A Sorrow Fierce and Falling by Jessica Cluess

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Interesting character development!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review A Sorrow Fierce and Falling by Jessica Cluess!
Now that Blackwood and Nettie are engaged, they are able to fully work together. They move to Blackwood’s estate, Sorrow Fell, and Nettie discovers the curse that goes along with the stolen Fae dwelling. The Blackwood bride deteriorates for decades. Blackwood becomes Imperator and the power changes him and not in a good way. He craves honor, love and acceptance, which he never received from his parents. He yearns to control everything and this puts a wall between himself and Nettie. As the Ancients get closer, the sorcerers, magicians and witches struggle with leadership and the possibility of working together. This third and last book of the series contains more emotional upheavals and ups and downs, as well as great character development! Jessica Cluess has proven herself as a wonderful fantasy author and I would love to read this series again, 5 stars!

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

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I love this cover!

Sea Witch, by Sarah Henning, opens as three young children play together and one ends up gravely injured. The story jumps to their teen years, the present time in this setting, when the Prince turns sixteen and the kingdom celebrates. Prince Nik and his best friend Evie dance and remember their third friend that is no longer with them. I like the alternating between the present time, and four years earlier around the time tragedy strikes, because it gives insight into the characters and their backgrounds and builds suspense. As the village prepares to celebrate, a young woman named Annamette appears. She confides in Evie her secrets and deepest wishes. This is where complications begin. With magic, royalty and the sea, problems brew and lives change drastically. Sea Witch is the beginning of transformation and the ending of innocence and freedom for Evie, 5 stars!

The Night Country by Melissa Albert

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Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read and review The Night Country!
The sequel to The Hazel Wood has danger, deception, and characters struggling to find purpose in this world. When murders occur, the Ex-story characters try to stick together for safety and strength. Alice feels that she’s being blamed and, after she’s attacked, she vows to capture whoever or whatever is harming others. Mysterious and twisty, The Night Country weaves worlds, characters, and creators into a fight for life, 4 stars!

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

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Mysterious happenings in the past!
Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read and review The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert!
Alice and her mom have led a transient lifestyle and they’re the only people that they trust and feel close to. That changes when Ella, Alice’s mom goes missing. Alice needs help finding her, so she asks rich boy, Ellery Finch, for help. Little by little, Alice confides in Ellery and he’s there for her one hundred percent. Ellery is a huge fan of Althea Proserpine, Alice’s grandmother and famous, mysterious author. So Ellery helps as a friend but also out of curiosity and awe. Together they discover the danger surrounding Althea’s writings and the truth behind them. The closer Alice and Ellery get to the Hazel Wood, the more the stories come to life. Both of them get sucked in to the Hinterland and its tales, changing their lives and who they are. The Hazel Wood weaves a mysterious, fantastic story, 4 stars!

Tragedy of Me by Rebekah L. Purdy

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Thanks to Month9Books for the opportunity to read and review Tragedy of Me by Rebekah L. Purdy! Brielle feels that she’s being tormented by lost souls and she’s warned that dark magic is surrounding her. She has lost her best friend, her home and the ghosts of her victims are haunting her. Raul tries to protect her but then he becomes the target of his sister’s greed for power and her strong dark magic. Yalena uses Raul to help her find a powerful book that will gain access to the Nether, where a powerful demon resides. Yalena wants this power for her own. She forces Raul into a blood curse so Yalena won’t harm Brielle but this curse causes much more harm to Brielle, Raul and many others that he never planned on. In the meantime, Kenrick’s brother Daedric, shows up looking for Kenrick. He discovers how he’s been pulled into the Nether and Brielle shares what she’s learned about how residing in the Nether warps souls and makes them dark. Brielle and Daedric vow to go to the Nether to save Kenrick. It’s a race to see who gets to the Nether first! The way the book ends, I believe the author has more story to tell. Rebekah L. Purdy, the author, has continued writing despite her very difficult time and her family’s tragedy. My heart goes out to her. 4 stars ⭐️.

Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Twisty mystery!
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Groups for the opportunity to read and review Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes!
The ending of Little White Lies isn’t the full story of who Sawyer’s father is. The story continues and causes more stress. In the meantime, the group of friends and their families have traveled to Regal Lake for the summer and Sawyer, Campbell, Lily and Sadie Grace have been secretly invited to the White Glove Society. The book alternates between Sawyer’s experiences and to the past, twenty-five years earlier to what Lily’s mom and Campbell’s mom we’re up to at that time. During the White Glove party at the lake, Sawyer and her friends see a skull that’s been washed ashore and an investigation ensues. I could have used a family tree, a timeline and even a pregnancy pact history to help with all the twists and turns in this story! The danger amps up in this sequel to Little White Lies with the mysteries of who’s related to who and the skull discovered at the lake. The character development includes maturity and clarifying priorities. A mystery that was hard to put down, 5 stars!

The Suffering by Rin Chupeco

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The Suffering by Rin Chupeco is the sequel to Girl From the Well. Tark and Okiku work together as a vigilante team ridding the world of murderers. They have to enter the Japanese forest that’s known for people committing suicide within its borders. Kagura is missing, so Callie, Tark and Okiku venture into the forest to find her and the American ghost hunting TV crew she went with. They were searching for a village that supposedly exists but no one has discovered it. The search party discovers horrific rituals and sacrifices that the village leader tricked the citizens into believing were helpful to the village, but the leader was sacrificing young women for personal power and to open Hell’s gates. Callie and Tark get split up and Tark encounters terrible, vengeful, angry spirits, members of the missing TV crew and eventually he finds Kagura. Together, Okiku, Tark and Kagura fight the spirit of the evil leader and try to appease the tortured spirits. Danger, suspense and creepiness made me want to read nonstop, 5 stars for this haunted sequel!

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

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Fairytale Twist!
Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read and review Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd!
Bringing a twist to the regular fairy tales, Grim Lovelies tells the story of the often forgotten side characters. Anouk is a servant of Mada Vittora’s household. Anouk is also an animal transformed into a human by the witch she serves. Mada Vittora keeps the pelts of all the animals she’s turned into humans, all to serve her. Anouk, Luc, Beau and Cricket are all trapped this way. Beau discovers the Mada’s body after she’s been killed, so he and Anouk flee to Cricket’s apartment and then the three of them are on the run. The three of them haven’t heard from Luc for quite some time. They run to another witch that’s the enemy of their Mada, hoping for help in staying human. Mada Zola helps them plot to steal a spell from the Royals and things just get more complicated from there. Loyalties are tested and stretched and a new beginning ends the book, 4 stars!

Vortex Visions by Elise Kova

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Epic fantasy for young adults!
I read Vortex Visions by Elise Kova because of being a goodreads giveaway winner! I’m happy that I won because I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
The first book in the Vortex Chronicles tells the story of Vi, a young woman and princess that’s been kept away from her family since she was a child. Supposedly, this was for her protection and to keep the royal family safe and intact. Vi lives with Uncle Jax, who’s her trainer and guardian. Vi has tutors for lessons to gain knowledge and training sessions to find and control her powers. Vi’s waiting for her mother, father and brother to visit her soon, when they will take her home. She receives letters and writes correspondence to them often but new contact is stopped due to possible dangers. Vi accidentally discovers her true powers and the fact that she has visions. Her mysterious powers, that continue to grow and change to adapt to what she needs, plague her every thought. In her visions, she meets and befriends Taavin. The two work together for answers they both need. Vi’s life is threatened more than once and danger increases around her and those she cares about. The end of the book carries Vi into another adventure as she plans on working more closely with Taavin to save both of their lives as the story continues in Chosen Champions, the sequel. Epic fantasy, adventure and mystery sum up Vortex Visions, 5 stars!

Veiled By Desire by Candace Robinson

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Strong characters!
Veiled By Desire by Candace Robinson, is the sequel to Clouded By Envy. This sequel happens much later in time than the first book of the Laith series. My heart went out to Tavarra because she believed in love, felt cheated and then her entire life was shattered by a horrible transformation.
Rhona is mistreated and my heart goes out to her and her friend Perin, also. I love when loyalty is strong between friends and when the bond cannot be broken. Tavarra meets Rhona and they work together to improve the lots they’ve been given. I enjoyed this sequel much more than the first and I think it’s because the characters were more relatable and the struggles seemed more harrowing, somehow. 4 stars!