Tag Archives: enemies to lovers

Review: The Darkening by Sunya Mara

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,
The Darkening by Sunya Mara

The Darkening
Sunya Mara
Clarion Books
Published July 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Darkening

In this thrilling and epic YA fantasy debut the only hope for a city trapped in the eye of a cursed storm lies with the daughter of failed revolutionaries and a prince terrified of his throne.

Vesper Vale is the daughter of revolutionaries. Failed revolutionaries. When her mother was caught by the queen’s soldiers, they gave her a choice: death by the hangman’s axe, or death by the Storm that surrounds the city and curses anyone it touches. She chose the Storm. And when the queen’s soldiers—led by a paranoid prince—catch up to Vesper’s father after twelve years on the run, Vesper will do whatever it takes to save him from sharing that fate.

Even arm herself with her father’s book of dangerous experimental magic.

Even infiltrate the prince’s elite squad of soldier-sorcerers.

And even cheat her way into his cold heart.

But when Vesper learns that there’s more to the story of her mother’s death, she’ll have to make a choice if she wants to save her city: trust the devious prince with her family’s secrets, or follow her mother’s footsteps into the Storm.

My Review

It took me a couple chapters to really get into this book, but once I was in, I was completely hooked. I love Vesper’s character. She feels things so passionately, and she never gives up. Even though she has a complicated relationship with her dad, she still loves him and will do anything to save him.

I also loved the prince and both of his closest warriors. I liked that they didn’t turn out the way I expected them to. They had a lot more depth to them than I anticipated, and I liked the way Vesper built tenuous but deep alliances with them.

Also– the Storm. Filled with magic, strange beasts, fierce winds… the descriptions of it carried me away every time. I love that there’s so much more to it than Vesper initially believes.

In the story, anyone who encounters the Storm and lives bears some kind of “curse”. This can be a physical abnormality, like a disability or something less visible, maybe bearing a kind of magic. I had mixed feelings about a scene early in the book where a whole group of Stormtouched (storm cursed) people get killed because they harbored Vesper and her dad. It did feel a little bit like the only purpose those characters served was to humanize Vesper and make her a more empathetic character and driven for revenge on behalf of her murdered friends.

The story features other characters who are Stormtouched, so that isn’t the only representation of them. I don’t feel like I have the expertise to really speak to whether that early scene had issues. In any case, it left me with mixed feelings.

On the whole, I enjoyed the fast-paced storytelling and the unique approach to magic as well as the deepening layers of history revealed as the story progresses. I loved the cast of characters, and I really want to see where the story goes next.

Content Notes for The Darkening

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Characters are described as having brown skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
The Regia rules by carrying the spirit of a Great King from the past. Trained warriors use ikons, symbols they inscribe to create a kind of magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes. In two scenes characters fight opponents to the death in an arena.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE DARKENING in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Charmed List by Julie Abe

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

The Charmed List
Julie Abe
Wednesday Books
Published July 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Charmed List

After spending most of high school as the quiet girl, Ellie Kobata is ready to take some risks and have a life-changing summer, starting with her Anti-Wallflower List—thirteen items she’s going to check off one by one. She’s looking forward to riding rollercoasters, making her art Instagram public (maybe), and going on an epic road-trip with her best friend Lia.

But when number four on Ellie’s list goes horribly wrong—revenge on Jack Yasuda—she’s certain her summer has gone from charmed to cursed. Instead of a road trip with Lia, Ellie finds herself stuck in a car with Jack driving to a magical convention. But as Ellie and Jack travel down the coast of California, number thirteen on her list—fall in love—may be happening without her realizing it.

In THE CHARMED LIST, Julie Abe sweeps readers away to a secret magical world, complete with cupcakes and tea with added sparks of joy, and an enchanted cottage where you can dance under the stars.

My Review

So… somehow I missed that this book had magic in it? I went back and read the cover copy, and it does talk about there being charms and a “secret magical world”, but I guess I assumed that was metaphorical? Whoops on my part.

It isn’t a bad thing for THE CHARMED LIST to have magic. I just wasn’t expecting that when I started reading, so I felt thrown for a chapter or two. Once I understood the magic system and how it worked, I connected with the story more.

I enjoyed the fact that their families have sort of rival businesses or roles in the community. And the setup of Ellie and Jack being forced to go on the road trip together was great. I loved that.

One of the things that kind of bugged me was the history between Ellie and Jack and even her feelings about him. It felt like she made some pretty harsh judgments about him at a time when he was deeply grieving. I kind of wished they talked more specifically about that and that Ellie had more opportunity to own that perhaps she made some mistakes, too. There’s a little bit of that.

The whole premise is that she and Jack had a big falling out that she’s still nursing hurt feelings over, and I could understand her feeling hurt over what happened. What was hard to understand was that she never considered that he’d just lost his mom, whom they were both close to. I guess I felt like Ellie sometimes came across as shallow and selfish.

That aside, I enjoyed the story’s awkward flirty moments, secret magical towns, and lots of the side characters in the book. Ellie’s sister and Jack’s brother are probably my favorites, but I really liked Ellie’s best friend, too.

All in all, this was a fun summertime read with a little magic sprinkled in. I think readers who enjoy books by Sandhya Menon will enjoy THE CHARMED LIST.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are Japanese American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to make charms from recipes. They imbue things like luck to the user. Many people are unaware of the existence of the magic or places that sell magical items. Their existence is a closely guarded secret.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE CHARMED LIST in exchange for my honest review.

Review: This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

This May End Badly
Samantha Markum
Wednesday Books
Published April 12, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About This May End Badly

Pranking mastermind Doe and her motley band of Weston girls are determined to win the century-long war against Winfield Academy before the clock ticks down on their senior year. But when their headmistress announces that The Weston School will merge with its rival the following year, their longtime feud spirals into chaos.

To protect the school that has been her safe haven since her parents’ divorce, Doe puts together a plan to prove once and for all that Winfield boys and Weston girls just don’t mix, starting with a direct hit at Three, Winfield’s boy king and her nemesis. In a desperate move to win, Doe strikes a bargain with Three’s cousin, Wells: If he fake dates her to get under Three’s skin, she’ll help him get back his rightful family heirloom from Three.

As the pranks escalate, so do her feelings for her fake boyfriend, and Doe spins lie after lie to keep up her end of the deal. But when a teacher long suspected of inappropriate behavior messes with a younger Weston girl, Doe has to decide what’s more important: winning a rivalry, or joining forces to protect something far more critical than a prank war legacy.

THIS MAY END BADLY is a story about friendship, falling in love, and crossing pretty much every line presented to you—and how to atone when you do.

My Review

The cover copy on this book made me think of an older favorite: THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU by Lily Anderson. It’s also a boarding school story with an enemies to lovers arc and loads of banter and snark. I LOVED that book when I read it, so I as soon as I read about this book, I knew I wanted to read it.

And it totally delivered on all my hopes for it. I loved Doe’s character with her single-minded passion. I loved Wells with his mysterious sorrow peeking out beneath the “I don’t care” attitude he had going on. On top of that, I loved Doe’s friends, when they pushed her, made room for her, loved her despite her misguided or hurtful actions. I loved the way they operated as a team and protected one another.

I also loved the banter! The pranks. The teasing comments. The awkward, hilarious conversations. I laughed out loud more reading this book than I have in a long time. It was exactly the story I needed this week.

If you like fake dating, boarding school stories, or prank wars and banter, this book is one you won’t want to miss.

Content Notes for This May End Badly

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Doe has a diverse friend group. Her dad is bisexual. Some discussion about how single gender schools exclude trans and nonbinary students.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. In one scene, a boy and girl take their shirts off.

A teacher is rumored to be a sexual predator. The girls try to warn new students and look out for each other. One girl comes forward with details about inappropriate behavior on the teacher’s part. The scene is brief, but the girl is obviously (understandably) traumatized when she describes what happened.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Two boys get into a fistfight.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a party and in other circumstances.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THIS MAY END BADLY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Daughter of the Pirate King
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 28th 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Daughter of the Pirate King

There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

My Review

I really enjoyed a lot of things about this book. First, I loved Alosa. She’s fierce and smart and knows how to bide her time and wait for the right moments to do what she needs to do. I also loved Riden. He’s so conflicted, so caught between what he wants and protecting people he cares about and doing the right thing. But he’s also a pirate, so kind of unpredictable, definitely living by his own code of ethics. Once I understood how that code worked, I was a huge fan of him.

So… consent stuff. Alosa is a captive aboard a pirate ship. She arranges for herself to be captured and makes it clear (to the reader) that she can come and go from her cell pretty much at will. When she experiences a romantic advance from one of the other pirates, it’s not clear whether she wants him to behave like he does. I guess it’s clear she could stop him if she wanted to, but it felt a little weird to me. Maybe I’ve just come to appreciate the recent books where consent is made really clear.

There’s also some backstory referring to the way sirens treat their victims that isn’t ever really addressed in the story. At one point, a character comments on the sirens’ behavior (See below for details.) and Alosa kind of dismisses it like, yeah, but the pirates had harmful intentions, too. I don’t know. I wish the book addressed this in the story more clearly.

Conclusion

Aside from that, I liked a lot of other things– the adventure on a pirate ship, the enemies to lovers romance, the banter between characters, and the fierce heroine. I want to read the second book in this duology, DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN. Some of the reviews on Goodreads indicate that this book better addresses consent issues.

Readers who enjoyed SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo or IMPRISON THE SKY by A. C. Gaughen will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning for Mentions of Rape
A pirate captain implies that he will let his crew rape Alosa. One of the crew members is a serial rapist. He stands guard over Alosa’s cell and continually leers at her. He reaches into the cell (she stands out of his reach but is unable to sleep while he’s there.). At one point he grabs her and licks her neck.

Sirens live in the ocean, but journey to the surface to capture men before dragging them to the bottom of the sea, raping, and killing them. The story states this more than once, but no graphic description.

Kissing between a boy and girl. It’s an enemies to lovers situation, and it’s not really clear if some of the kisses/touches are welcome or not. I had weird feelings about it.

Spiritual Content
Sirens are powerful beings whose song controls men.

Violent Content
Graphic battle violence. Some scenes include references to torture and some descriptions of it.

Drug Content
One pirate is clearly an alcoholic. There’s reference to others drinking alcohol, too.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

When You Get the Chance
Emma Lord
Wednesday Books
Published January 4, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About When You Get the Chance

Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?

My Review

Such a cute book! Stories about theater kids will always be dear to my heart, since I was in theater myself in high school. I really enjoyed Millie’s character as well as her evolving understanding of herself and the people she is closest to. The whole MAMMA MIA spin was absolutely inspired, I think. I laughed out loud about her finding her dad’s LiveJournal account. Wow.

I feel like there are a lot of little pieces of the book that I enjoyed, too. The internship. The dance classes. The Milkshake Club! The geocaching app that Millie’s best friend is obsessed with. The behind-the-scenes ways people turn out to be connected. The brothers and their band. So many bits of story that all came together in a magical way to create a whole that is so much more than the sum of its parts. This book made me laugh and long to see shows on stage or at least blast a musical soundtrack at top volume and dance like nobody is watching.

Which totally makes it a triumph, if you ask me. I think fans of Lord’s other books will not be disappointed in this one, and readers who delight in romcom will find lots to love about WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE.

Content Notes for When You Get the Chance

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
One minor character is Asian American. Millie’s aunt is a lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

The Blue Sword (Damar #1)
Robin McKinley
HarperCollins
Published April 26, 2016 (Orig. 1982)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Blue Sword

Harry Crewe grew up a tomboy in forests, until her brother joined the Homelanders guarding the far desert reaches. Now an orphan, she joins him. Only a few months later, asking for military aid against advancing Northeners, comes Corlath, the Hillfolk King. After exchanging a single glance, his inner magic compels him to kidnap her, without knowing why. She does not know the Hillfolk language or why she has been chosen.

Renamed Hari, she sees visions, and brings one to all, of the Golden Age legendary Dragon-Killer Queen Aerin, who smiles upon her. Hari is trained in the arts of war until she is a match for any of the elite royal guard, and carries Aerin’s famed Blue Sword. Does she have the courage to accept her true fate?

My Review

I feel like the first thing I have to address right off is the fact that there is a kidnapping which ultimately results in a romance, and though Harry has had her freedom for a long time before she falls in love, it’s still, er, perhaps a bit problematic? I like that she doesn’t fall in love as a captive. She’s won her own renown and has even broken away from Corlath and his riders before she examines her feelings. Still, just know that the story goes there, and if that’s going to be an issue that makes it impossible to enjoy the book, then you probably want to pass on this one.

The first time I read THE BLUE SWORD, I was probably twelve? So it’s hard for me to step back from my love for the story and see it the way that I might evaluate it now if I’d read it for the first time. I have read this book probably half a dozen times at least? I love that Harry becomes a warrior and sort of crafts her own role in her new life. The cat, Narknon is my favorite! I love that Harry becomes something of a bridge between the people she grew up with and the people she belongs to now.

I’m also really fascinated by the idea that this book was written before THE HERO AND THE CROWN, which is kind of a prequel (??) which follows the story of Aerin, the legendary dragon-slayer woman who appears to Harry in this story.

Some of the characters in the book have colonized some of the land of Damar. While they think of themselves Homelanders, as good people creating a life in a hostile desert environment, the Hillfolk think of them as Outlanders and invaders. I liked that the story showed a more balanced view of those things.

Conclusion

All in all, this is still one of my favorite stories. It’s probably the first book by Robin McKinley that I ever read. I can’t believe it was written almost forty years ago. Wowza! I think readers who enjoy fantasy with a strong female hero or enemies to lovers stories should check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Corlath is the Hill King (King of Damar), described as dark-haired, brown-skinned desert people.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used briefly.

Romance/Sexual Content
A kiss between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Harry sees visions and learns that she has the strange kelar magic that Corlath also possesses.

Violent Content
Corlath kidnaps Harry from her home. Some situations of peril and description of battle. No gory details.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.