Tag Archives: Magic

Review: Thornwood by Leah Cypess

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,
Thornwood by Leah Cypess

Thornwood (Sisters Ever After #1)
Leah Cypess
Harvey Klinger
Published April 1, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Thornwood

For years, Briony has lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Rosalin, and the curse that has haunted her from birth–that on the day of her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle and cause everyone in the castle to fall into a 100-year sleep. When the day the curse is set to fall over the kingdom finally arrives, nothing–not even Briony–can stop its evil magic.

You know the story.

But here’s something you don’t know. When Briony finally wakes up, it’s up to her to find out what’s really going on, and to save her family and friends from the murderous Thornwood. But who is going to listen to her? This is a story of sisterhood, of friendship, and of the ability of even little sisters to forge their own destiny. The first in a three-book series of fairy tale retellings, these are the stories of the siblings who never made it into the storybook.

This middle grade debut is Sleeping Beauty like you’ve never seen it before, about a girl who lives in the shadow of her older sister and the curse that has haunted her from birth.

My Review

From the first I heard of this book, I was super excited about it. I read a couple of Leah Cypess’s YA books and loved them, so I felt pretty sure I’d adore this one, too. Plus, it’s a book about sisters! I love those! And a reimagined fairytale. I love those, too!

The voice in the story was spot-on. I believed in Briony from the very first line, and loved her fun, determined personality. The sisters have a lot of conflict between them, and it’s really clear that especially for Rosalin, at least part of this is that she’s afraid to get close to people because she knows she’s going to die. I loved that Briony never stops hoping and trying to do something to stop the curse.

There was a moment toward the middle where I wasn’t sure where the story was going. It seemed unclear what Briony’s goal was, and that maybe slowed the story down a little bit. Her goal does become really clear late in the story, and things get pretty intense, so I felt like things pulled together really well in those last few chapters.

I kind of wish there had been a little bit of setup for the next book included in this one, mostly because I’m really curious about it. There’s one brief reference that made me wonder if the next will be a Rumpelstiltskin retelling?? I’m up for that! Or another story, of course.

Fans of The Princess Who Flew with Dragons by Stephanie Burgis or Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George will love the adventure and sister relationships in this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white or not described.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
A fairy cursed Rosalin to prick her finger on a magic spinning wheel and sleep for one hundred years. The fairy returns and offers other bargains to Briony and her sister.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Thorny branches attack and grab anyone within reach, trying to kill them.

Drug Content
A man approaches the king and queen while he is drunk.

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

Spotlight: Healers: Secrets of the Academy by L. L. Smith

Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, News and Fun, , , , , ,

Healers: Secrets of the Academy
L. L. Smith
Published January 21, 2021

Amazon | Goodreads

About Healers: Secrets of the Academy

The students of SalVaneerie Academy face a gruesome end at the hands of Shadow Knights! This army of mysterious and hollow Knights close in from the Dark Forest surrounding their campus. Healers, Warriors, and Brains must band together to repel these Shadow Knights and uncover their peculiar origins. Will Nicole amass enough friends to repel the attack? Will Hunter be able to overcome his performance anxiety? Will Theodore be able to discover the truth he seeks? Find out, inside!

Map of the Academy

I love when books have a map included, so I wanted to be sure to share this one in my post. When I’m reading a book with a map, I find I flip back to the map as I’m reading to help me visualize what’s happening. Do you find that you use maps when they’re available?

About L. L. Smith

Amazon Author Page | Instagram

L L Smith: small-town living and music binging. Self published two books deep and counting. He’s ready to share some laughs, gasps, and tears with reader folk from all walks of life!

Healers: Secrets of the Academy Tour Stops

Here are the other stops on the Healers: Secrets of the Academy blog tour through Breakeven Books. Lots of these stops are Booktubers, so if you’ve been thinking about finding new bookish channels to follow, be sure to check them out!

March 21

Kitty n Shadow Hobby Room on YouTube

Kathryn Books Blog

Breakeven Books Livestream on YouTube

March 22

Leosthetics Blog

March 23

One Book More Blog

March 24

Her Bookish Obsession Blog

What Polly Reads Blog

March 25

Penned by KDB Blog

The Story Sanctuary Blog – you are here!

March 26

Paperback Mo on YouTube

Roro Is Reading Blog

March 27

Kristi Reads on YouTube

Enchanted Reader on YouTube

After Tour Posts

Pablo Suarez on YouTube

BunnyCakes Tomes of Endless Wonder on YouTube

Kasandra on YouTube

Middle Fantasy on YouTube

Review: Switching Fates by Stacie Ramey

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, New Adult 18up, Paranormal, , , , , , ,

Switching Fates
Stacie Ramey
Ally Press
Published February 12, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Switching Fates

One Lives. One dies. He chooses.

Bryan Rivers will do anything to save his dying girlfriend Courtney—even enlist supernatural help. His ex-girlfriend Rose is a practicing Wiccan, and Bryan pleads with her to use her powers to help. She reluctantly agrees, but like everything in Rose’s world, the remedy is complicated and comes with a serious warning: the kind of powerful magic that Bryan requires involves summoning mythological beings. Specifically, the Three Fates.

Once the Fates appear, their proposition sounds simple: play three rounds of their favorite game, Switching Fates, to win the chance to save Courtney. But it’s a game where Bryan must make the horrifying choice between two lives; which person lives and which person dies. And each round is more challenging and wicked than the last. With the realization that he’s in far over his head, Bryan must figure out how to beat the Fates at their own game.

My Review

I don’t often read books in the New Adult genre, but I like Stacie Ramey’s writing, so when she offered me a copy of her newest book, I couldn’t resist. I’ve been in a little bit of a reading slump lately, where I just haven’t enjoyed reading as much as I usually do, and that’s very odd for me. I think partly because of that, I had a lot of fun reading this book.

One of the reasons I tend not to read a lot of New Adult fiction is that it often contains more graphic sexual content than I’m comfortable reading, but I felt like SWITCHING FATES had a lot of sexual tension without being overly explicit, which I liked.

I also got pretty hooked into the suspense of waiting to see what Bryan would do and whether he would be able to save both Rose and Courtney. I definitely wanted to know what would happen and whether he would find a way through in time, or whether he’d have to make the ultimate terrible choice.

Reading this book felt really indulgent and fun. It was like sitting down to eat a whole box of chocolates. I really enjoyed it even though it’s not my usual go-to genre. It reminded me a little of Amanda Hocking’s Watersong series, so I think fans of those books would really like SWITCHING FATES.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 18 up.

Representation
The major characters are white. Rose is a practicing Wiccan.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Some groping over clothes. In one scene a boy takes a girl’s pants off. In another, he reaches under a girl’s shirt. There’s a brief description of sex and some references to it.

Spiritual Content
Rose is a practicing Wiccan who performs a spell meant to save Bryan’s girlfriend from death. Instead, she summons the Fates, three powerful, immortal women who have the ability to control who lives or dies.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
One scene shows a girl dying after she jumps off a roof and hits her head. Some scenes show characters bound and gagged. Someone beats them with a stick or switch.

There are also some references to a suicide attempt in the past. Bryan discovered the survivor immediately after she’d made the attempt, so there’s some description of what he saw and some references to scars left from that incident.

Drug Content
Bryan attends a party and drinks alcohol with his friends. He sees at least a couple people taking Ecstasy. There are a couple other references to hard drug use and smoking pot.

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

Review: Cast in Firelight by Dana Swift

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

Cast in Firelight (Wickery #1)
Dana Swift
Delacorte Press
Published January 19, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Cast in Firelight

Adraa is the royal heir of Belwar, a talented witch on the cusp of taking her royal ceremony test, and a girl who just wants to prove her worth to her people.

Jatin is the royal heir to Naupure, a competitive wizard who’s mastered all nine colors of magic, and a boy anxious to return home for the first time since he was a child.

Together, their arranged marriage will unite two of Wickery’s most powerful kingdoms. But after years of rivalry from afar, Adraa and Jatin only agree on one thing: their reunion will be anything but sweet.

Only, destiny has other plans and with the criminal underbelly of Belwar suddenly making a move for control, their paths cross…and neither realizes who the other is, adopting separate secret identities instead.

Between dodging deathly spells and keeping their true selves hidden, the pair must learn to put their trust in the other if either is to uncover the real threat. Now Wickery’s fate is in the hands of rivals..? Fiancées..? Partners..? Whatever they are, it’s complicated and bound for greatness or destruction.

My Review

I really liked the concept of this book, and I’m generally a fan of the enemies-to-lovers types of stories, so CAST IN FIRELIGHT definitely has that going for it. I liked Adraa and how quirky and awkward she is, too.

There were a few things I struggled with, though. One was the magic system. It’s nine different types and coordinating gods/goddesses and colors. That made it a lot to keep track of, but also characters that then could use most or all types of magic seemed almost too powerful?

I also had a hard time understanding some of the structure of the royal family/palace. Like, I couldn’t understand if the palace was just really small, with a really small staff? (Was the kitchen maid the same girl who styled Adraa’s hair?) Sometimes things happened that seemed strange, like when a guard takes Adraa to his room to speak with her privately. Wouldn’t that be a huge breach in propriety? And with the prince’s fiancée??

They were small things, so it wasn’t hard to kind of just shrug and move past them to see where the rest of the story was going. I liked that it had a lot of twists and turns, and I definitely wanted to know where Adraa and Jatin’s relationship would head, so I was definitely invested in the story.

I also appreciated the author’s note at the end of the book explaining that while it’s not an #ownvoices story, she wrote the book for her children, who will be Indian. That and the nod to her husband’s family was really sweet.

I feel like this book would be a good one for middle school readers. It’s solidly a young adult book, but not really dark or gritty, so a great fit for readers who need something a bit lighter– readers who read and enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles, for instance.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are Indian-coded characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Characters use “blood” as a swear word.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. At one point a boy and girl fall asleep on top of a building, and he teases her about them “sleeping together”.

There are references to some sexual bullying.

Spiritual Content
Nine gods and goddesses have the power to bestow gifts of different types (and colors) of magic on humans.

Violent Content
Some battle violence and situations of peril.

Drug Content
Some people use a powerful drug called Bloodlurst that causes enhanced magic for a time before causing damage. It’s viewed very negatively in the story, and Adraa is working hard to try to stop a group which sells the drug to her people.

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

Review: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

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

We Hunt the Flame
Hafsah Faizal
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published May 14, 2019

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About We Hunt the Flame

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, WE HUNT THE FLAME is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

My Review

I read some conflicting reviews of this book before actually sitting down to read it myself, so I was pretty nervous about reading it.

Turns out I didn’t need to worry, though, because I enjoyed the story a lot. The very beginning basically reminded me of what I’d hoped A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES would be. (I DNF’d that book because I couldn’t get past the family dynamics between the main character and her sisters and father. I know, tons of people love the series… it just isn’t for me.)

I’m a huge fan of those angsty heroes who, against all odds, still want to do the right thing. I felt like Nasir hit all those notes for me. He’s an assassin, made to be a cold, unfeeling weapon, and yet, he’s so human and so vulnerable underneath his chilling exterior.

Zafira is tough and smart, and she also feels like she has to put aside her emotions in order to succeed at her quest. But is she stronger without her emotions, really? I love stories that explore those kinds of questions, and WE HUNT THE FLAME totally satisfied on that exploration.

For some reason, though, I didn’t expect it to be an ensemble cast. I assumed that at some point Zafira and Nasir would make a necessary but uneasy alliance but that it would be just the two of them. At first I didn’t invest in the rest of the team because I didn’t expect them to be around long. But as I got to know them, I liked them more and more. (It took me the longest to warm up to Altair, but by the end, I am solidly a fan, and I need to know what happens to him next!)

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were deep and engaging, and the story of a land cursed and the quest to break that curse and return magic to the people definitely hooked me. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series, WE FREE THE STARS, which is currently scheduled to come out in January 2021. I think readers who enjoyed SIX OF CROWS or AN EMBER IN THE ASHES will love this one.

Content Notes for We Hunt the Flame

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Set in a fantasy world inspired by ancient Arabia.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some faux curses like, “Skies.” Some curses in Arabic used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Strong sexual tension– lots of meaningful glances and obvious attraction. Some sensual kissing.

Spiritual Content
Lots of magic. Six sisters with powerful magic once ruled the kingdom, including one who imprisoned evil on an island. On that island there are creatures who impersonate people to trick or confuse Zafira and Nasir and their allies. Shadows and dark make up some magic. A powerful magical being appears to be possessing and controlling someone else.

Violent Content
Scenes show combat between Zaphira, Nasir and their allies and others. Some descriptions of torture that Nasir endured at the hands of his father and an enemy. Brief descriptions of torture.

Drug Content
Some social alcohol drinking.

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

Review: The Camelot Betrayal by Kiersten White

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

The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising #2)
Kiersten White
Delacorte Press
Published November 10, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Camelot Betrayal

EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE IN CAMELOT: King Arthur is expanding his kingdom’s influence with Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her.

Guinevere might have accepted her role, but she still cannot find a place for herself in all of it. The closer she gets to Brangien, pining for her lost love Isolde, Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen’s knight, and Arthur, everything to everyone and thus never quite enough for Guinevere–the more she realizes how empty she is. She has no sense of who she truly was before she was Guinevere. The more she tries to claim herself as queen, the more she wonders if Mordred was right: she doesn’t belong. She never will.

When a rescue goes awry and results in the death of something precious, a devastated Guinevere returns to Camelot to find the greatest threat yet has arrived. Not in the form of the Dark Queen or an invading army, but in the form of the real Guinevere’s younger sister. Is her deception at an end? And who is she really deceiving–Camelot, or herself?

My Review

I love this series. I feel like I can’t say that enough. It has so many of the things I really needed it to have. There are strong women everywhere you turn. Camelot feels every bit as revolutionary and magical (but without actual magic) as it should be. Arthur is so very… Arthur.

There are good men. Like, really complex, interesting, well-written, captivating men, but they never steal the scene or the show from the women. These girls more than hold their own.

I love Guinevere– her questions about her past and her identity, her longing to be loved, her relationship with her maids and her knight. Her powerful magic. I love her so much.

Then there’s Lancelot. The decision to have a woman as Lancelot surprised me, but I’ve loved it. I love that she’s an amazing warrior and that she has every bit as much heart and passion as any other knight out there. I love the way the story explores whether it’s more right to treat her just like the men or for Guinevere to treat her in a different way. It’s not the focus of the story at all, so it doesn’t feel like a political question or preachy or anything. It simply feels like people trying to figure out how to get through the best way they can.

I feel like the only thing CAMELOT BETRAYAL lacked over the first book in the series was an over-arching plot or the drive toward a particular battle. Through the whole book, Guinevere is on the lookout for the Dark Queen’s next attack, but she sort of spends the actual story itself running around handling side quests. Figuring out how to handle her sister. How to reach and/or rescue Isolde. What to do about her feelings for Arthur and Mordred.

I guess all that to say that it definitely feels like a second book which sets up for a third and final battle kind of book. I loved all the conflicts and plots here, so I can’t complain. I’m only sad that I have to wait until next year to read the finale.

Definitely read the first book, THE GUINEVERE DECEPTION, first. There are a lot of characters in this one, and it’ll just make a lot more sense if you’ve read the first book and know how they all came to be allies or enemies.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most characters are English/white. Two minor characters are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used two times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between man and woman. Reference to two women having an intimate relationship. Reference to sex as a means of consummating marriage and producing children.

Spiritual Content
Guinevere and other characters perform magic. Arthur’s kingdom is supposed to be a Christian kingdom, but there isn’t much celebration of or reference to faith shown.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle violence.

Drug Content
Characters drink wine socially.

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