Quicksilver by Callie Hart, Fae & Alchemy #1

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Intense fantasy fiction for adults!

Great writing, originality and mystery all rolled into one!

Saeris Fane steals a valuable gauntlet from a guardian of Queen Madra after he throws it down in exasperation dealing with her. She runs and gets to third ward only to have the guardians find her brother with the gauntlet after she unthinkingly hands Hayden her bag. She gets Hayden away from the guardians by telling him he’s a burden so he is angry and won’t give himself up in her place. She’s taken to the palace. She meets Queen Madra, beautiful but unhinged and paranoid, speaking of the Fae to Saeris. The Queen sends Saeris to be executed by a guardian and when she’s close to death, the quicksilver pool in the palace starts to move and the guardian’s dagger melts and burns him while dropping to the floor and moving towards the pool. A large man rises out of the pool, grabbing Saeris and the last thing she thinks is that he must be death.

Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragon Book 1) by Amber Chen

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Can trust stay unbroken?

Ying witnessed her father’s murder and she’ll do anything and everything to avenge his death. She also wants to be an engineer like her father. She disguises herself as a boy and enters the engineering competition in the capital. Her sponsor ends up being a prince and she’s completely surprised by this. When Ying becomes part of the competition, she’s also thrown into politics and danger. Will she stay her course and avenge her father?

Likes/dislikes: The names of the royals were confusing at first. I like the dynamics between Ying and Ye-yang. The science fiction and engineering aspects were fun and added an extra element to the story.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 17 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: based on historical Oriental culture.

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

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Absolutely compelling!

10yo Kel and Cas are playing outside at the orphanage when the leader of the Arrow soldiers visits on the King’s orders. Kel is taken to the Castellane palace to attend dinner as a deception in place of Prince Conor, who is supposedly ill. Kel meets Conor after dinner and realizes that the prince wasn’t ill at all but dinner was a test to see if Kel could become the Sword Catcher for Prince Conor. After speaking with the prince, Kel chooses the life of being the prince’s closest companion, bodyguard and replacement if needed. Now, 23yo Kel accompanies Conor almost everywhere but he soon discovers they both have secrets they’re keeping from each other, secrets that might become dangerously fatal.

Likes/dislikes: I absolutely love the character development. The complex world building flowed perfectly and the political intrigue created a dangerous and mysterious environment. The four main characters have completely different personalities with each one being interesting and having depth.
Language: R for 31 swears and 9 f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for implied sex.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Cas and the King are white. Kel and Conor have light brown skin and the Queen has russet-brown skin. Lin is pale skinned.

The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan

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Chilling twist!
Two survivors of a murder spree, 18yo Sloan and 18yo Cherry were the only ones left alive after a group of masked killers arrived in the summer camp where they worked and ended everyone’s lives except those of the two young women. Sloan leans heavily on Cherry to keep her afloat but when possible secrets come to light, Sloan feels the need to find the truth about the reasons behind the murders on her own. She reaches out to the sister of the lead killer, the only other person alive after the murders. She reaches out to the imprisoned killer himself too. What Sloan discovers is beyond her comprehension.

Likes/dislikes: I like the complexity of the cult guilty of the crimes and their backstory. The story has a good twist. I enjoyed the author’s writing in portraying feelings of betrayal and manipulation by others.
Language: R for 97 swears and 71 f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for implied sex and underage drinking.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Rahul is Indian. Beckett , Kevin, Sloan, Dahlia and Anise are white. Cherry has peach skin. Hannah is Korean American. Shane and Ronnie are Black. Connor has brown skin.

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

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The intensity builds to the extreme!

Red is traveling in an RV to Florida with her friends to spend a week celebrating spring break together. They lose cell service and GPS capabilities then end up down a dead end road getting a flat tire. After replacing the flat tire with the spare, Red sees a red dot hovering around the RV and yells at the others to notice. They ignore her until they hear the gunshots that take out all four tires. The group runs into the RV for protection. The shooter leaves a walkie talkie for communication and tells them that one of them has a secret they need to share. The secret is going to be revealed, one way or another!

Likes/dislikes:
Oliver is annoying because he’s a know-it-all with a superiority complex. The mystery is interesting to try to unravel when a few characters allude to having secrets. The suspense builds intensely, which makes a riveting read.

Mature Content:
PG-13 for drinking

Language:
R for 20 swears and 105 f-bombs.

Violence:
PG-13 for Someone shoots at the RV and holds the travelers hostage inside. The sniper fatally shoots an elderly couple that stop to help. Bloody shootings. Attack with a knife.

Ethnicity:
Mixed, Korean, Mexican, white, African American

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston

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Unique story!

In a world where vampires exist, Ava Perry lives with her brother Parker, and Jacob, another foster kid, and their foster parent Deb. Ava’s and Parker’s Dad was killed in a suspicious mugging when they were really young and their mother was supposedly killed by a vampire less than a decade ago. Ava has always wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps and become a magician and she wants revenge on the vampire that killed her mom. She meets magicians and is invited into their secret society, which turns out to be the home of vampire hunters who use their magic to kill vampires. While spending time with this society, Ava discovers the truth about her parents’ pasts and their deaths and does everything in her power to right the wrongs her eyes have been opened too. 3.5 stars for an original story!

Likes/dislikes:
The beginning of the story doesn’t flow well so it’s difficult to keep important details straight. The connections between the vampires/vampire hunters/magicians were confusing for a while until more of the background was explained. By mid-book, the story picked up momentum and grabbed my interest more.
Language: R for 54 swears and 3 f-bombs
Mature content: PG
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths, stabbings and shootings

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

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Political intrigue in 1930’s Orient with a mix of historical fiction and fantasy!

The prologue tells of a painful scientific experiment on a person that has been strapped down. Then the story starts as Rosalind is trapping a criminal who is a member of the group responsible for the death of her cousin Juliette during a past act gone awry. She’s exacting revenge on those who were part of it. Political intrigue, spies, agents, Communists and Nationalists describe the characters in this book. Her handler pairs her with another agent, Orion, who has family issues as well. The two of them have to pretend to be married so they can infiltrate the newspaper company and try to discover information on the serial killer murdering people with a toxic liquid in syringes. What they discover turns their lives around and, unbeknownst to Orion and Rosalind, the reader is given the true identity of a mysterious agent, Priest. The author’s notes on Oriental history during the 1930’s are fascinating. Well-written, complex, beloved characters build a fun historical fiction fantasy. 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes:
I enjoyed learning about the history of 1930’s Orient. The author’s notes give readers a glimpse into her research and what’s based on facts and what’s completely fiction in this story. Rosalind and Orion are characters with depth and I had fun getting to know them.
Swearing: PG for three swears, no f-bombs
Mature content: PG for lgbtq transgender character mentioned
Violence: PG-13 for killing by poison, shooting, bloody shooting, stabbing, bloody stabbing

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

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Not what I was expecting!

This is a historical fiction book about a serial killer in 1958 that’s committing the Bloodless Murders. Police find a fifteen year old girl among the latest victims and she’s unharmed but drenched in blood. This is a story told from an observer’s point of view and the observer becomes friends with one of the accused murderers. At the latest victims’ home, Marie is captured by police when she’s found standing by the bodies. Once she’s in custody, she’ll only talk to the sheriff’s son Michael. Michael tells this story that really leaves more questions than answers. I wanted the mystery to be solidly solved and to know if Marie committed these murders on her own or if she really was being trained by an older man. I can see her being delusional and thinking there’s someone with her or being vague to throw suspicion off of herself. Then the ending…? 3.5 stars for a truly atmospheric experience that made me feel like I had been transported to the late 1950’s and the characters that pulled the tale along!

The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz

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That ending was so much more than I expected!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz!
After the king dies in battle, his best friend makes a bonding vow with the queen to protect her and the royal heir, as well as search for the magical documents and sacred scrolls that have been missing. He has pledged his life and his heir’s life to the queen until the scrolls are found and returned. Eighteen years later, we meet Shadow and Caledon Holt (he’s the best friend’s son, the kingdom’s deadliest weapon and the Queen’s assassin). Shadow is exploring around the Abbey when Caledon saves her life by killing her would-be assassin. The bad thing is that the man Caledon kills is the queen’s brother-in-law, Prince Alast. Alast proves himself a traitor, which is shocking to Caledon. The Queen sends Caledon to Deersia Prison to appease the public and keep the traitorous evidence secret. She wants Caledon to spy and find out where the traitors stem from. Shadow catches a ride to Deersia prison as a stowaway and finds Cal and helps him escape. They move onto Montrice to discover if there’s a spy conspiring against their kingdom and Queen. Shadow and Cal are fun, dynamic characters that work together well but drive each other crazy too. I enjoyed the humor in this book as well as the intrigue and magic. The ending left me ready to read the sequel! 5 stars!