The Kingdom of Ruses (Ruses of Lenore #1) by Kate Stradling

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: A male character keeps pushing his affections on a female character.

 

Viola Moreland’s life is a well-orchestrated lie. For generations her family has fabricated the existence of the Eternal Prince, a mysterious and powerful protector who watches over the small kingdom of Lenore.

This practiced deception cracks, however, when a nameless stranger stumbles across the truth and promptly assumes the Prince’s identity. Unable to produce the genuine figurehead, the Moreland family—and Viola in particular—must cater to the impostor’s whims or risk having the web of carefully constructed ruses crumble to pieces.

Of course, as with any good lie, nothing really is as it seems. Contrary to Viola’s desires, this false Prince with his cryptic agenda may well be the only thing that stands between the true magic of Lenore and certain destruction. 

 

After reading The Legendary Inge, I wanted to try something else by this author. This one ended up being my pick it for me book for this month and I enjoyed it. I didn't like it as much as The Legendary Inge. I thought it was good but not great. This story required some suspension of disbelief where the eternal prince is involved. Another review I came across compared it to a fairy tale and I agree, it does read like one in some ways and you just have to go with the improbabilities. 

I didn't particularly like the way the imposter character was portrayed at times. He kissed Viola when he first met her right out of the blue, then kept trying to kiss her throughout the book when she clearly didn't want him to. I think the first kiss was supposed to be magically induced because of what he is, and I don't think the author intended for it to come off as inappropriate, but it still bothered me. I mean, if a stranger grabbed me and kissed me, no matter what the reason behind it, I would be upset. I'm not sure if I want to continue with this series or not, but I do want to try some of the other standalone novels by this author.

 

 

 

 

 

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Fantasy, Romaance
Content: Moderately descriptive sex, Strong language

 

Born to the firelit domain of the underworld, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land where gods kill each other for magic, Matilda must come of age sooner than most. She may be known to carry letters through the realms, but she also carries secrets of her one of them deadly, the other a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met…

Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life – begging the goddess he befriended in dreams for aid. But his prayer went unanswered, forever hardening his heart against the gods. That is until the same goddess comes tumbling through his window, bearing a letter to change both their destinies. For Matilda and Vincent are tangled together by threads of fate and the promise of a future beyond dreams, one that might rewrite the dark, blood-soaked ways of the gods…or end them. 

 

After reading and loving A River Enchanted, and A Fire Endless, I was excited to read another book by Rebecca Ross. So it was a little unfortunate that I didn't love this one. In the beginning it took me a while to get into this. I think I was around 20 percent in before it grabbed me and I felt more engrossed in the story. I had mixed feelings about the main female character. I didn't like or understand why she got involved with one of the characters in the story the way she did. It was off-putting to me that she developed the kind of relationship that she did with this person. There were red flags all over the place. She even saw them but that didn't stop her. Also, it didn't make sense to me that she made the deal with the river god, especially considering who he was, when she could have just used her cloak to disappear and swim across? Why did she need to walk across the bottom of the river to get to the keep?

I also had mixed feelings about the main male character. As a romantic character he was fine but I felt like he was a weak leader and a very poor strategist. In fact everyone involved in the war in this book was a poor strategist, and believe me, if I'm saying this then that says something, because that is not my forte. We have the god of war in the story and I have no idea what role he really played in helping them besides killing a few people. He seemed very inept. This part of the story should have been built up more. None of the characters really thought through their actions enough or even used their god powers to the best of their advantage. This stuff really frustrated me. There's more I could say but I'm trying to avoid spoilers so I'll leave it there. 

There were things I did like about this book enough to give it 3 stars. I like some of the supporting characters a lot and I liked the way the romance came about between the two main characters, and once I got into the story it was hard to put it down. I also really enjoy this author's writing style. Will I read more Rebecca Ross after this? Yes, I'll still give her other books a try because I love the first two I read so much.

On another note, I wasn't really sure how to categorize this book. It reads rather YA and although this is a standalone story, it is connected to a YA series. However, the age of the characters and some of the other content has me categorizing it for adult readers. I wouldn't recommend this for younger YA readers.

 

“He chose me first,” I replied. “He dreamt of me before I knew of him. His soul found mine before I even knew how to look for his.”

 

 

 

Teen Henry 1994 (Henry Bins #0.5) by Nick Pirog

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Content: Nothing I can remember

 

Henry Bins has a rare sleep disorder where he's only awake for sixty minutes a day, from 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. His meticulously regimented life—three minutes to shower, five minutes to eat, seventeen minutes of school, four minutes to play Zelda—is turned upside down when his dad leaves for a week-long cruise.

Just days into his newfound freedom, Henry's carefully structured hour explodes into adventure after a chance encounter with the audacious and beautiful Alice leads to the discovery of an abandoned puppy and a suspicious puppy mill.

As they team up to care for the mischievous pup, Trout, and work to shut down the cruel operation, Henry and Alice stumble upon a web of secrets involving her father—the principal of the local high school—and a shady new technology company. With each precious minute ticking away, they find themselves entangled in a high-stakes game of corruption, daring escapes, and a first crush that makes Henry's heart race faster than his limited time.

With the help of Alice's best friend Nicole and her brother Greg—or "Cipher" as the teenage hacker insists on being called—they embark on a mission to expose the truth before time runs out.

Full of heart-pounding adventure, first love, late-night daring, unbreakable friendship, and '90s nostalgia, Teen Henry 1994 is a hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age mystery that is a bold reminder that sixty minutes is all it takes to change everything. 

 

This was an enjoyable prequel novel to the Henry Bins series. Fourteen year old Henry is left to his own devices for a few days, with the neighbor looking in on him periodically, while his dad takes a vacation. I enjoyed the characters in the book a lot and the plot was also ok. One of the most enjoyable parts of this, at least for me, was seeing how close Henry would cut it getting home in time before he fell asleep. But that was also a frustration as well because he certainly never seemed to learn! Another enjoyable part of this book was going back to 1994 and reliving all the things from that time period. Dial-up, AOL, cordless phones, the music, etc. 

I did find it a bit far-fetched that so much happened at 3 a.m. for Henry to get involved with, and sometimes there was just no way that all that happened in just one hour. I thought at times the author did a good job with this aspect of the book, showing us how Henry crammed everything he wanted to do in the one hour he had each day, and others not so much. This ends kind of on a cliffhanger with one of Henry's friends hacking into something he shouldn't, so that leads me to believe this isn't just a one time prequel. I was actually hoping it would be because I honestly just want the author to publish what I assume will be the last book in the main series.

 

 

 

 

 

September and October 2025 Book Clubs: The Legendary Inge by Kate Stradling, and The Dollmakers by Lynn Buchanan

The last two book club books have been my favorites that we've read all year.

 

September-

 

The Legendary Inge by Kate Stradling 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content:Clean

 

Plagued by misfortune, Ingrid Norling treks into the woods to clear her head. She emerges a monster-slayer, the shaken executioner of a creature so ferocious that even the king’s strongest warriors could not destroy it. In a land that reveres swords and worships strength, this accidental heroism earns Inge an audience at court and a most ill-fated prize: King Halvard impulsively adopts her and names her as his heir.

Under constant guard to prevent her escape, Inge confronts the ignoble underbelly of the royal court: a despotic king, a clueless princess, a proud warrior, and a dangerous intrigue. As secrets unravel around her and the castle threatens to become an elaborate deathtrap, Inge must keep her wits close and her weapons closer. The monster in the woods was only the beginning.

 

This cute YA fantasy was based on Beowulf. It was such a cute story! I especially liked the forward the author wrote about why she wrote it. I adored the characters in this. While I found the story pretty predictable with no real surprises, it was a delight to read.  

 

 

 October-

  

The Dollmakers by Lynn Buchanan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

 

In this dark and enchanting stand-alone fantasy from debut author Lynn Buchanan, discover a world centered around destructive, all-consuming monsters; the magical dolls designed to fight this force; and the artisans tasked with creating demon-slaying dolls. A touch cozy fantasy and a touch horror, The Dollmakers is perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli films, the works of TJ Klune and Travis Baldree, and readers of Juniper & Thorn and The Goblin Emperor .

In the country called One, dollmakers are vital members of the community. An artisan’s doll is the height of society’s accomplishments, while a guard’s doll is the only thing standing between the people of One and the vicious, cobbled monstrosities that will tear apart any structure—living or dead, inanimate or otherwise—to add to their horde.

Apprentice Shean of Pearl is a brilliant dollmaker. With her clever dolls, she intends to outsmart and destroy the Shod, once and for all—a destiny she’s worked her whole life toward accomplishing. But when the time comes for her dolls to be licensed, she’s told her work is too beautiful and delicate to fight. A statement that wounds and infuriates her; the Shod killed everyone she loved. How could her fate be anything but fighting them?

In an attempt to help her see a new path for herself, Shean’s mentor sends her on a journey to the remote village called Web, urging her to glean some wisdom from Ikiisa, a reclusive and well-respected guard dollmaker. But Shean has another if she can convince the village of Web of her talents, the Licensor Guild will have to reconsider and grant her a guard’s license. And what better way to convince them than challenging Ikiisa and instating herself as the official dollmaker of Web? Once she’s done that, proving her dolls’ worth in the fight against the Shod will be simple. As simple, that is, as calling the Shod to Web... 

 

I was hooked from the beginning. The world was very interesting even though the main character was very unlikable for the first half of the book. In the end I liked her, but it took a while to get there. Though I do feel like she should have had more punishment for the things she did. I found the supporting characters to all be interesting and they were what really kept me reading. Ikiisa and Roque were interesting characters that I want to know more about. I've heard the author has plans to write more in this world and if she does I hope we get to learn more about Roque in particular in those books.

 

There's some beautifully done artwork in the book. Here are a some of the pictures-

 

This looks to be Ikiisa with her dolls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Spiders

 

 

For book club we made some of our snacks into a doll workshop with pieces and parts of dolls, and we added spiders and spider web as decorations to go with the spiders in the book. In the photos it looks kind of like a mess. I think it looked better in person.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 2024 Book Club: A Deadly Education (The Scholomance #1) by Naomi Novik

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language

Lesson One of the Scholomance: Learning has never been this deadly.

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

 

This was an interesting world and I enjoyed reading about it, but I didn't love it. The main character was abrasive, but once I understood why, it didn't bother me. The thing I liked most about this book is how she gradually learns to trust other people. I found the many monsters that they fought interesting and I liked the way El and her newfound friends worked together to survive. One big negative for me is that the characters just weren't that memorable or very well drawn, but I do want to read the next book.

In the book they are always having to check to make sure the food they eat isn't spoiled or contaminated in some way, so for book club, my husband decided to make our rolls look moldy with a little food coloring. They don't look very appetizing, but it did the trick! We also had a cake that he tried to do the same thing to, but it didn't work quite as well.

Late Post for the March 2023 Reading Challenge (Updated on 4/11/2023)

 

 

UPDATE-

I completely forgot that The Soul of a Lady by Wanda Luce counted towards this challenge. I've had it on my shelf for more than 10 years. So I got two books read for this challenge.

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The reading challenge for March was Spring Clean Your Collection (Oldest Owned). Typically we're supposed to read books that have been on our to-read list for at least ten years. I only read one book that I've had on my shelf for 10 years. I had planned on reading more, but life got in the way. My husband and I went on an unplanned road trip for 5 days, and instead of reading some of the books I had planned to read in March, we ended up listening to 6 of Patricia Briggs books from the Mercy Thompson series and the Alpha and Omega series, over the last two weeks (he had two weeks off). We listened to most of them on the road trip. This started a few months ago when I decided to do a reread of all the Mercy verse books in chronological order, and my husband wanted to read them with me. Needless to say, we've had loads of fun listening together, and I never would have thought we would get though so many in March! I could probably stretch things and count some of those books, because I've had them for over ten years, but I think the books should be ones I've never read, so I won't count them.

Now back to the book I read for this challenge-

I decided on Forget me by K. A. Harrington. 

 

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Content: Underage drinking

 

On the three-month anniversary of her boyfriend Flynn’s death, Morgan uploads her only photo of him to FriendShare to get some closure—but she’s shocked when the facial recognition software suggests she tag him as "Evan Murphy." She’s never heard of Evan, but a quick search tells her that he lives in a nearby town and looks exactly like Flynn. Only this boy is very much alive.

Digging through layers of secrets and lies, Morgan is left questioning everything she thought she knew about her boyfriend, her town, and even her parents' involvement in this massive web of lies.

 

Initially, I didn't realize this was a YA book, but I still ended up liking it. I liked the characters and I thought they were written more intelligent than a lot of YA characters I've read. Morgan mostly thinks things through instead of just running headfirst into things, and I liked that. There was only one time I was really questioning her judgment. I also enjoyed the relationship development between Morgan and Evan. 

Overall, this book is a simple book. I thought the mystery was too easy to figure out. I was also expecting more suspense and more twists and turns than I got, but I enjoyed it anyway. I think this will probably appeal to most YA readers that are into mystery. 

January 2022 Reading Challenge

 

 

I do a lot of book challenges, so I decided to start blogging about some of them. I'm in a group on Goodreads that does challenges every year, and this year we are doing a monthly one where we have a different type of reading challenge for each month. For January the challenge was titled New Year, New Books. We were to read as many books published last year or this year as possible. It's an ongoing challenge so we can add anything later that we want. I posted reviews on here for some of the ones I read already. My list included-

Mickey7

A Far Wilder Magic

The Fortuna Coin

Confessions on the 7:47

Fate's Ransom

To Treasure an Heiress

Shadows of Swanford Abbey 

I also added The Vow  to the list after it was published this month. 

I read a few others that I haven't already posted reviews for. I probably won't get around to writing a review for every one of them, but here are three that I really enjoyed reading.

 

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche Territory (The Murderbot Diaries #4.5) by Martha Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi
Content: Nothing I can recall

This was a short story set in the Murderbot series. I love this series and I'll take whatever I can get. I mostly enjoyed this because I got to see from Dr. Mensah's perspective following the events of Exit Strategy.

 

Cast in Firelight (Wickery #1) by Dana Swift

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Nothing that I can remember  

 

Adraa is the royal heir of Belwar, a talented witch on the cusp of taking her royal ceremony test, and a girl who just wants to prove her worth to her people.

Jatin is the royal heir to Naupure, a competitive wizard who's mastered all nine colors of magic, and a boy anxious to return home for the first time since he was a child.

Together, their arranged marriage will unite two of Wickery's most powerful kingdoms. But after years of rivalry from afar, Adraa and Jatin only agree on one thing: their reunion will be anything but sweet.

Only, destiny has other plans and with the criminal underbelly of Belwar suddenly making a move for control, their paths cross...and neither realizes who the other is, adopting separate secret identities instead.

Between dodging deathly spells and keeping their true selves hidden, the pair must learn to put their trust in the other if either is to uncover the real threat. Now Wickery's fate is in the hands of rivals..? Fiancées..? Partners..? Whatever they are, it's complicated and bound for greatness or destruction.

 

I haven't read much YA lately, mainly because I've had a hard time getting into them after focusing so much on books written for adults. They also have so many of the same themes over and over, that I got bored with them. I would also like to find one that is well written that doesn't feel like it's pushing an agenda. I read to escape, I don't want to have to read something that is hitting me over the head with a message, and that's how I feel about most of the YA stuff I've tried to read lately. Weave the message into the story in a more subtle way and let me come to my own conclusions about it. So when I picked up this book, I wasn't really sure how much I was going to like it. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. 

There really isn't anything new here. It still follows the same old formula that a lot of YA fantasy follows, but I found it to be a fun and entertaining read. Both Adraa and Jatin were easy to like and I enjoyed the way they turned from being enemies to developing love feelings for each other. The ending left me a bit frustrated, but the second book has already been released. Now to see if my library will pick up a copy of it...

 

 

Feathers of Snow (Kingdom of Birds and Beasts #1) by Alice Ivinya

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale
Content: Some animal cruelty, but nothing is actually shown

 

In Brianna’s new world of ice and snow, the coldest things by far are the eyes of her betrothed...

Brianna bears a deadly secret: she’s not the princess she is pretending to be. If the prince finds out, her life will be forfeit and her country plunged into war.

But there is more to the icy prince than meets the eye, and Brianna slowly unravels the secrets of his dark past while surviving in a strange culture.

However her goodness and wit will only get her so far. Terrifying beasts stalk the border and a murderer is at work in the town. They know the truth of Brianna’s identity and will stop at nothing to destroy all she has fought for.

 

This is a Goose Girl retelling, and that's one fairy tale I honestly have never read, so I can't really say how it compares to the original, but I loved this book. I had already read Queen Avan by this author and loved it, so I was really happy to get to read this one too. I like the easy writing style this author has. She has a way of pulling me right into her stories, and I find them hard to put down. I've already read the second book in the trilogy and will post a review for that one later. I'm looking forward to reading the last book when it's published.

 

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

  

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language; not sure what else since I only read just over 30 percent, but there is rumored to be masturbation and possibly other sexual situations.

When Margaret Welty spots the legendary hala, the last living mythical creature, she knows the Halfmoon Hunt will soon follow. Whoever is able to kill the hala will earn fame and riches, and unlock an ancient magical secret. If Margaret wins the hunt, it may finally bring her mother home. While Margaret is the best sharpshooter in town, only teams of two can register, and she needs an alchemist.

Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist--yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he's landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her.

Although they make an unlikely team, Wes is in awe of the girl who has endured alone on the outskirts of a town that doesn’t want her, in this creaking house of ghosts and sorrow. And even though Wes disrupts every aspect of her life, Margaret is drawn to him. He, too, knows what it's like to be an outsider. As the hunt looms closer and tensions rise, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt - if they survive that long. In A Far Wilder Magic, Allison Saft has written an achingly tender love story set against a deadly hunt in an atmospheric, rich fantasy world that will sweep you away.

 

I really liked Down Comes the Night by this author, so I was hoping I would like this one just as much. After reading over 30 percent of this book, I've come to the decision to set it aside. Unfortunately, the story just hasn't caught my interest, and as much as I wanted to, I haven't made a connection with the characters. Overall, the story feels gloomy, and the parts about alchemy are not interesting to me. 

I can't really tell what time period this is set in. It seems like a historic setting in our world. I think maybe the early 1900s, but there are some modern terms and sentiments thrown in there that I don't really appreciate in a historical fantasy setting. That made the decision to set it aside even easier.

The blurb for this book promised an achingly tender romance, which is one reason I wanted to read it in the first place, but I haven't even seen of hint of that yet. I know that maybe if I read on, I'll get to that, but I just don't like enough about the characters, or the book in general, to care. 

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Fate's Ransom (The First Argentines #4) by Jeff Wheeler

 

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult, Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

 

Ransom Barton has served three Argentine kings. The new successor to the throne is the ruthless Jon-Landon, a fallible strategist when it comes to war. After losing against the Occitanian armies, the king forces Ransom to bear the blame and removes him from the council. But Jon-Landon isn’t yet through with humbling the honorable knight of Ceredigion.

When a retaliatory battle succeeds, Jon-Landon invites Ransom back into his circle. Though Ransom’s Fountain magic is made stronger by his fealty, he’s once again forced to make a terrible choice. And this time, Ransom’s wife, Claire, and their sons could pay the price for Ransom’s loyalty.

But as tensions between Ceredigion and Occitania reignite and alliances at court begin to crumble, a desperate Jon-Landon discovers his only ally is the knight he betrayed. With the future of Kingfountain hanging in the balance, Ransom agrees to help. And as secret enemies reveal their endgame, Ransom knows that he may have to make the ultimate sacrifice for the survival of the Argentine dynasty.

 

I was hoping this last book in the series would be an improvement over book three, but unfortunately, I didn't care for it. I liked this one the least out of the four books in this series, and it was mainly due to the way things end up for Ransom. That's all I'm going to say about the plot, because I don't want to spoil anything. 

Sometimes I like Jeff Wheeler's story-telling a lot. At those times I can feel the struggles his characters are going through, as they try to make the right decisions, and deal with heartbreak and disappointments in their lives. Other times his protagonists come off as a little too perfect. I liked Ransom a lot as a character, but I feel like he was just a little too perfect at times, and that made him seem not as realistic. As for Claire, after reading book three, I was hoping that I would like her character again. She got on my nerves so badly in the last book, which is a shame, because she was a character that felt more real to me. Thankfully, she was back to being the Claire I knew and enjoyed reading about in books one and two, but her role was rather small here. 

Overall, I don't like this series as much as Kingfountain. It's one of those take or leave it ones for me. I've also reached a point in my reading of fantasy that I'm very tired of the "fated to happen" trope.