In Truth & Ashes

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review In Truth and Ashes by Nicole Luiken, the third and last book in the Otherselves trilogy. This last book of the series focuses mainly on the true world and the characters that live there. Since Qetarah was taken care of, her mentor Malachi is the villain trying to get rid of the four worlds. Belinda fell into my heart because of her tyrant of a grandmother and her friend Demian is interestingly mysterious! Nicole Luiken brings all of the information from the last two books and its four worlds seamlessly into In Truth and Ashes to make a complicated world with dynamic and complex characters into a wonderful fantasy adventure series – 4 stars!

Amid Wind & Stone by Nicole Luiken

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received a reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Amid Wind & Stone by Nicole Luiken. This is book two of the Otherselves series, which brings two more worlds into the story along with all of the characters, relationships and politics of each world- air and stone, on top of the same information from the fire and water worlds. The author’s creative imagination is astounding because of the complexity of each world and how she brings everything together and makes it all work to become a full-on adventure, fantasy story. I give this book 4 stars for the devious antagonist, the complete world building and the interesting characters!

Through Fire & Sea by Nicole Luiken

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received a reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Through Fire & Sea by Nicole Luiken! Leah is renamed Jehannah by her father, the duke, so he can send her with Queen Qeterah and spy for him. Leah is an illegitimate daughter of the duke’s and he’s sending Leah with the queen in place of his daughter Jehannah. The queen needs an heir from each duchy or region to be able to send and receive messages with the other regions. The queen shows Leah the mirror hall and explains how there is one true world and four others – air, stone, fire and water. Leah lives in the Fire World and they use fire to send and receive messages and rely on volcanoes for stability of their kingdoms. Leah falls into a mirror while cleaning it and inadvertently sees her Water World doppelganger or otherself, Holly. Nicole Luiken builds an amazing and complex world and pulls the story together seamlessly. This first book in this series concentrates on the characters from the two worlds, fire and water. The two worlds collide when the queen meets her doppelganger in the Water World. Exciting and interesting, Through Fire & Sea is the beginning of a series full of adventure and fantasy, 4.5 stars!

The Amateurs by Sara Shepard

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the opportunity to read and review The Amateurs by Sara Shepard! This new series by the well-known author of Pretty Little Liars impressed me. The mysterious disappearance and murder of a teenage girl goes unsolved for five years and then a group of online detective teenagers, that are part of the website known as the Case Not Closed group, decides they want to solve the mystery. Brett, Aerin (the victim’s sister), Maddox and Seneca each have their own tragedy that they are dealing with. They are a team full of teen angst and have to struggle and come to terms with each other to work well together. Dangerous events threatening their lives make them wonder if they should stop investigating and if they are getting closer to solving the mystery. The twists are fun and unpredictable and include a cliffhanger ending that left me anxious for the sequel. It’s nice to have a modern mystery fiction series for young adults to enjoy-5 stars!

The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the opportunity to read and review The Fallen Kingdom, book three in The Falconer trilogy by Elizabeth May! Derrick, Kam’s pixie friend, continues to give comic relief to the dire circumstances of the fae and human realms. Kam comes to life without any knowledge or memories of who she is or was. She’s lost and wanders until Derrick finds her. The overwhelming power that has been given to Kam makes her angry and extremely strong. So angry that she harms Derrick. Kam’s memories return and she learns about a book that can alter time and reverse all of the violence, destruction and killing that has occurred. She wants to bring her mother back and all the people that have lost their lives during the fae battles. No matter what choice she makes, Kam will lose someone. Complex characters, complete world building and a roller coaster of emotions make me love this fantasy steampunk series – 5 stars!

The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the opportunity to read and review The Vanishing Throne, the second book in The Falconer trilogy by Elizabeth May! Kam awakens from the terrible realization that the fae have been released only to find herself captive to Lonnarch, who keeps her imprisoned and takes her blood over and over so he can sift through her memories. Kam escapes and is eventually reunited with those she loves only to discover the many intricacies of their lives and her relationships with them. She also learns more about her own history and has to make decisions that will affect the light and dark fae kingdoms, as well as the human realm. My rating is 5 stars for the adventure, world building and romance!

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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The Falconer, book one of The Falconer trilogy by Elizabeth May, is interesting from the first page! The main character, Kam, is listening to gossiping ladies talk about how she supposedly killed her mother. This intrigued me plenty, but then Faeries are introduced into the story. Kiaran is an intriguing, enigmatic and mysterious faerie. Gavin is an old friend who plunges headfirst into danger and into the fae world with Kam. I enjoyed the dynamics between Gavin and Kam and Kam and Kiaran, the banter pulled me into the story even more. I’m curious about Kiaran’s whole being, past and purpose. The fae vocabulary, the detailed bestiary at the end of the book, the descriptions of the struggles Kam deals with and the beautiful characters make this book hard to put down – 5 stars!

Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read and review Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill! This fantasy story contains a refreshing new plot idea and wonderfully complex characters. The main character, Britta, has lost her father and after her allotted two months of mourning, will now lose her home. She has been told that her one true friend, Cohen, killed her father. Britta has the gift of knowing what is truth and what is a lie. She feels that Cohen did murder her father. She has been given an offer to catch Cohen and then she can keep her father’s home. She ventures out to find Cohen and discovers him and so much more about her past and her family. The believable characters and the clever and cohesive world building make this book one of my favorite reads and I am anxiously awaiting the sequel that comes out December 2017! I give Ever the Hunted a 5 star rating for a highly recommended fantasy read!

Nemesis by Anna Banks

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel and Friends for the opportunity to read and review Nemesis by Anna Banks! Sepora has escaped her kingdom with the help of her mother and her pet, whom she loves very much. In a neighboring kingdom, Tarik has been honored as he takes over the role of king when his father gets sick, deteriorates quickly and dies. This story is told in two points of view featuring Sepora as one and Tarik as the other. Sepora and Tarik alternate consistently throughout the book. I like this switching between the two because it gives insight into both of their thoughts and perspectives.

Sepora is captured then sold as a concubine in Tarik’s harem, which he never visits. She escapes and seeks an audience with Tarik and being amused by Sepora, he makes her an assistant. She’s a handful for Tarik and he’s not sure how to deal with her because he enjoys her and learns a lot from her, but he is expected to punish her actions by his peers and subjects. Told in beautiful prose, Nemesis weaves romance, intrigue and a unique story into a new and fantastic world, 5 stars! I’m looking forward to the sequel, Ally coming out Fall 2017!

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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“Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris! I absolutely love this book and it was just what I needed to relax during a very busy schedule. Cat flies to Italy with her father and the woman he’s engaged to, Jenna. Jenna is planning an extravagant sweet sixteen celebration for Cat. Cat could care less about the party, but she’s thoroughly enjoying the trip to Italy. She has her fortune told, for fun, and walks out of the fortune teller’s tent into a different time. At first, Cat thinks the people around her are very good period actors. She soon realizes that she is someone else, Patience, in a different time, the Renaissance. I especially liked the part when she meets Michelangelo! This story is fun, suspenseful, interesting, contains dynamic characters and has just the right amount of romance to keep me interested and I am now looking forward to more works from Rachel Harris, 5 stars!