Reckless by Lauren Roberts

Posted on by lynndellwatson

The ending!!!

Paedyn is on the run after killing the king. She’s hiding in the home of the resistance when Kai shows up with his guards. He sets the house on fire, throws a dagger and cuts Paedyn’s leg as she’s scrambling across the rooftops to escape. She heads to the desert and walks for days. Kai chases her even though he’s thoroughly conflicted about what he’s going to do if he catches her.

He finds her, disguised as a man, fighting to earn money and as the two of them fight each other, Paedyn rips Kai’s bandana off of his face so the crowd sees he’s the prince. They travel far to return Paedyn to the palace per King Kitt’s orders, facing danger the whole way while an unknown future looms over them.

Likes/dislikes: Typos were here and there throughout the book. A large chunk of the book was spent on highlighting banter between Kai and Paedyn. Finally, on page 152, more characters arrived to help move the story along. The prose is nice, for example: “Wind combs its cool fingers across my scalp, and I almost sigh at the feeling. The open air is freeing, tempting me to stretch out my arms and embrace it.” The ending was a good cliffhanger.
Language: R for 111 swears, no f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for kiss.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Paedyn and Kai have fair skin. Residents of Dor have dark skin.

Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Characters swapping lives!

Jasalyn is scarred inside and out by the torture and imprisonment she endured from Mordeus. Felicity is an Echo who has been prophesied as the killer of her birth father, Erith. Jasalyn needs to heal but also move forward with her princess duties so she’s sent to the Wild Fae King Misha to learn to protect herself. Felicity needs to find a portal to defeat Erith before he kills her. Jasalyn trades places with Felicity. Jasalyn will stay with Hale Kendrick, Felicity’s adopted brother while Felicity stays with King Misha and looks for the portal and pretending to be Jasalyn the entire time with her Echo abilities. Lives become even more complicated when romantic feelings arise.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the fact that this book is the beginning of a new series but set a few years later in the same realm as These Hollow Vows duology by Lexi Ryan. The complexity of the two characters of Jasalyn and Felicity taking each other’s places is written well. The ending made me want the next book immediately.
Mature content: PG-13 for fondling.
Language: R for 29 swears, one f-word.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody stabbing.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity includes fair, olive, brown, ebony, pale, dark, golden, ivory, and light brown skin tones.

Our Deadly Designs by Kalyn Josephson

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Spellbinding fantasy meets Jewish Mythology!

Mikira, Damien, Reid, and Ari have growing problems in Enderlain. The community is searching for the lost heir while Damien seems to be pushing his friends away. Mikira is interested in joining the rebels, Reid keeps scientifically investigating enchanted cells, and Ari struggles to control her building power that’s becoming even more dangerous. The friends seem to be going their separate ways while they try to find their own paths. A darker force is growing in Enderlain. Will the group pull together and fight or be defeated separately?

Likes/dislikes: The dynamics of the relationships are so different from the first book of this series. Even with their struggles, the characters learn to appreciate each other more. The story takes a different turn from what the series originally had but character development is still good.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 17 swears, no f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: The mixed ethnicity includes olive, golden brown, white, and bronze skin tones.

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Tale of horse-racing, magic, and power!

17yo Mikira secretly races her horse to earn money for her father and sisters and to save their business of raising strong racing horses. Rezek makes a bargain with her; if she wins the dangerous race coming up, he will leave her family in peace. 20yo Damien sponsors Mikira because he hates Rezek and will do almost anything to spite him. Damien hires 18yo Ari to create a racing horse golem that has speed, endurance, protective instincts and strength. It’s against the rules of the race to use an enchanted horse so they must keep the fact that the horse, Atara, is a magical golem a secret. The race is dangerous and everything is on the line for Mikira, Ari, and Damien.

Likes/dislikes: Jewish mythology adds an interesting factor to the story. I like that Damien wants to help others even though he could use his money and power for anything he wants. Reid is unusual and I want to learn more about his background.
Language: PG-13 for 25 swears, no f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex, off page.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: a variety including dark, alabaster, olive, light brown, tawny, pale, brown, fair, deep bronze, and golden-skinned people.

Flawless Girls by Anna-Marie McLemore 

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Magical imagery!

17yo Isla and her 19yo older sister Renata are sent to the well known Alarie House finishing school by their grandmother, who insists that the school’s reputation will set them up for life. Isla leaves after a day but Renata stays and when she returns home, Isla notices how different she is acting and it frightens her. Renata runs away, so Isla decides she’s going back to Alarie House to find her. When Isla arrives at the finishing school, everyone raves about Renata to her but she’s nowhere to be found. What Isla does find is haunting.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the analogy between jewels and people where flaws make us better and more beautiful. The author handled gender situations with tact and compassion and from personal experience. I liked Isla’s determination and intelligence.
Mature content: PG-13
Language: PG for 6 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody stabbing.
Ethnicity: mixed with Latina main characters.

Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly

Posted on by lynndellwatson

A great reminder to live life and write your own story!

19yo Beau rides with a group of thieves who saved his life and expects him to earn his way by stealing, even though he only wants to get away and retrieve his younger brother Matti from the orphanage. 18yo Arabella is a daughter of a Duke, living in a cursed castle with a dangerous beast that appears at midnight. When Beau and his group arrive at the castle, no one is around but the dining table is set for a feast. They eat until a beast arrives, then run, leaving Beau behind. What Beau finds, as he’s trapped in the castle, changes his life forever.

Likes/dislikes: The story contains good messages. The clever names of the court ladies were fun to figure out. The romance could have been more developed.
Mature Content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 83 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody fighting.
Ethnicity: Beau is Spanish and Arabella is white.

The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Stop the goddesses from destroying the world!

In Otera, 17yo Deka and her group of Alaki women warriors, set out to free Melanis who is the Light of the Alaki. They find her being burned in the temple. Once freed, male warriors enter the temple to stop her escape and to kill the alaki that helped her. As soon as Melanis is freed from the fire, her body begins to heal and her wings sprout just in time to save everyone from the vicious warriors but then they resurrect and fight again. The alaki can’t fathom how they’re coming back to life but the Goddesses tell them it’s the power of the golden throne, the Angoro. Deka will face the unknown and discover more about herself than she has ever imagined as they search for the mysterious Angoro.

Likes/dislikes: I feel that the story is drawn out. I do like the ending. The characters are a nice variety of personalities.
Mature Content: G for kiss.
Language: PG for 6 swears, no f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Deka is dark skinned, Brita is pale skinned and the following are all mentioned:
copper skin, midnight dark skin, reddish brown skin, bluish purple skin, and bluish black skin.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Female empowerment in this tale of magic.

16yo Deka is worried that her blood is impure in a society that shuns those that are different. The village holds a ritual to know if a person is impure or not and it’s time for Deka’s participation. She lives alone with her weakened father who had an illness a few months ago; the illness that killed her mother at the same time. When her true nature shows itself while she’s protecting her village, everyone turns on her thinking she’s a demon. An emperor’s helper saves her and takes her to the capital to receive training to fight off death shrieks who wreak havoc on villages. Deka will discover more than her fate and the truth of who she is.

Likes/dislikes: I love the cover of this book. Deka’s strength is inspiring. Deka and Keita have a cute romance.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sexual assault.
Language: PG-13 for 23 swears, no f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Deka has dark skin and her father is pale with blonde hair. The Emperor has bluish black skin. People with dark brown skin, golden skin, pink skin, and every shade from deep brown to eggshell are mentioned.

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Norse mythology based fiction!

Abused by her husband Vragi, 20yo Freya yearns to be free but she stays because her husband provides for her family members. But when Vragi receives an offer for her, Freya’s husband takes it and she becomes the property of Skaland and Snorri, their leader. Little by little, Freya learns about her heritage and her god given powers. When she grows so powerful that she sees fear in others’ eyes when they look at her, she wants to be somewhere where she’s not used as a weapon. Snorri’s son Bjorn vows to help her escape.

Likes/dislikes: I get frustrated with Freya’s stubbornness but understand that it keeps the story moving on. Bjorn is an interesting character with a background that’s a bit of a mystery. I enjoy the mythology entwined with the story.
Mature content: R for sexual content.
Language: R for 78 swears and 39 f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths and violence.
Ethnicity: mostly white with a dark skin man mentioned.

Snowglobe by Soyoung Park

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Unique dystopian novel! 3.5 out of 5 stars.

17yo Jeon lives with her twin brother, mother, and grandmother in the extremely harsh environment surrounding Snowglobe. The main job for residents is producing power by running on giant hamster wheels for ten hours each day. Jeon is asked to leave her home and family to be a replacement for the Snowglobe star Goh Haeri. Jeon is thrilled because this means her family will be taken care of and her mother will no longer have to work but can stay home with grandmother instead. Jeon arrives in Snowglobe excited and happy but things aren’t adding up and when she discovers secret passages by accident, her existence is threatened.

Likes/dislikes: Strange concept that’s hard to grasp and become engrossed in. I enjoyed the mystery behind Goh Haeri. The story has an interesting and unique concept.
Mature content: PG-13 for underage drinking.
Language: R for 49 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG for death.
Ethnicity: predominantly Korean