Book Review: Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik

My thanks to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Jessie Mihalik for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I just finished reading this book and there is only one thought repeating itself in my head: Jessie Mihalik, you have outdone yourself!

I have been reading books by Jessie Mihalik since the 2019 release, Polaris Rising, book 1 of the Consortium Rebellion trilogy. If my memory is right, I was wandering around my local bookstore when the cover art caught my eye. I was ready to try something new and the synopsis hooked me. Now here we are, six years later, and I've bought every Mihalik book in paperback and eBook since and read each at least three times or more. Yes, I need to read the original trilogy that Mihalik released but I look at things this way: Silver & Blood is not out until January 2026, which means the 2nd book could be a year out from there, totaling 15 months in which I am waiting for the next book. More than enough time to have some Mihalik books I haven't read to keep me company. And there's some novellas too that might last me to this Thanksgiving. All to say this: it's going to be a long wait to book 2.

Silver & Blood is about Riela, who has been living on her own for a long time before her powers as a mage suddenly appeared. Now she has agreed to her village's insistence that she go into the woods to kill the monster that has been attacking her foolish neighbors at night. When Riela finds more monsters than she had anticipated, she's rescued by a handsome mage and his trusted wolf. She ends up a guest in Garrick's castle where she hopes to learn how to control her power. As time goes on, Riela finds out that Garrick is an exiled king, stuck on this side of a magical door that leads to Lohka, where the rest of the Etheri are and where he sent the rest of his court before they were trapped with him. Now Riela, with her growing magical talent, has to work with Garrick to understand where her magic came from and how to get the door open before the Blood King, who trapped Garrick in this world, manages to capture Riela and her magic for himself. As they start to fall for each other, the truth about Riela's origins threaten the tenuous ties between them and Riela's hopes for the future.

First of all, for me this had a lot of Beauty and the Beast vibes, so right there that cemented this as an absolute awesome book for me. Also, within a day of Riela becoming a guest at Garrick's castle, she finds a massive magical library. Seriously, a book can't go wrong when it gives you a magical library. With that said, the world of this book started to fill in and kept me hooked trying to understand the hows and the whys of everything going on. I found it interesting that Riela was a seemingly ordinary woman until a flood that threatened to wipe out her village caused her magic to suddenly manifest, allowing her to save them by forcing the water to go around their homes. The fact that she's an older protagonist is definitely a plus, because Riela was able to think logically when she had to stop and take stock of her surroundings and what was going on. She had fits of temper, don't get me wrong, but she was able to reflect on her situation and try to work out things for herself and I like that in the leads of a good romantasy book. Most of the book follows Riela's perspective with a handful of chapters from Garrick's point of view, showing how the king has become wary in isolation and how he perceives Riela with her magic and her connection to the Etheri. Their development worked individually and as a couple and I loved their banter and their fights because a good couple needs to be able to fight and then come back together stronger than before. By the time the final line hit, I had a massive grin on my face and just about fell over. I even wanted to cheer a little because THAT is how well that ending hit for me. It just stuck the landing and judging gives it 10 points for perfect execution, form and technique.

As for the world itself, I was very intrigued at the the way the castle and the forest worked for the setting. It turns out that anything magical that enters the forest is unable to leave it again because of a curse that was placed on it by some powerful Etheri sovereigns. The idea was to keep humans safe from the monsters that wandered through the trees and the Etheri who had no problem taking humans for pets. That definitely colors the impression of these magical people, who have apparently been thought to have gone out of existence because they hadn't been seen in at least a century. It all lends a tragic slant to the story because all Riela wants to do is go back to the home that has the memory of her father in it and now she can't step past the treeline. It also lends a sort of urgency to Riela wanting to master her magic so that she can see if there is some way for her to return to the life that she once had. The creatures that live in the woods were also interesting in the sense that they gave the right amount of a threat to keep Riela in the castle where it was safest without it being just a convenient way to keep the main couple together. I appreciate books that give the couple the distance they need to find their way back to each other. It makes the connection feel earned instead of just simple, and it's stronger as a result.

Side characters were well-developed, even the ones not directly seen on the page. The Blood King is only mentioned by the people in the book and I already hate him with a fiery passion. I know once he makes his appearance on the page in book 2, I'm going to have a hard time watching what he does to the leads of the first book. All of that already and I have not even been formally introduced to the guy yet. I loved Grim and the people of the Silver Court and the little glimpses seen of Riela's parents when she spoke of them and her loss. The cast was lovely and I hope to see more of them in the coming books.

Mihalik is talented as a writer. I have been coming back to read Mihalik's books for years because I know that I will end up loving the couple at the center of every adventure. This is the first time I've read the more fairytale/fantasy based work by Mihalik but if this is the direction she's going to continue to move in, I'm all for it. Past series had each book focus on a separate couple that was part of a found family type of situation but I don't think that will be the case here. There might be a dual storyline situation in the next book but that just might be me trying to hope for too much. If anything, as long as there is a chance for more books, other leads might take the center stage after this initial conflict of the Blood King is resolved. But I'm getting too far ahead of myself. If you are a fan of Mihalik's past works, this is a book you NEED to read. If you like the romantasy trend in the book world right now, this book is right up your alley. It is filled with everything that makes these books great like forced proximity for the leads, a magical castle that tries to do what you say and a beautiful library that is out of a dream. What more can readers ask for in their next romantasy read?

Rating on my Scale: I've had time to sit with this a few hours and I'm giving it 10 Stars. I just loved everything about it and I know that I will read this again once I have my copy in my hands. The wait is going to be long until book 2 is finally out but I will be here, sitting patiently, until that moment arrives.

Book Review: The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri

My thanks to Netgalley, Hachette Audio and Tasha Suri for the audiobook of this work in exchange for a review.

Full disclosure: I heard of this book because of V.L. Bovalino. I saw pictures of Bovalino with Tasha Suri talking about their upcoming books together and that they were touring together for their books. Since I loved The Second Death of Locke, I looked into what information was available for The Isle in the Silver Sea. It sounded interesting so I added it to my list of books I want to read. When I saw this was available to listen to, I decided to take a chance to see if I could get approved. I was so excited when I got the email and immediately started carving time out of my day to devote to listening to this book. I can say with the upmost certainty, this was a wonderful book. I'm so grateful I already pre-ordered a copy because I'm going to go through it and read over passages to relive this book again. It was engaging and unique and I enjoyed this book so much.

In the alternate Britain of The Isle in the Silver Sea, the country is literally fueled by its stories. As a result, these stories are reborn again and again, for centuries now, forcing people, known as incarnates, to relive the fates inscribed in the words of those stories. The story of the Knight and the Witch is one of those stories, about a pair that fall in love with each other and then die tragically. Simran is the new witch of this story and Vina is now the Knight. They have just met, they know the end of their story, and while Vina has more or less accepted her fate, Simran wants to fight it. As they start to trust each other, maybe even fall for each other, they meet a mysterious assassin who has been killing off off incarnates. Now Simran and Vina have to find a way to rewrite their story so that it is strong enough to change their doom and finally give them a chance to find a way to reach their future and choose each other without it being part of a story.

I loved these two women. There's no other way about it, Simran and Vina are delightful. I loved the sass from Simran and the self-deprecating humor from Vina. Both had led interesting lives up to the point that they finally meet. They understood who they were going to be and yet they were able to be their fates and that much more. Simran was devoted to the family she had created for herself and the family she left behind when she realized her fate as the Witch of the tale. It made her both devoted and tragic. Vina was raised in the castle, constantly told about the fate she was meant for, and while her childhood was not as loving as Simran's, she still managed to hold on to a sense of honor and loyalty to the friends she was raised with, Edmund and Matthias, fellow knights in the castle. After Simran and Vina meet, they're slowly forced to come together again and again, as the Eternal Queen in charge of Britain is determined to gather all the incarnates together in the palace to avoid losing any more of them to the assassin. There is also a group known as the archivists who work for the queen, trying to preserve the stories and ensure that they continue to play out again and again without any variations. It's all intricate and interesting and I wish there was more to this because I still have so many questions.

That brings me to the world building. As much as I loved the characters, I still have so MANY questions about this world. How many stories are there? How many have been lost because of the assassin? What made these stories start their never-ending cycles? How does the existence of these stories effect the land? Because when a story dies as a result of one of the incarnates being killed, the land the story fuels is apparently wiped from existence and I still have so many questions about this. Also, who created the archivists? Because at the start of every chapter, there is a piece of writing that talks about the world and the tales and each of these little inserts is given a judgement by the archivists to either be kept or destroyed and where did this group come from? Why do they have so much control? Are they loyal to the crown or just loyal to the overall story of the Isle? Where did they learn what they do and how many ways have they changed things to fit the narrative they have created for the Isle? I was hooked on all of it but I'm a stickler for details and I wanted MORE. That's why I want to read this again, so I can go chapter by chapter and make notes to be sure I understand everything that Tasha Suri put in this book.

A long time ago, let's say it was, well, never mind about the timing, moving on, I took a class in college called King Arthur Through the Ages. I studied various stories focused on the legend of King Arthur and the many knights of the round table and the stories that were linked to them. Thanks to that, I was able to parse out some of the things Suri put into this book, like the names Elaine and Morgaine, and the legends that are tied with them. There are other things I recognized but I feel that veers into spoiler territory and I try very hard not to spoil books for readers if I can help it. Still, that knowledge helped to fill in just that much more of this book and as a result, I really want to know every inspiration that Suri used to build this book. I want to be able to find all those sources and read them for myself and then I want to dig through this book and put all the pieces together. It's a puzzle, the pieces are there and it's been solved but I want to understand the process of getting to the solution and ugh, the questions, I just want to know more.

I was hooked from the synopsis. The tale of The Knight and the Witch seemed so interesting and I wanted to be able to read it. If Tasha Suri is taking suggestions, I would love to see a complete volume of all the stories that are mentioned in this book. Besides the tales, it could also give information about the various people who have been forced to relive the tale, the part of the land it fuels, maybe even the sources Suri used to build her ideas for each tale. Hand on my heart, I would ADORE having a book like that about this world. That's how many questions I still have that I want to figure out. I also kind of wish this book had footnotes, just to provide a little more for readers like me.

The complaints I have is that one, I'm still not sure about the time period for this book. It felt like it could have been set in it's own world but then the setting would change and it would feel different and I had to take a second to reset what I thought was happening and then continue. Two is that I wanted just  little more time to develop the connection between Vina and Simran. They spend a lot of their time on a quest to save Simran's adopted family, Harry, from the assassin and the actual time for them to fall in love felt like it was sped up a bit to fit with the time frame of the book. And maybe three is that I'm still questioning the magic system and the way stories fuel the Isle and I want to know more, and I'm going to keep repeating that because argh, I have a NEED to know more. I'm a reader, it means that if something catches my attention, I will go and research it and find everything I can and then have that in my mind to inform everything else I read from there. It's a cycle of my own that I willingly let myself get sucked into and that is perfectly fine because expanding my knowledge is a useful endeavor.

Still, I highly recommend this book. If you love sapphic knights, legends and found family dynamics, this is the book for you. I also plan on reading everything else I can find by Tasha Suri so I thank this book for bringing Suri to my attention.

Before I forget, Shiromi Arserio is AMAZING as the narrator for this audiobook. There is a musical quality to the way she reads, which made it easy to get lost in the book. I found myself listening to lines again because she has a way of conveying the feelings of the characters so that it was easy for me to go along for the ride. I actually cheered at the reappearance of a character in part 2 because I was so swept up in how Arserio was performing the book. I'm adding Shiromi Arserio to the list of audiobook narrators I'm collecting for books to listen to because I love the performances they give. The entire production was well-made, clear and concise and the perfect audiobook to listen to whenever I could squeeze in the time to listen (and let's be honest, I even listened to this book when I was supposed to be doing anything else because I couldn't stop, this book and it's narrator had me hooked). Hachette Audio did a wonderful job with this production and I will now be looking into other audiobooks from this publisher.

Rating on my Scale: 9 Stars. I would give 10 but there are some minor quibbles and I want to be sure that people understand there might be some things in the book that could irk them. Still, this is a beautiful, unique story that I'm so grateful I got the chance to read. I can't wait for my book to arrive in the mail so I can read it all over again.

Book Review: Red City by Marie Lu

My thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Marie Lu for the audiobook of this work in exchange for a review.

I've been reading books by Marie Lu since the beginning, starting with Legend, and have tried to keep up with every book since. So when I heard Marie Lu was going to have an adult debut release, I was immediately interested in reading the book. Everything about the synopsis seemed to be exactly what I love to read about and I was so grateful and excited when I was approved to listen to the audiobook. As much as the world interested me however, I did not end up loving this release as much as I had anticipated.

Red City follows two characters, Sam and Ari, childhood friends who have been drawn into the world of alchemy. Alchemy controls this world and provides a drug called sand, which enhances the user in different ways specific to who takes it, allowing them to become their perfect self while on the drug. Specifically, two crime syndicates, Grand Central and Lumines, have been close to war with each other for a long time and are the ones with the most at stake. Sam joined Grand Central to protect her hardworking mother who was injured at her job and is unable to find work. Ari was recruited as a child to be trained as an alchemist for Lumines, and his progress allows for money to be sent back to take care of his family. The two met in school when they were young and kept in touch until graduation after which they both went down their separate paths in the alchemy world. Now they are brought together again as key players on the front lines at the start of a fight between Grand Central and Lumines, torn between what they were once to each other and who they are loyal to now.

First, this feels like a book meant to establish a series. What I mean is that there is a lot of background for the ways alchemy has infiltrated all parts of the world for centuries, explanations for what people can do with alchemy and how the drug sand has become so important. With that said, I know there are several different "powerful alchemy syndicates in the world", but we only see Grand Central and Lumines front and center. I know there's a table with a list of these syndicates at the start of the book but very little is given outside of the two main syndicates. The same goes for the alchemy studies mentioned and the discussion of the metals used in alchemy. There is a lot to the world but readers will have to wait for more books to see exactly how all of this world development pans out. We see a lot of the goings on for Grand Central and for Lumines and a few times where the two cross each other, but the rest of the world remain in the background.

Next, while the world is well-developed, the characters seem to be mainly surface level. Over the course of the book, readers are supposed to believe that Sam and Ari were once in love when they were classmates in school. I found that hard to believe because of the lack of interactions between the leads. They spent time together in school and exchanged letters but we are only told about the contents of the letters and how they passed messages to each other, sometimes given the contents of an exchange here and there but mainly told about what they wanted to write to each other. The majority of time, Sam and Ari are shown doing separate things, developing them as characters on their own but their connection to each other didn't come through as strong. Sam is shown as a child growing up with a mother who almost neglects her while she works long hours to provide for her child. We see Sam's mom, Connie, have a few meaningful interactions with Sam that change the way Sam sees the world, and we learn about Connie's past through a few chapters from her point of view. On the other hand, we see Ari with his family for a chapter before he's brought to Angel City and enrolled in classes with other students to study alchemy alongside his regular studies. He's bullied by classmates, befriends some others and is mentored by the man who recruited him. This is where the characters spend most of their time, so the quick interactions at school as a basis to fall in "love" felt a bit lacking and not enough to change the adults that they would eventually become.

Finally, I know that the alchemy syndicates were antagonistic with each other but not enough was given to really flesh out their fraught relationships. They seemed to be fighting with each other because that is what they are supposed to do, try to claw control from each other at every opportunity. The actual escalation seen in the book seemed to be starting for the sake of moving the plot forward. I know they were fighting but I didn't care for their reasons to fight. Also, the other syndicates seemed inconsequential, because the focus was squarely on Grand Central and Lumines. Whenever another syndicate was mentioned, I had to refer back to the table at the start of the book to remember who they were. All together, it left me feeling overall bored with the book, waiting for something big to happen, instead of the beats I expected to see as the story continued.

I will say that the cast for the audiobook did an excellent job with their narrations. They provided interesting voices for the alternating views of Sam and Ari, along with the little inserts between chapters about how alchemy has affected the world at large and what it means in the current news cycle. Each narrator was able to speak clearly and provide the right inflections for feelings such as a sense of loss for Sam and frustration for Ari. Their work kept the book flowing at a comfortable pace, revealing information in a way to keep the listener engaged with the work. I'm just sorry I didn't find the book they were performing as interesting as I had hoped.

Rating on my scale: 6.5 Stars. I really feel like this is a book best judged by the next release in the series. It's a solid start, just not enough to make me love this release. I'm hoping book 2 takes everything book 1 established and throws in all the twists and development I was waiting to see. Until then, read this book to see the development of a world that could have been once upon a time and wait with the rest of us to see if the alchemy syndicates burn it all down.

Book Review: Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

My thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow and Rainbow Rowell for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

For me, it's simple. There's a new book by Rainbow Rowell? Instant add-to-cart decision.  Most likely it does not even require thinking, it's just see the new book and click, done. The thinking comes while waiting for the book to be released because then I have time to ponder what is the next character to come to readers from the mind of Rainbow Rowell. I've been a fan of Rowell's since Fangirl was released. I went back and read her previous works and have been moving forward with her ever since. Fangirl holds a special place on my shelves, followed by Landline, Scattered Showers, then Carry On? The order sometimes fluctuates, and I do own nearly every Rowell book, but the point is that when I saw that the next release, Cherry Baby, was available to request, I waited with fingers crossed to see if I'd get the chance to read this book.

It was a quiet kind of beautiful story, hearbreaking and yet heart-warming to meet Cherry and see her move through her past and her present to a better version of her future. Also, I really need to rearrange my Rainbow Rowell books. They deserve an entire shelf of their own, with room to grow with each new release.

Cherry Baby follows Cherry, the third sister in a family of five girls, who has been quietly dealing with the fact that her husband isn't coming back home. Her husband, Tom, is in LA, working on the film adaptation of his hit webcomic, Thursday, which is semi-autobiographical and has a character based on Cherry in it. The character's name is Baby and no matter what, Cherry can't escape her. Baby is a caricature of Cherry, a fat woman who was secure with herself until she saw herself as a character in her husband's comic. Now she has people staring at her, calling her "Baby", while she stays home with her ex's dog and lives in the house that still has all of Tom's things meshed with hers. Cherry has to figure out this new existence and who is going to live in it with her.

This book is somewhat straightforward, almost stream of conscious writing. Thanks to that, the pace is fast, allowing readers to move along with Cherry as she tries to live her life without her husband. Rowell excels at this kind of writing, giving meaningful glimpses into the workings of Cherry's mind, how she interacts with coworkers, with her family, with her oldest friends and with new ones. Rowell also provides chapters set in the past, scenes that show when Cherry met her husband, how they came to date and how they came to get married. We see how Cherry dealt with particular moments of her past where her weight seemed to dictate how a situation turned out. Each of these moments is heartbreaking, showing how much Cherry works to be comfortable with herself and confident. She is without a doubt confident, but the loss of her husband has changed the way she thinks and this book gives us these thoughts in a sequence that brings us through the journey with her to the other side.

This book is an opportunity to witness the everyday workings of a woman trying to move on. There is no big conflict, this is a more quiet, introspective journey. Cherry has been living with this idea of herself available for others to consume, and she needs to be able to cut herself away from that. Cherry has to be able to live the way she wants and know that she is being her true self, and that the Baby character is something that in no way encompasses who she is or what she means to people. This book might not be my new favorite Rowell book, but it is definitely a must read, very respectable book. I wanted Cherry to be happy, to be hopeful. Her journey to get there was eye-opening, and Rowell was able to convey this character in such a way that she felt alive in these pages. Cherry was always beautiful, and by the end of the book, she believed that again with all of herself. And that point made all the difference with this read.

Rating on my scale: I'm going with 9 Stars. I will say, this book did not go completely the way I expected it to. I loved Cherry but at the same time, I wanted just that much more to come about for her. In the end though, if you are a Rowell fan, you are in for a treat. 

Book Review: Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han

I've seen several reviews for this book during my time reading this and after I'd finished the book. I needed to see what others have said, to feel like others have witnessed what I did by reading this book. I've seen the word stunning used to describe this and while I agree with the sentiment, there are other words I would use to describe this book. Haunting comes to mind, heartbreaking as well. I have always known that history is written in a way to keep certain things from coming to light and that has never been more apparent than it is with the subject matter of this book. 

I had never heard the term "comfort women" before but I promise that now that I have, I will NEVER forget it. If anything comes of this book, I hope it opens more eyes to the things that have been hidden in history to preserve the images of the countries involved. I am in no way an authority on this subject, I have no right to speak about the atrocities that these people suffered. I'm a reader that managed to learn something by reading this book and as a result, I will continue to look into this and learn as much as I can as a sign of respect, so that these women are never forgotten.

Honey in the Wound is a story about several generations of a family in Korea and how their lives are forever changed when Japan begins to move in during the early 1900s. The book begins with Geum-Jin, a young man whose family is first affected by the Japanese when his sister flees into the mountains to avoid a horrible fate and his parents struggle to keep their family together with the changing circumstances of their nearby village. Geum-Jin's story leads into the story of his daughter, Song Young-Ja, which is where the majority of the story has its focus. The book focuses on Young-Ja's childhood and follows her into her adulthood. The final part of the story brings Young-Ja's granddaughter, Matsumoto Rinako, into the book, when she discovers the existence of her grandmother and learns about a past that has been kept hidden for too long.

A large part of this book focuses on magical realism. Geum-Jin's sister turns into a tiger to be able to escape into the mountains with other tigers and live a better life. Young-Ja's mother had an ability to make people tell her the truth just by speaking to them. Young-Ja had the ability to infuse the food she makes with the emotions she felt at the time of making her creations, which in turn forces the people that eat her food to be overwhelmed with those feelings. Rinako can see truth and secrets in her dreams about the people around her, from her family to classmates and even to people she bumps into on her commute to and from school and stores. The book follows several timelines, gradually moving forward with each character, with the largest amount of the book being focused on Young-Ja and the places she traveled and the trials she faced.

Han has a wonderful use of words. There is a lyrical quality to the sentences, where they are able to evoke emotions and draw the reader into a world that feels real from the mountains that were part of Geum-Jin's childhood to the various locations in Japan that Young-Ja travels to over the course of her life. The words are able to draw up images of small town life with vendors and people trying to remain anonymous with soldiers following their every move before moving on to a small city in the Empire of Japan and a life working in a tea house. Through it all, Han is able to insert the ways people tried to fight back and the ways they were forced to keep themselves small. All together, it's powerful and beautiful despite the horrors hidden in the spaces around the leads of the book.

The use of magical realism is a key part of helping the story, allowing for the horrors shown in the story to be expanded on in ways that make the story more than a simple account of events from the past. It gives power to the characters where power would have been a way to change their fates, where history shows that things were not only filled with pain and shame and loss but were also hidden away and lost to time until those involved slowly began to come forward and speak their truths. It built the characters into forces that were able to withstand their fates, to face their evils head on and to find the strength they needed to finally fight back when they could and make the decisions to continue to fight back and make a difference.

This is a powerful debut. It sheds a light on a subject matter that continues to be brushed aside. It also shows the beginnings of the survivors coming forward to reclaim their past and shed light on what they were forced to endure. These women should not be ignored. They should never be forgotten. It is my hope that this book reaches an audience that can appreciate the light it shines on history and use this as an opportunity to continue to research the subject matter. That way in can continue to exist in the present instead of being lost and forgotten in the past. In a way, it seems like those in charge of this thought they'd get away with it because not only did they not keep records of what they were doing but they thought their victims, either because of a lack of education or just because the way were raised, meant they'd stay quiet rather than speak of this. Now, many of them have come forward and continue to speak out about what they witnessed and suffered which just proves the authorities made a mistake underestimating these people. It proves that when given the chance, the victims became what they always were, a force to be reckoned with and respected. They will not fade into the past no matter how many times they are ignored and that is everything in the end.

Rating on my scale: 10 STARS! I don't know what else I can say to convey what I think about this book. I love the writing and I respect the subject matter. I mourn for the characters and I have hope for their future. Read this and I hope you learn something about the resilience of people. I'll continue to follow Jiyoung Han's writing for as long as she is willing to write.

Book review: High By the Beach by Wren Amari

I got the chance to read this eARC and I am so grateful. I was notified about submitting an application to read this book and I am so happy about that because this book was so lovely, heartbreaking but beautiful.

High by the Beach is about Brielle, a young woman holding in her grief about a horrible loss and dealing with it in unhealthy ways while her parents ignore their loss and pretend that everything is fine. Brielle and her family decide to stay somewhere next to the coast for the summer while they try to move on. The first night there, Brielle sees someone swimming out in the water and decides to try staying underwater in an attempt to get over her fear of swimming. She's rescued by Carson Eli, who takes one look at Brielle and decides that she is a spoiled party girl and wants nothing to do with her. But as days go by, Brielle is brought into Carson's orbit by his friends and the more time they spend together, the more they both start to realize that they don't know everything about each other. And the more they learn, the more they want to know about each other.

This was romantic. There is no other way about it. This is one of those slow-burn romances where the leads have to learn everything about each other while falling in love and the development was just wonderful. Brielle is such a sweet and tragic young woman. I wanted to force her to eat and sleep and make sure she had a safe place to cry and mourn her horrible loss. I wanted to drag her parents over by their ears and force the whole family to talk because their methods of dealing with their loss were obviously not working but the point of the book is the journey, and they get to a happy, or at least a happier point, eventually. Carson was a bit quick to jump to conclusions but I was happy to see how fast he started to learn to communicate with Brielle. His devotion to his sister was so sweet to see and the quiet ways he took care of Brielle showed how he was able to listen and learn about what she needed as situations came up. 

The side characters are all very well developed. I want to know more about Aspen and Dylan and Reese so if it is possible for Wren Amari to give readers more about them, I will gladly read their books. It feels like the setup of what could become a series so I'm going to sit here with my fingers crossed and hope that something involving those characters eventually gets written. Also, I have to admit that there was a moment where I teared up reading this book which for me meant that I was emotionally invested in these characters. If a book has the power to bring out those kinds of emotions, it is definitely a good thing.

Rating on my scale? I'm doing 9.5 Stars only because there were a couple of things in the story that I'm not a fan of in romance novels like miscommunication, for example. And I'm not a fan of a certain romance beat that happens in the third act of these books but I can repsect the why behind this one. Still, this book is worth the read. Wren Amari has the talent to be truly brilliant and I can't wait to see what comes next!

Book Review: The Swan's Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

I've been sitting on this one a few days and have come to a few conclusions.

The first? This was a wonderful, BEAUTIFUL book.

The second? I must read more books by Roshani Chokshi. I have the Gilded Wolves trilogy and Pandava series, so I'll be fixing that soon.

I'll admit, besides the author name I recognized, the stunning cover art caught my attention. There are three things that can guarantee I pick up a book: author name, cover art and the final point? An intriguing synopsis. And this book had one very intriguing synopsis.

The Swan's Daughter follows Demelza and Prince Arris on a quest to find independence and a happily ever after. Prince Arris is the latest descendant of a long line of kings that have ended up with shortened lives thanks to a wish made by one of his ancestors. Marriage for Prince Arris means he most likely will die on his wedding night because all his bride needs to rule the Isle of Malys is his literal heart and hand. Demelza is the youngest daughter of a wizard and a veritas swan, and as a veritas swan herself, Demelza can force people to tell the truth by singing to them and asking any question she wants. At the start of the story, Prince Arris's mother has put together a competition to find a bride for her son. Demelza makes a deal with Prince Arris in exchange for a safe place to stay. Demelza will question every bridal candidate, weeding out each one with murder on her mind so that Prince Arris can have a chance at a long, happy life. As the two work together, they come to find that the possibility of a happy life with love could be something they both can find in ways they would not have considered until their partnership.

Honestly, I'm still thinking about this world. Chokshi came up with the most unique setting, filled with so many interesting locations and creatures and people. I hope the official book has a glossary with explanation for every animal in this book, every plant, every location and information on all the different people. And a map! A book like this needs an elaborately detailed map. I would study it for hours with a magnifying glass so I could understand this book that much more. It was just so beautiful, I was in awe half the time reading because of everything that was in this book. 

The story itself is so sweet. Demelza and Arris are young and hoping for something more than the hand that fate has dealt them. Demelza has been trying her whole life to be as important as her sisters and when she finally gets the attention she wants, it is for the wrong reasons. She's independent enough to fight for herself which leads her to joining the competition for marriage to Prince Arris. She's awkward but willing to learn, happy with the chance to finally make some friends with people she would not have had the chance to meet while being kept alone at home with her parents. Prince Arris is a daydreamer, wishing for a true love match that would mean he could live long enough to try everything he want while he is alive. With so many candidates to choose from and unable to discern their true intentions, Arris has resigned himself to dying young. Putting Demelza and Arris together, they make an interesting partnership, working together as friends as they get to know each other while working to keep Arris alive. Their relationship develops carefully, making their ending feel earned and this reader smiling happily while hugging her phone.

Each of the side characters are so much fun in this book. There is the reigning King and Queen, who have managed to keep their relationship going strong while the Queen has fun trying to kill her husband every few months, just to keep him on his toes. Arris's twin sister, Yvlle, is a force to be reckoned with, working with every resource she has to keep her brother safe. Ursula and Talvi, Demelza's first friends are endearing, and if there is a chance for more from this world, I hope Chokshi gives readers more about those two characters, with a lot of Yvlle thrown in. I loved every character in this world, from the mean girls trying to win the competition to the wizard Prava, Demelza's father and a trickster of a character with his own evil machinations driving portions of the story from the sidelines. Everything is so detailed and developed, I'm still sitting here sighing and thinking how much I loved this book.

Rating on my scale? 10 Stars. I am still not over the way this book unfolded, from the characters to the worldbuilding, and everything in between. Read this if you want something that feel like Howl's Moving Castle, which has been on my mind lately, especially as I was reading this book.