Genre: Fantasy

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco | Review

Posted December 7, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I have to admit, the second I heard Italy + witches I was all in for this book. I love that witches seem to be making more of a comeback in paranormal YA and I’d never read an Italian historical fantasy about them, so I was more than ready to dive into Kingdom of the Wicked. I didn’t have high expectations given my lukewarm experience with Stalking Jack the Ripper, but I found myself torn between flying through the novel and being exasperated with some of the writing and plot points. To be clear, I did enjoy this novel. It […]

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust | ARC Review

Posted July 5, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 9 Comments

*Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!* Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a story just as lush and striking as its stunning cover. A fantasy novel that brings in Persian folklore, Girl, Serpent, Thorn follows the story of Soraya, a girl born into royalty but hidden away due to being cursed with a poisonous touch. Living in her private quarters with only her garden and occasional visit from her mother to curb her loneliness, Soraya’s isolation eventually drives her to seek answers as to her condition when she learns that a […]

A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2) by Brigid Kemmerer | Review

Posted March 2, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

***Warning, this book will include spoilers for the first book in the series, A Curse So Dark and Lonely, and some spoilers for A Heart So Fierce and Broken. You’ve been warned!*** I enjoyed this book much more than it’s predecessor. It’s not that I disliked A Curse So Dark and Lonely, but I was ultimately underwhelmed and didn’t love the romance between Harper and Rhen. This book, however focuses on my (and many other’s) favorite characters of the series, Captain Grey who’s on the run and trying to hide his identity after the events of the previous novel. The […]

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black | Review

Posted February 10, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

I always start the books in this series with a sense of skepticism. Not because they have personally done anything wrong to me, but because I’m 1) Not always a fan of fae books and 2) Always skeptical of a fantasy book that’s under 400-500 pages. But Holly Black always pulls through and manages to write a tale of intrigue, action and simmering tension without all of the boring fantasy fluff, and The Queen of Nothing was no exception. It was a gripping conclusion to a trilogy that focuses on a purposely plotted narrative that gives readers the romance, magic […]

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas | A Fitting Finale

Posted December 23, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

I admit I slept on Kingdom of Ash. I pre-ordered the special B&N edition and everything but I hadn’t yet read Tower of Dawn and I didn’t want to skip a whole book before heading into the finale of perhaps one of the most well-known YA fantasy series of the decade. So I placed it on my bookshelf and admiringly stared at it until I finally talked myself into Tower of Dawn (mainly because I had spent the past year rereading the previous 5 books and the novella collection and didn’t want the start forgetting details since I so rarely […]

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1) by Brigid Kemmerer | ARC Review

Posted August 19, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 5 Comments

I love a good Beauty and the Beast retelling. In fact, most of my all time favorite fantasy novels are Beauty and the Beast retellings (ACOTAR, Cruel Beauty, etc), so I had pretty high hopes going into A Curse So Dark and Lonely. Coupled with the fact that it merges a fantasy world with the modern world, I knew I was going to enjoy my first reading experience with Brigid Kemmerer’s work. As with any Beauty and the Beast retelling, the story follows an intelligent and young protagonist, Harper, who is taken against her will from her home of Washington […]

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith | ARC Review

Posted April 1, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

Thank you so much to HMH Teen for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review! Bloodleaf arrived at my doorstep on one of the last days of 2018, completely unexpectedly and I was thrilled! Though I hadn’t heard much about the title before, it came in absolutely beautiful packaging with a stunning cover that had me eager to dive into the book, despite sometimes having an on and off relationship with YA fantasy. Upon doing a little research, I also found out that the story was not only fantasy but a retelling of the Goose Girl fairy […]

The Wicked King by Holly Black (Folk of the Air #2) | Review

Posted March 4, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 3 Comments

*Warning: This review will contain spoilers for The Cruel Prince* While I enjoyed The Cruel Prince, I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t really get the HYPE surrounding it- it was good but it was also full of excessively cruel bullying, confusing court politics (at least for me) and non-romances that didn’t do anything for me. But oh, how I stand corrected. Once I got into The Wicked King it was compulsively readable, and it finally CLICKED for me why this series is so successful. Also, infinite bonus points to Holly Black for managing to write a super […]

Blog Tour | Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Posted November 13, 2018 in Blog Tours, Books, Reviews / 6 Comments

Today I’m partnering with The Royal Polar Bear Reads and Bookable Reads for the Empress of All Seasons Blog Tour! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play | Book Depository Empress of All Seasons may be another title in a sea of YA fantasy releases, however it immediately stood out to me within the first few chapters for several reasons, the strongest being the feminist themes and inversion of tropes generally associated with the male and female privilege in society. Protagonist Mari lives in a village comprised of shape shifting “Animal Wives” who are a kick-butt, take no prisoners, matriarchal society who highly value the […]

A Court of Frost and Starlight | Review

Posted May 11, 2018 in Reviews / 6 Comments

Everyone who knows me knows I am complete and utter trash for this series, so I was beyond thrilled to receive my beautiful hardcover copy of this, dutifully waiting for me when I arrived home from YALLWEST this year. I devoured it in just a few hours (a luxury I often don’t have, to read a book in one sitting) and I was delighted and content to return to Velaris and read about domestic life with my all my fae baes. We had: Lots of eating, shopping and celebrating which LORD KNOWS they all deserve after the war in ACOWAR. […]