Cinderella, Necromancer is Chime meets Anna Dressed in Blood and was inspired by a real medieval grimoire of necromancy from 15th-century Germany.” which completely intrigued me. And it lived up to that blurb. I was hooked into this story right from the very first page. Ella is everything I love in a heroine. She is witty and complex. She is someone that will intrigue you and will have you on her side. I felt like I was her sidekick on this journey, which is something I love. It means that the story pulled me in completely. I loved Mrs. Boughan’s writing. It was dark and atmospheric and felt like a completely new cinderella tale to me. I am calling this one more of a re-imagining, rather than a re-telling for that reason. I think what I loved most of all was the magic in this story. In the original Cinderella,… Read more »

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Aug 03

{Review+Giveaway} The Thirteenth Gate by Kat Ross @katrossauthor

The Thirteenth Gate is the first book in the Dominion Mystery series by Kat Ross. I have previously read The Daemoniac by her, which I thought was going to be the first book in the series, but really ended up being more of a prequel. I have also real the first book in her Fourth Element series, and I while I enjoyed that one was well, the Dominion series is really shaping up to be my favorite! But, what is cool about The Thirteenth Gate is that there is character overlap between the two series. It was very creative and well done on her part. I enjoyed getting to see Alex and Vivienne, though I have not read all the books in the Fourth Element series. The Thirteenth Gate did not disappoint. I loved this atmospheric read. It was exactly what I wanted, and I can’t wait for more. The Dominion series is a young adult detective mystery story with a flair of the paranormal. It felt like the anime Ghost Hunt (which I am… Read more »

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Jul 27

{Review+Giveaway} The Dragons of Nova by @EliseKova @PriceWorldPub

*Please Note: This is a series that must be read in order. If you are new to the series, check out my review of book one- The Alchemists of Loom HERE** The Dragons of Nova is the Second book in the Loom Saga by author Elise Kova. The Loom Saga is a young adult high fantasy series that I have completely fallen in love with. I absolutely LOVED the first book, The Alchemists of Loom, and the second book- The Dragons of Nova was every bit as good as the first! In the Dragons of Nova we get to really delve more into the politics and struggles in the worlds of Loom and Nova and we get to revisit old characters and get to know some new characters as well. This series is one that instantly grabbed me and has yet to let go. It is by far one of the best series I have read in 2017. And the third book, The Rebels of Gold is scheduled to release in December of… Read more »