Review: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Series: The Queen of the Tearling #1

Publication date: July 8th, 2014

Pages: 434

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

Her throne awaits... if she can live long enough to take it.

It was on her nineteenth birthday that the soldiers came for Kelsea Glynn. They'd come to escort her back to the place of her birth--and to ensure she survives long enough to be able to take possession of what is rightfully hers.

But like many nineteen-year-olds, Kelsea is unruly, has high principles and believes she knows better than her elders. Unlike many nineteen-year-olds, she is about to inherit a kingdom that is on its knees--corrupt, debauched and dangerous.

Kelsea will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known... or be dead within the week.

Combining thrilling adventure and action, dark magic, mystery and romance, The Queen of the Tearling is the debut of a born storyteller blessed with a startling imagination.

Available at:

Review:

I received a physical copy from the author in exchange for an honest review and participation in a blog tour.

As a rule, set forth by myself, I normally don't venture too far out of my comfort zone with my reading material. Normally every story has to have some sort of romance in it to keep me locked into the story. The Queen of the Tearling was my first real delve into epic fantasy. I was a bit unnerved and skeptical that I was going to like it, but as I usually am with books I receive for review from TLC Book Tours. I was so wrong.

The story opens on a nineteen-year-old girl reluctantly being taken from her beloved foster parents to take her place as the Queen's heir. Kelsea has been taught all her life what she needed to know about her kingdom and their policies, but it's quite different for her. Actually having to follow them and make decisions that can totally rock the known state of things within her kingdom is nerve-racking. She learns that once things are set for decades, not many are willing to change even if it's for the better. She thought she was going to take the throne and govern over existing laws and keep order within her kingdom. Instead she finds discord and suffering among her people. Never the kind of person to sit idly by, Kelsea sets out to change her kingdom and free her people from pain and torment.

As with any great change, there are always people who rebel against it. One of those people is Kelsea's uncle, the Regent. He wants to keep his place on the throne and keep his kingdom how it was. He didn't care about the shipments of slaves he sends to the Red Queen every month or the evil deeds running rampant in his streets. All he cares about is his women and his wine. Kelsea threatens his happy life and so he sets assassins to sniff her out and dispose of her accordingly. But he's not the only one plotting against her. She has no one she can trust. Not the dashing King of Thieves who causes her cheeks to brighten every time she thinks about him and not her Queen's Guard Captain who seems to always have her best interests at heart.

Can Kelsea overcome the enemies surrounding her and learn to rule her kingdom in the best interests of her people or will she lead her kingdom right into ruin?

I could not get enough of this story. The writing flowed so well and the language used wasn't too complicated or too simplistic. It was not a story riddled with tough subject matter and it wasn't a fluff piece that was too busy avoiding hard issues to get to the root of the story. The characters were realistic and relateable. I found Kelsea to be much the same as me: bookish, hungry for knowledge, sympathetic, plain, and strong willed. I noted a bit of a love triangle possibly forming (fingers crossed!) and I am dying to read the next book in the series. Erika Johansen did spectacular in her debut book and she has made it onto the prestigious list of my top 10 favorite authors.

If you like adventure, suspicion, political maneuvering, and tales of survival set in a fantastical world of magic, The Queen of Tearling is the book for you!

Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Series: Fairy Tales #1

Publication date: January 28th, 2014

Pages: 342

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom--all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandoned everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle--a shifting maze of magical rooms, enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Available at:

Review:

I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers at Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up one of my favorite stories was the story of Beauty and the Beast. I was read the book, I watched the movie, and I dreamed of a grand love that overcame evil and a library filled with every book I could ever want. I had heard some amazing things about certain fairytale retellings and when I learned of one in particular that featured Beauty and the Beast, I was so excited. That book was Cruel Beauty. I was dying to dive into the book and lose myself in a different take on a tale as old as time.

Nyx's story begins when she is preparing to marry the Gentle Lord as her father bargained. In order to fill her father's obligation she was to become the wife of the ruler of their lands. A demon some say. An ugly beast of a man with glowing red eyes who will likely kill her the moment she is brought to the disheveled castle she is to live in with him. But the Gentle Lord is not ugly, he does have glowing red eyes, but he is extremely handsome. That does not make up for his monstrous behavior. For all intents and purposes, Nyx knows that even with astounding beauty the Gentle Lord, Ignifex he calls himself, is pure evil.

Nyx spends her days searching for the four elements of the house in order to bring down the Gentle Lord's magically enchanted home and free herself and her people from their confines. As she plots the demise of Ignifex she is forced to get to know him as well. Along the way, she learns that there is more to the demonic man than meets the eye and she may just be able to entertain the idea of falling in love with him.

Eventually Nyx is faced with the ultimate decision: stay with the man she loves and leave her town to their misery or give up her love and free her town for all time.

As I stated before, I was incredibly excited to read this book. And I was surprised how different it was from the classic Beauty and the Beast story. However, it had some fine points to it that rang true in my childhood tale. I loved that it branched out so wide from the foundation of the original concept and made it completely different. No there were no singing teapots or stodgy clocks, but the relationship between Beauty and the Beast was similar to Nyx and Ignifex.

The language was very proper and sometimes a bit hard to understand until it is reread in the accurate inflections. I did listen to part of the book on audiobook which helped a lot, but audiobooks always seem too slow for me. I read faster than they do since I'm not focusing on every word and syllable. That was my only criticism and it isn't even that much of one. I loved the book, proper language and all.

Cruel Beauty is a fantastic retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast that rivets its reader and drags them into a world where the bad guy has depths beyond destroying the hero.

Review: The Collector by Victoria Scott

The Collector by Victoria Scott

Series: Dante Walker #1

Publication date: April 2nd, 2013

Pages: 352

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

He makes good girls... bad.

Dante Walker is flippin' awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell's best--a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante's an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he'll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper's soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to hi, and that's a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he's come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector... and uncover emotions deeply buried.

Available at:

Review:

I recently received the third book in the series for review and figured, if I was going to read the third book in a series not made to be read independently that I needed to read the first few books as well. So, I went to the library and grabbed myself a copy of the first book.

Dante is an egotistical, smartass, with an odd job. His job is to tag souls when they are naughty until they reach their quota. Once that happens he is meant to collect the soul and take it down to Boss Man who lives wayyy down below, if you catch my drift. As a promotion becomes available for Dante to lead the collectors and find a permanent place about ground on Earth he is stoked. But there is one catch. He must collect Charlie Cooper's soul in just ten days time. It seems like it would be a piece of cake but when he meets innocent and angelic Charlie, it is apparent this would not be anything like a cake walk.

Charlie is the queen of the nerds. She is far from attractive, prefers volunteering to partying, and seems to be the butt of every joke at her school. Dante couldn't be more annoyed with this assignment and how hard it is to get innocent little Charlie to sin. Eventually, Dante is given a contract that promises Charlie's soul to him once she makes enough wishes to fill up her sin quota. Slowly, Charlie starts wishing to be all the things she never was. And Dante, who should be happy to see Charlie change, finds himself wishing for the old Charlie back.

Charlie seems to be on Dante's boss's radar for a reason. Dante must choose between following his order or aging against them and trying to free Charlie in the ultimate story of good vs. evil.

Not many books are written through a male's perspective, at least not through the entire length of the story. That was an interesting change to get a male's view on situations. The book confronts some harsh subjects like bullying, physical appearance, and also the battle between good and evil. You would think with so much talk of Satan and God that the book would seem a bit overly religious. It wasn't. It was the perfect amount. There were moments when I really disliked Dante, but of course that was the author's intention. Dante is one of those characters that you love to hate in the beginning.

I found The Collector to be a fun YA read that confronts the trials and tribulations of remaining good with a snarky, sexy antagonist turned protagonist leading one astray.

Review: Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison

Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison

Series: Shadow #1

Publication date: June 29th, 2010

Pages: 

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

When a demon breaches the barrier between death and life, the salvation of the world depends on the passions of a beautiful banshee just coming into her power and the man willing to use her to avenge the destruction of his family.

Available at:

Review:

I received the second book for review and in order to read that one, I needed to first dive into the first book in the series. I have not read anything Fae related in a long time so it was great to get into that world again with a new and exciting author. The world created by Erin Kellison seems to be a totally unique take on Faes and the strive for immortality in lieu of the threat of death.

Talia never knew her parents. Her mother died after giving birth and her father was never around. Talia had learned to live with it, but when the origin of her father starts to play a role in the dark and dangerous men tailing her every move, she starts to wonder who she is and why so many people want to get their hands on her. She vacates her life and goes into hiding for months only to be found by the handsome Adam Thorne when she seems to have needed him the most. Can Adam help Talia understand who she is and why her life is anything but ordinary?

Adam is tracking Talia not to protect her, but to find answers in how to destroy the monster his brother has become. Adam is desperate and Talia and her knowledge of the Shadowman seem to be the only leads he has. But once Adam meets Talia he finds his desire more than just answers from the mysterious beauty.

Talia and Adam are caught in the clutches of the battle between good and evil. It is up to Talia with her unusual powers and Adam with his unique knowledge of the supernatural to save the world and stop the Wraith war. All the while the two also must battle their growing feelings for each other.

As far as paranormal romance goes, I found this book to be middle of the road for me. I found the romance aspects of the story to be almost forced and unnatural. The rest of the book was fantasy gold. It was a different take on the supernatural and how it ties into death and immortality. If not for the so-so romance, I think this book could have been masterful. The love scenes seemed to be a bit painful to watch. There was no swooning for me. I think that if the author would have written the book as more of an urban fantasy, it would have been even better.

Talia was not a very powerful heroine. She was actually pretty foolish a lot of the time. It was hard to watch her forge her way along her destined path and even harder to watch her struggle with the romance between her and Adam. Where Talia was too weak, Adam seemed too strong. I wanted to see a softer side of Adam and I never really did. Even when Talia and he were whispering sweet nothings to each other, I still felt he was too abrasive. The two protagonists were just a little mismatched.

Despite the issues I had with the book, I will still read the sequel and continue the series, hoping that the next set of characters are a bit more believable in the romance department.