Review: The Righteous

The Righteous by Renée Ahdieh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pippa has lost too many people, so when her best friend goes missing; she sets out to find out what happened.  Pippa is willing to go anywhere and do anything to see her friend safe.  But there is a world hidden from most humans and this dark and dangerous world may be more than Pippa was planning for.

The Righteous is the third book in The Beautiful series.  Ahdieh has expanded her fantasy world to include new characters and additional intrigue.  There are Fae, Vampires, and other normally unseen creatures dispersed throughout.  I so wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t keep my attention long enough.  I found myself re-reading passages because I didn’t remember what I just read.  The next book is supposed to be the finale and I hope it will bring back the joy I had after the second book.

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Review: The Iron Sword

The Iron Sword by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ash has earned a soul and can be with the love of his life, Queen Meghan.  He knew his life would not be full of comfort, but he didn’t expect to face an even harder challenge.  Their son, who is also the king of the Forgotten, is missing and they have learned that Evenfall approaches.  Will the different Fey be able to put aside their differences to stop Evenfall?  Will Ash lose his soul, his love, or possibly everything?

The Iron Sword is the second book in the spinoff Iron Fey series, Evenfall, and is the twelfth book if all the series are put together.  I will start by saying don’t jump into this series without having read the primary works.  This story pulls from many of the previous novels and the challenges between characters won’t be as easily understood without them.  This continuation of the Iron Fey saga will have all readers excited to learn more about these characters and I have been left wanting the next installment to be written and released.

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Review: The Starless Crown

The Starless Crown by James Rollins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nyx is disadvantaged in her studies since she is almost blind, but after being attacked (and surviving) a Mýr bat’s venom, her vision returns with predictions about Moonfall. Her survival has made her of interest to others and she quickly goes on the run. Nyx teams up an odd assortment of people, but that may be just what is needed to save everyone from Moonfall. Can this student, soldier, prince, and thief prevent the coming apocalypse?

The Starless Crown is the first book in the Moon Fall series. This fantasy novel was long and winding, which in the end wasn’t as enjoyable. There is action and intrigue with many fantastical creatures, yet the overall story continued to drag along. I believe this book would have been much better with some extra scenes removed. That being said, I did finish the story and enjoyed the ending. A good read for die-hard fantasy fans.


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Review: The Monarchs

The Monarchs by Kass Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Scarlett feels like she has fulfilled her destiny.  She is the Kappa Rho Nu president, just like her mother and older sister before her.  She feels the added stress to watch over her sorority sisters, especially since the last president met an untimely death.  Vivi is only a freshman and becoming a Kappa Rho Nu has taught her what it feels like to belong.  Scarlett has just told Vivi she is to be the social chair and that added burden may be a little too much because there is a new darkness on Westerly’s campus.  Will this be the end of the Kappa Rho Nu legacy?                                                          

The Monarchs is the second book in The Ravens duology.  Usually, the second book in a series is a disappointment, but that is not true in this installment.  I don’t know if it was because the character and world-building were already complete, but this story was spot on with everything a good escape read needs.  I enjoyed all of the campus drama and loved how the storyline was finished.  Sometimes it is hard to pull off a duology, but this one is worth the reading time.

 

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Review: The Excalibur Curse

The Excalibur Curse by Kiersten White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Guinevere has learned many secrets about herself and Camelot.  The Dark Queen still wants to take control, but Arthur is willing to do anything to stop her.  But what should Arthur do?  What is true and what is a distraction?  Guinevere isn’t able to get Merlin to help her, so she sets out to fix what she can, even if it means teaming up with Mordred.  Guinevere learns that she may be able to fix one problem, but if she does a larger issue will ensue.  Guinevere wants to make everything right, but is that even possible?

The Excalibur Curse is the third and final book in the Camelot Rising trilogy.  This book does not spend a lot of time refreshing readers on past events and that is OK because I found that this story was strong enough to jog my memory with everything I needed.  The action is continuous and the story unfolds easily.  White has triumphed in taking many beloved Arthurian characters and repurposing them for a new audience.  I enjoyed this finale and was fully satisfied with the ending.

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Review: Wish You Were Here

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Diana has her life planned out and everything is going according to plan.  She wants to be married by 30, finish having kids by 35 and eventually move into the New York suburbs.  Diana believes her boyfriend is about to propose, so the next goal is within her reach.  Her plans quickly change when a virus reaches American cities and her boyfriend is called into work at his hospital.  He encourages Diana to take their planned vacation, especially since it is nonrefundable.  She arrives as the island goes into quarantine and she has nowhere to go and no way to notify anyone.  A local woman takes pity on her and Diana is forced to learn hidden truths about herself and those around her.

Wish You Were Here is a stand-alone realistic fiction story that takes events from the Covid-19 pandemic and condenses them into a novel that can be enjoyed.  Picoult has included many different viewpoints and weaved them into a single storyline for us.  There is a twist about two-thirds of the way through the book that had me saying … wait!  Once that twist was fully seated, though, I enjoyed this new trajectory the story took.  Some readers may feel this book is still too close to the pandemic we are currently living in, but I thought it was well designed and a satisfying read.

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