Dragon Mage (Rivenworld #1) by M.L. Spencer

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language, Torture that doesn't go into too much detail.

Aram Raythe has the power to challenge the gods. He just doesn't know it yet.

Aram thinks he's nothing but a misfit from a small fishing village in a dark corner of the world. As far as Aram knows, he has nothing, with hardly a possession to his name other than a desire to make friends and be accepted by those around him, which is something he’s never known.

But Aram is more. Much, much more.

Unknown to him, Aram bears within him a gift so old and rare that many people would kill him for it, and there are others who would twist him to use for their own sinister purposes. These magics are so potent that Aram earns a place at an academy for warrior mages training to earn for themselves the greatest place of honor among the armies of men: dragon riders.

Aram will have to fight for respect by becoming not just a dragon rider, but a Champion, the caliber of mage that hasn’t existed in the world for hundreds of years. And the land needs a Champion. Because when a dark god out of ancient myth arises to threaten the world of magic, it is Aram the world will turn to in its hour of need.

I had never heard of this author before I picked up this book, and I didn't know what to expect, especially since after finding this book I heard that this author mostly writes grimdark fantasy, which isn't my thing. I was hoping this one wouldn't be too dark for me. While there were some dark, heartbreaking things that happened, I'm happy to say it turned out not to be too dark. I really enjoyed the story and the world, and the characters were easy to love. The friendship between Aram and Markus was heartwarming, and I loved the development of both their characters. The parallel worlds were also interesting and I would like to see more development of that in the next book. 

This is a book that kind of straddles the adult and young adult categories. It's a coming of age story, but also still written for adults. It was originally supposed to be a standalone, and it reads fine as one, but the author has decided to write more and I'm looking forward to reading more. Overall this had all the elements I love in a traditional epic fantasy and I recommend it to fantasy lovers.

 

 

The Merchant and the Rogue (The Dread Penny Society #3) by Sarah M. Eden

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Mystery
Content: Clean

 

London, 1865 Vera Sorokina loves reading the Penny Dreadfuls and immersing herself in tales of adventure, mystery, and romance. Her own days are filled with the often mundane work of running the book and print shop she owns with her father. The shop offers her the freedom and income to employ and protect the poverty-stricken Londoners she’s come to care about, and it gives her father something to do other than long for their hometown of St. Petersburg. She is grateful for the stability in their lives, but she often feels lonely.

Brogan Donnelly was born and raised in Ireland, but has lived in London for several years, where he’s built a career as a Penny Dreadful writer. He has dedicated himself to the plight of the poor with the help of his sister. His membership in the secretive Dread Penny Society allows him to feel he isn’t entirely wasting his life, yet he feels dissatisfied. With no one to share his life with but his sister, he fears London will never truly feel like home.

Brogan and Vera’s paths cross, and the attraction is both immediate and ill-advised. Vera knows from past experience that writers are never to be trusted, and Brogan has reason to suspect not everything at her print shop is aboveboard. When the growing criminal enterprise run by the elusive and violent Mastiff begins targeting their area of London, Brogan and Vera must work together to protect the community they’ve both grown to love. But that means they’ll need to learn to trust each other with dangerous secrets that have followed both of them from their home countries.

 

While I enjoyed the first two book in this series, especially book one, I liked this third book in the series less than the two previous books. I didn't find the main story line to be as compelling. I originally thought this was going to be a trilogy and that this would be the last book in the series, but it turns out it's not. I feel like I'm not enjoying the series enough to want to keep reading. I think the idea of incorporating the Penny Dreadful stories into each novel is pretty original, but I feel like they interrupt the main story line of the novel and I'm not nearly as interested in what happens in them as I am the main story line. That being said, I am also not completely invested in the overarching plot of the series either. I like the romance plots that are contained within each book much better. So yeah, unfortunately I think I'm going to abandon this series. It was fun for a while, but I'm just not as into it as much I would like to be. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

 

 

 

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian Fiction
Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Mystery
Content: Clean

 

To escape a scheme to marry her off to a dishonorable man, Margaret Macy flees London disguised as a housemaid. If she can remain unwed until her next birthday, she will receive an inheritance, and with it, sweet independence. But she never planned on actually working as a servant. And certainly not in the home of Nathaniel and Lewis Upchurch--both former suitors.

As she fumbles through the first real work of her life, Margaret struggles to keep her identity secret when suspicions arise and prying eyes visit Fairbourne Hall. Can she avoid a trap meant to force her from hiding?

Brimming with romance and danger, The Maid of Fairbourne Hall takes readers inside the fascinating belowstairs world of a 19th-century English manor, where appearances can be deceiving. 

 

This book was really good. I especially liked the upstairs/downstairs aspect of the story.  In the beginning the main character, Margaret was naive and pampered by wealthy parents, but her step father, a despicable man, has his eye on the fortune she's about to inherit from her aunt and is trying to marry her off to a relative of his who is in cahoots with him to try and steal it. This relative is also not a good man and after overhearing their plans, Margaret decides she must run away and leaves in disguise with one of the maids who has been dismissed. She ends up in the home of a man who had previously proposed marriage to her, but she had rejected. 

Margaret has quite the eye-opening experience of learning how the folks below stairs live. What I liked the most about the book was how Margaret went from the pampered, naive girl to someone who worked hard and had compassion for others and their circumstances. She really tried to do the right thing, even at cost to herself a couple of times. I also liked that the book wasn't preachy with the Christian themes, but just let the messages be woven into the story.

The love interest ended up being very likable and I enjoyed reading about his past and how he wanted nothing to do with his father's sugar plantation because of the use of slaves. The theme of slavery and the fight against it was a big topic in the book. I felt like things wrapped up a bit too neatly with his father in the end, but that was a minor weakness. I kept anticipating when he would recognize Margaret and they would finally get together. It was a good kind of anticipation, and the romance happened gradually. Overall this was another great Julie Klassen book.

 

 

Leaning On Water by Joan June Chen

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera
Content: Strong language
 

  

A talented young pilot.
A mysterious Bionic.
A dark past that threatens the future...

LIVINTHEA PARK has the Mark of Dresden mutation, only she doesn't know about it.

When a tragic accident exposes this hidden secret, her life as Galactic's top pilot quickly unravels. The Bionics barge in and stake their claim, whisking her away from her beloved home to the otherworldly Atlas Station I.

Though these mysterious Bionics look human, with nanobots coursing through their veins, they are anything but just plain human... especially the one with the steel grey eyes.

Commissioned since the turn of the millennium with guarding the Erlion System against a dark menace, the Bionics take Livi on a cosmic journey where wonders abound, mysteries unfold, and a heroine rises.

 

This was one of the books we voted on a while back when we were choosing a book club read. I voted for it, but it didn't win. Of course I still wanted to read it, so it went on my to-read list. I'm glad I finally got to it because I really liked it. 

This is a pretty standard space opera or space fantasy type book with different worlds and the people that inhabit them, some of whom reminded me of the Borg from Star Trek, or even the Cybermen from Doctor Who. There are also the Bionics that are like cyborgs. I kept thinking of Wolverine when they talked about the procedure of changing humans into cyborgs and was expecting something excruciating, but we never see that. The character in the book that undergoes the change is unconscious and just wakes up after the change, so that was a little disappointing. There are also, of course the humans whose origins seem to come originally from Earth. I won't say anything else about that because of spoilers. 

The main character, Livi was very likable and so was Triton and several other characters. There was quite a bit of good action in the book, and I had a hard time putting it down. There is room for some romance to take root in a future book and I like that, but I also liked that the relationships and personal drama didn't overwhelm the overall plot of the story. The second book was supposed to be released in 2020, but apparently that didn't happen. I have no idea when it will be published, but I'm looking forward to it, and I hope it doesn't take too long.

A ​Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language, A couple of moderately descriptive sex scenes.

Note: This is a YA series that is definitely written for older teens. There is quite a bit of violence, and some darker themes and I feel like the sexual content in this particular book would not be appropriate for young teens. This is the kind of content that I've read in adult romances in the past and also just a few years ago would have been classified as New Adult instead of YA. I find this trend disturbing since it is hard for parents to always monitor what their child is reading, and I'm sure there are plenty of younger teens that have picked this series up to read.

 

Picking up just a few months after A Reaper at the Gates left off...

The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory--or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life--and love--he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save--or destroy--all that he knows.

  

This is the fourth and last book in the series and I've been waiting for it for a long time. Originally I thought it was a good idea for this to be a four book series, but after reading books three and four I feel like it should have been kept a trilogy, which is what I think the author had originally planned. Each book in the series got weaker, and instead of going out strong it just felt more like a whimper. By the time I got to the end of this book I was well over it and was ready to move on, and that's a shame because I gave the first book in this series 5 stars, and the second book 4.5 stars. I would still recommend reading the series, and maybe reading them all one right after the other would be a better experience then having to wait so long between books. I will say that once I got to the end I was happy with the way things ended up for most of the characters. There is only one exception and I could see that tragedy coming from a mile away.

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Gothic, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Content: Strong Language; A sex scene (I've waited so long to write my review that I can't remember how much detail there was, but I do feel like overall this book is for older teens); The main character, who is bisexual, spends the night with her female superior in the past but no details are given.

 

Wren Southerland is the most talented healer in the Queen’s Guard, but her reckless actions have repeatedly put her on thin ice with her superiors. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate to cure his servant from a mysterious disease, she seizes the chance to prove herself.

When she arrives at Colwick Hall, Wren realizes that nothing is what it seems. Particularly when she discovers her patient is actually Hal Cavendish, the sworn enemy of her kingdom.

As the snowy mountains make it impossible to leave the estate, Wren and Hal grow closer as they uncover a sinister plot that could destroy everything they hold dear. But choosing love could doom both their kingdoms. 

  

This book was very intriguing to me. I love fantasies, Gothics, mysteries, and romances and it had all those elements. It was a unique mix of the genres and overall I very much enjoyed it. I would have given it 4 stars but there are a few odd descriptions in the book that I thought were unfortunate. Since I read an ARC of this book I don't want to directly quote from it, as things could change, but the words used to describe a few things made me think of Christopher Paolini's weird word choices for descriptions in his books. My favorite, and the one I've referenced in more than one of my reviews is when he describes a strawberry as having a beard, so you kind of get the idea of what I'm talking about in this book. It only happens 3 or 4 times and mostly early on in the story, but it bothered me. That being said, I loved the creepy atmospheric vibes I got from this book. I also loved the enemy to friends romance that was included. The villain was pretty obvious, it was just a matter of figuring out all the pieces and how they fit together. I thought the reasons got to be a little over the top, but other than that, this was a very good read and I would try another book by this author.

 

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

The Best-Laid Plans by Sarah M. Eden

  

 My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Historical Romance
Content: Clean

 

Newton Hughes has long dreamed of pursuing a career in law, an acceptable choice for a gentleman of status and wealth. His parents, however, disapprove of his ambition, urging him instead to take his rightful place as a gentleman of leisure—with a suitable wife of their choosing, of course.

Ellie Napper would like nothing more than for her parents to abandon their incessant efforts to marry her off to the greatest possible advantage. Her lack of matrimonial enthusiasm drives her family mad, but she refuses to feign frivolity in order to make herself more palatable to potential suitors.

When Ellie and Newton are introduced through their mutual acquaintance, Charlie Jonquil, they commiserate over their shared plight. In desperation, they hatch a plan: Ellie and Newton will feign an interest in each other—enough to convince their parents not to push them toward unwanted matches but not enough to cause whispers or expectations. Their plot quickly spirals out of control, but the greatest complication is the one they didn’t see coming: their plan never included falling in love.

 

I was surprised to find this little standalone book by Sarah M. Eden is actually tied to a couple of her series. The main one of interest for me is The Jonquil Brothers, but this is also tied to The Lancaster Family series as well. I've been eagerly awaiting the day that the 7th Jonquil Brothers book will be published and I wasn't finding any info on it. Then I discovered that it's actually also the 5th book in The Lancaster Family series and that's how it's listed on Goodreads. I'm really excited to finally have found it and that it will be published this year!

So obviously these two series have been tied to each other for a long while. I've never read the Lancaster series, but I plan to get to that one eventually. That brings us to this book. This is a standalone with main characters who are not a part of either of those series, but it acts as kind of as a bridge between those two series with Charlie Jonquil and Artemis Lancaster as supporting characters. Charlie and Artemis have known each other their whole lives as their families are close, but they can't stand each other...or at least that's what they say. In this book they help out friends, Ellie and Newton who are being pushed by their families to court people they do not wish to court.

I thought this was a fun story with very likable characters. It was easy to sympathize with Ellie's plight. Her family was truly awful to her and often accused her of doing the very things they were doing. Newton was a great love interest and I enjoyed seeing their romance blossom. I would have liked an epilogue with a little more at the end, with some insight into how Newton's family receives Ellie as his betrothed, but maybe we will get more of that in the book about Charlie and Artemis.

Overall this was a great read, and I liked it better than some of Eden's longer books that are part of The Jonquil Brothers series.