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Category: NA fantasy

Book review: Secret of royals

| Gifted | YA fantasy |

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Secret Royals was an amazing sequel to the kingdom of another world, it was so heartfelt and emotional. It added many new layers to the story, as we are introduced to new characters and even to new worlds. The story starts off 23 years after the ending of book 1. I was curious to know what happened with Kiara and Derek. Did she choose her heart or her obligations to her realm?

At the very beginning I was heartbroken and found myself hungrily turning pages in order to understand what had occurred. I really enjoyed how the story was told in multiple points of views and also in different timelines. As we are introduced to Nicole and Richard, I found myself addicted to their story.

Nicole is super independent and brave (I would be scared to go into an underground secret poker game! one of my favorite scenes of her!). She possesses a secret skill, that has dangerous people wanting her.

In comes handsome Richard, and I was immediately swooning! He is determined to find the girl from his visions, and when he does, we witness this beautiful slow burn romance between these two characters develop. I could FEEL the static between them. I loved how this book mixed this medieval setting from Elias with the modern technology from Earth, and I found adorable how Richard was learning about her world. It is noticeable how much work and planning the author put into the story, everything is linked, every passage has a purpose and a meaning behind it. I cannot wait to see the ultimate connection of everything.

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: The White Owl, by B. D. Connor

| Gifted | fantasy |

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I was overjoyed by all the Scotland vibes that the story gives out, which made me miss the time I lived in Dundee – Scotland. The kilts, clans and their lairds, their dialogues, everything really made me nostalgic of Scottish culture… The plot is completely character driven, which I found great. The story switches between the different point of views from the various characters, which allows us to connect to each of them.

It is definitely an Adult or New Adult fantasy, my favorite genre, since it has more mature topics. I often went back to the map at the beginning of the book to locate all the places that were mentioned, although the writing on the map is really small which made it a bit difficult.

I love how the magic is weaved into the story and how everything is linked in the end. I also enjoyed how real the characters were, which made them more relatable. There are heartfelt moments and fun action-packed scenes which kept my eyes glued to the page! The ending is satisfying and at the same time leaves room for the author to explore a future novel for which I await eagerly.

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: Birth of the Fae, by D. Orsino

| Gifted | fantasy |

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Birth of the fae is such a mesmerizing and fairytale-like read. The writing is descriptive and eloquent. In the beginning of the novel I could really feel the angels anguish and betrayal as they are cast out of heaven. It is such an emotional read, I could clearly picture every scene in my mind and I suffered alongside Xi and Jarvok as they wept. 

The story has some religious backbone to it, even connecting events to Moses and the red sea. I love how we come to learn how Dryads, Merfolk, Pixies and all these fairytale creatures came to be and we follow Xi, who becomes queen Aurora, and how she creates the Court of Light. 

“No one knew the nature of this star streaking in the sky, but they felt the anguish. The ache and determination were obvious. The yearning to return home was the same for all of them.”

I love the entire concept of the two factions of angels, the Virtues and Power Angels, and both were beautiful in their own way. Not only do we have a fairy-tale like written story, but the book itself is also absolutely stunning, I love the elegant look of the hardcover and all the extra little perks it has like the map, and the chapter titles which are all gorgeous! The book is short and left me longing for more, I am already excited for the upcoming novels in the series!

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: Masked, by S. Cross

| Gifted | YA fantasy |

Rating: 5 out of 5.

One of the things I love most about reading is getting completely emotionally attached to the characters. Masked delivers an amazing cast of characters, I was hooked. This book kept me reading into the late hours, crying and screaming and feeling everything as if it was all happening to me. Young Addalynne saves this mysterious boy who appears from the forbidden kingdom of Incarnadine. 

“

With his memory forgotten after the incident, Addy guards the secret of his origin, with fear of what could happen to him. We witness their love grow throughout the years, these two are inseparable. Their love is so fiece, so passionate, I found myself longing for this intense love.

So many obstacles are thrown at these two, the hardships they must endure to try to be together is heartbreaking. The story feels like a darker fantasy, with mentions of physical abuse, rape and death. At the same time their romance is refreshing and makes the reader hope and root for these two throughout the story. The side characters are also amazing, I love Addys sister and her brother. I am enchanted and thrilled by the mystery behind the kingdom of Incarnadine and await eagerly for the sequel

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: Disenchanted, by B. Sugalski

| Gifted | Dark fantasy |

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Disenchanted is a story that will draw you in from the first page. It starts with Princess Lilac, who sets out on a perilous journey in pursuit of an enchantress. There is a sense of mystery and intrigue immediately, which compels you to continue reading. At the beginning it feels like it is heading towards the well known plot: princess sets out on journey, meets a stranger, and the romance flows, however I soon found out I was wrong.

“

Enter Garin: mysterious, eluding, and sexy! I rooted for them to get together right from the start! I loved him as a character, and I couldn’t get enough of the dialogue between him and Lilac. There was a constant smile on my face whenever those two got in a heated discussion! The world the story is set in is broad, but you get enough details and pieces of information to get a good sense of the world, and I was able to form a coherent image in my mind, which made the story much more richer

Overall I really enjoyed Disenchanted, and I can highly recommend it if you love dark fantasy with some explosive romance in it! I will keep an eye out for the upcoming sequel!

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: The Silvered Serpents, by Roshani Chokshi

| Gifted | YA fantasy |

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Silvered Serpents was the perfect sequel for the Gilded Wolves. It was very emotional and added many new layers to the story. We get to learn more about the magic and world-building of the story, and everything felt a lot darker than the first book.

“Love does not always wear the face we wish,” she said. “I wish my love had been more beautiful. I wish … I wish we had more time.”
― Roshani Chokshi, The Silvered Serpents

However, the true delight of the story are the characters and their relationships. Every character evolves from the first book. Each of them has to elaborate Tristan’s death and it changes the dynamics of the gang. Specifically, the biggest rift is that between Séverin and Laila. Séverin has distanced himself from everyone he loved to spare himself more heartbreak and Laila tries to push him away to protect herself. The tension between them was off the charts! Lots of angst and longing. The writing is beautiful. It’s very lyrical and poetic. Also, the book ends on an incredible cliffhanger that I did not see coming!

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: Forever Eve, by JB Lexington

| Gifted | romance |

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I was not expecting how much I enjoyed this novel, it was a delightful surprise. It is full of steamy romance, sizzling hot sexy scenes, real strong friendships, the hardships of marriage and the behind the scenes of a woman dealing with physical and emotional abuse. The story follows Izabel, who is recently married to Bo, who is following his fathers steps into politics. Although it seems like Bo really cares about Izabel, he is very possessive of her and can’t control his anger.

So feminine and seductive!

“Her past collides with her present when she runs into a familiar stranger, and it turns her world upside down. She is forced to accept her suppressed emotions and open her heart to an unexpected love.”

After much convincing from her bestfriend Nat, she goes to a Past Life Regression session and discovers this entirely different woman, Eve, who had a life of seduction and fell in Love with the charming Charlie. She couldn’t get their story off her mind. I personally related so much with Izabel, I also went through a difficult marriage in the past, it took me years to finally get the courage to leave him. In the beginning I was furious at Izabel for being with a person like Bo, and having to deal with his horrible father. However I know how hard it is to see what an abusive relationship looks like. It really hit home for me.

Then she meets Henry, who is connected to her past life and Charlie in a way. Meeting him is like filling your lungs with fresh air after being submerged for so long. I could connect so well with Izabel and her feelings towards him. I loved their romance, and the ending was entirely satisfying. Will definitely keep an eye out for more books from the author

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: Sword of the Seven Sins, by Emily Colin

| Gifted | YA fantasy|

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Sword of the Seven Sins started off eerie and dark and I was hooked right away as the main character kills her first man. Eva has to become the one thing she despises: a Bellator. The pace only picks up from there, and the suspense killed me, I couldn’t stop reading!

Her mentor Ari is introduced and a steamy romance is born. I was rooting for them from the start, and the enemies-to-lovers scenes were literally everything. I am so addicted to this trope as you guys know. But how could they be together when love is forbidden?

I love this cover!

“But if I have already sinned by wanting her,

then perhaps what happens between us now doesn’t matter.

Perhaps we are already damned.”

The plot was fast-paced, which is something I enjoy. I love the entire concept behind the society which bases its rules on virtues and sins. The character development is very well played out, specially their chemistry. The ending had me reeling and I was left a mess after finishing it. Such an intense and addicting read, I am so eager for the sequel!

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: Akelarre in New York, by M. H. Gorostiza

. tata.lifepages | Gifted | fantasy |

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I went into this book blindly, not knowing exactly what I would encounter, and boy was I surprised to discover in the first chapters that Lilith, our beautiful and alluring main character, was in fact an immortal creature that requires blood for living. I was not expecting that! The author writes in such an original and unique way, containing texts, emails, lyrics, thoughts and even different timelines mixed together (present and past flashbacks). The past timeline interested me the most, I was intrigued by Lilith’s history and how she came to where she was today.

Such a fun cover !
I'm not in love
So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no no, it's because

The first half of the book I had a bit of a hard time to grasp the timeline of events and who was descendant of who exactly, however by the second half everything is explained and magically clicks to a point that you go “Ohhh that’s why!”, I love those revelation moments! I finally discovered how good it is to have representation in fantasy books, I was overjoyed that the story included a Brazilian character, Fernando. This is the first time I see Brazilian culture represented in a new adult magical novel and the author definetly knows the culture, which made my latin heart super happy!

photo by @tata.lifepages

I was delighted to see mention of the current global issue, climate change, it even mentioned the Paris Agreement! My engineer heart was utterly happy by the amount of accurate historical details and awareness included in the novel. Sometimes the historical facts were a bit too much for me to follow, but you can definitely see the amount of research and time the author has put into her work. There is also beautiful artwork included at the beginning of each chapter which I loved to see.
You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: The Veiled Threat, by Sophia Menesini

. tata.lifepages | Gifted | NA fantasy |

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Veiled Threat follows the story of Shea Lara, a dangerous and beautiful elf who is captain of the Veiled Duchess and holds behind her fierce gaze a caring and loving heart. This is an action-packed read full of plot-twists, betrayal, friendship and chemistry! The pages flew in my hands as I journeyed with Shea throughout the world of Nereid. Shea is a sassy and witty pirate, as well as brave and loyal. She is the perfect morally gray character, sailing the seas robbing yet still with moral beliefs. The elves are enslaved, mistreated and humiliated therefore she longs for a way to save her race. The side characters are very well written, I love Aster the most.

I love this cover!

The story is full of female empowerment, which fills my heart with joy, with a matriarchy queendom in place. The female characters are strong, independent and leaders. The romance between Shea and the princess starts as an intense attraction, the chemistry is tangible and written very well. It is beautiful to see throughout the story how their attraction progresses into love. I can’t wait to start book 2 in the series! 

photo by @tata.lifepages
You can check out more about the book and the author here.