Review: The Secret Gift

The Secret Gift by Bethany Atazadeh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jezebel has a secret … she has the Gift of shape-shifting and can’t let anyone know.  Many would want to exploit this gift and others would want to take it away from her.  She knows she needs to keep it hidden, but when one of her friends sees her practicing her Gift, her fears are realized and she is blackmailed into using the Gift for selfish reasons.  What will Jezebel be asked to do?  How will she respond? 

The Secret Gift is the first book in The Queen’s Rise series.  The description asks “WHAT IF THE EVIL QUEEN WAS INNOCENT UNTIL SHE WAS BETRAYED?” and that made me want to read this book, but Jezebel is far from being royalty, let alone the actual queen.  Knowing that “EVIL QUEEN” is in her future, this story was fascinating and fun, but without that one statement, I’m not sure I would know what the purpose of this book was.  I want to see how the next book continues the story to see if it is a true fairytale retelling.

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Review: Lady Reaper

Lady Reaper by Christina Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many readers are already familiar with Myla and Lincoln.  If you aren’t, don’t start with this book; you could, but why would you?  With that being said, Myla and Lincoln are back in their early years and readers discover some missing elements of what shaped these young people into the bad@$$ adults they became.  Myla never shirked a good fight and after she learns that Lady Reaper will be visiting Purgatory’s Annual Lust Festival, she plans to take care of business.  Lincoln is approaching his eighteenth year and he has many obligations being a part-angel prince.  During a mission, he discovers his best friend might be hiding secrets from him and the adventure just flows from there.

Lady Reaper is a prequel novella for the book Reaper Games.  This is also the tenth book in the Angelbound Origins series.  This series is a spin-off of the Angelbound series and the Angelbound Offspring series.  I have read all these books in publication order and it does take some time to keep characters straight, but I enjoy going back in time and learning new nuggets about characters I have been following across so many stories.  This is short and will feel like a teaser to many, but hopefully, when we get Reaper Games, we will fully understand the task at hand.

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Review: Lumara

Lumara by Melissa Landers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Talia does not like Mystics. She believes they are all scammers after one told her she wasn't really sick. When her boyfriend admits he is a Mystic and wants her to meet his family, she decides to try and be open-minded. Talia learns that his family isn't all bad and starts to change her opinion of Mystics until the wedding party goes into a coma and she is blamed. As she tries to prove her innocence, she learns truths about herself and her family that shake her beliefs.

Lumara is a stand-alone fantasy novel that sounds like it would be a captivating read, but in reality was one-dimensional. The last third of the book redeemed the majority and I finished happy I stuck it out. This is a short read, so most readers won't feel frustrated with the overall storyline. I recommend this book for those who need something to read, but not worthy of a TBR list. 

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Review: The Shattered City

The Shattered City by Lisa Maxwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Esta and Harte have been through a lot.  They have traveled through time and throughout the land to collect powerful artifacts that are needed to control the Book’s power.  They have lost even more … family, friends, and their hearts.  They are down to their last artifact.  Their hunt has brought them back to where everything started … New York City.  The city has changed, their friends have left, and time is not on their side.  Will they be able to save magic?  What will they be asked to sacrifice along the way?

The Shattered City is the fourth book in The Last Magician series.  This fantasy novel jumps around in time and characters, so readers will benefit from a pause between chapters to orient themselves with these changes.  I will admit that this volume was very long, but not many pages were wasted on unnecessary story elements; Maxwell just had a lot of ground to cover and it appears she didn’t want this split into two books.  The Shattered City was a good conclusion to the story, but the book itself was ho-hum.  

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Review: A Thousand Heartbeats

A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Annika has lived a pampered life, but as a princess and the spare heir, she knows that her life is not her own.  The next task she must undertake?  Marry a man she does not love.  Miles’ life has been the opposite.  He has trained with the Dahrainian army and wants to help reclaim the kingdom that was stolen.  Lennox doesn’t have time for anything else … even love.  When these two are thrown together, love sparks, even though they both know it is impossible.  What will these young people do next?  Who will end up in control of the kingdom?

A Thousand Heartbeats is a stand-alone romance told in alternating voices.  Readers will experience a full story as the point of view switches between these two protagonists.  Cass has created a wonderful world with believable characters and a captivating story.  Although this is a stand-alone novel with a firm ending, this newly created world has hidden depths and I wouldn’t be surprised if more books are released.  A good romance that wasn’t too long and wasn’t risqué at all.  

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Review: Five Survive

Five Survive by Holly Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is time for the senior year spring break road trip and Red plans to enjoy time with her friends in an RV.  The drive seems to never end but everyone is trying to enjoy themselves until they make some wrong turns and the RV breaks down in a secluded area with no cell phone reception.  They quickly learn that this wasn’t an accident when a sniper shoots out their wheels and their gas tank.  He tells them that he knows who they are and he will let them go IF they tell him the secret he wants.  What secret?  Who is hiding something?  Who is going to die?

Five Survive is a stand-alone mystery that was a page-turner from the start.  Jackson has created a new cast of characters that readers will easily relate to and as different people slowly admit to their secrets; readers will be just as shocked as those within the pages.  We know from the title that one of them will die, but the why and the how is a shocker.  I enjoyed this book and think all mystery fans will enjoy it too.

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Review: Children of Ragnarok

Children of Ragnarok by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eiric has had a fairly good life on his modir’s farm.  He must work hard to keep everything going, but he must also try and stay out of his stepfadir’s way.  When Eiric is put on trial for killing his stepfadir, he knows that there isn’t going to be a good outcome since the jury is made up of his stepfadir’s family.  Reggin is a performer who is controlled by a fire demon.  She wants to get away and when two wyrdspinners offer to train her, she thinks it is an offer she can’t refuse.  These two stories alternate throughout the book and readers will willingly anticipate when they will converge.

Children of Ragnarok is the first book in the Runestone Saga series.  This series is different than many of Chima’s other series because it takes place during the time of the Vikings, but as a person who enjoys books and TV shows about this time period, I willingly jumped into this one.  There is a lot of world-building and character development, but the time spent on these pages adds so much to the story that readers won’t be bothered by it.  I enjoyed the start of this new series and can’t wait for the next book to be published.

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