Shadow of the Fox, by Julie Kagawa

Format: e-ARC, 416 pages

Publisher: Harlequin Australia, HQ YA

Published: September 23, 2018

ISBN: 9781489267368

Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy, Teens & YA

Back cover blurb: One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.

With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself.

My review: Julie Kagawa has been a bit of a hit-or-miss author for me, but I was keen to try her take on Japanese mythology after enjoying the Talon series. The prologue was incredible, but as things went on, and each chapter became more like “the journey continues…oh, and here’s another new demon to fight” without really progressing the plot with the scroll, I began to wonder why I was continuing. There is a slow-burn romance brewing, but I’m not sure I’m keen enough to bother with book two to find out if it eventuates. The ending did redeem the middle 300 pages, especially the very last scene, so I’m glad I persevered. If only there had been more Suki and Lady Satomi throughout.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 2.5/5

 

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Bright Blaze of Magic (Black Blade #3), by Jennifer Estep

Format: e-ARC, 368 pages

Publisher: Kensington

Published: April 26, 2016

ISBN: 9781617738289

Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy/ Teens & YA

Back cover blurb: Bad Things Always Come In Threes…

As a thief, I’m good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls.

Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families–and kill every last Sinclair. What they don’t know is that I’m on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I’ve got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side…

My review: All I can say is that this better not be the last we hear from Lila and Devon. This final part of the trilogy was perfect, with an epic battle, the settling of an old score, and – of course – young love blossoming between Lila and Devon. The stars of this story, alongside Lila, were the monsters of Cloudburst Falls, in particular the lochness, who is my personal hero. Absolutely loved him! He needs his own series, Ms Estep! It was also great to see the Pork Pit get a mention. This series has been a favourite of mine and it’s sad to see it end. I hope it’s not so much goodbye as just adieu for now.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 5/5

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Dark Heart of Magic (Black Blade #2), by Jennifer Estep

Format: e-ARC, 368 pages

Publisher: Kensington

Published: October 27, 2015

ISBN: 9781617738265

Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy/ Teens & YA

Back cover blurb: Something Wicked This Way Comes…

As a thief, I stick to the shadows as much as possible. But when the head of the Sinclair Family picks me to compete in the Tournament of Blades, there’s no escaping the spotlight—or the danger.

Even though he’s my competition, Devon Sinclair thinks I have the best shot at winning what’s supposed to be a friendly contest. But when the competitors start having mysterious “accidents,” it looks like someone will do anything to win—no matter who they hurt.

As if I didn’t have enough to worry about, mobster Victor Draconi is plotting against Devon and the rest of my friends, and someone’s going around Cloudburst Falls murdering monsters. One thing’s for sure. Sometimes, humans can be more monstrous than anything else…

My review: Another great installment in this new series by Ms Estep. This second book focuses around the Tournament of Blades – think Harry Potter’s Triwizard tournament – featuring competitors from all the main houses, including swoony Devon and our heroine, Lila. Deah Draconi is the reigning champion, which gives the Sinclairs added impetus to do well.

I really enjoyed the twists of the tournament and the revelations about Lila and the Draconis. Estep kept the action coming, and even though I figured out the baddie well in advance, the ending was very satisfying. Romance took a bit of a back seat to the action, but the UST between Lila and Devon finally came to a head – yay! The teaser for the next book has me giddy with anticipation for the third book. Oh, and another beautiful cover.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 5/5

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Stacking the Shelves #14

 

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Welcome back to Stacking the Shelves, a regular meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga’s Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the latest books you have added to your shelves, physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course e-books! Here is my haul from this week.

Purchased from iBooks

I recently read my first Gail Carriger book, which I absolutely loved, so this week I grabbed one of her short stories from iBooks, The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn’t, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar. Great title!

Paperback given as a gift

It was my husband’s birthday recently and he was given Good As Dead by Mark Billingham, which he read in a couple of sittings last weekend. I have now inherited it in the pile beside my bed, so it’s the first by that author on my TBR.

Purchased from Amazon

Finally, I bought a couple of books with similar titles from Amazon so I can use them in my Goodreads reading challenges. Finding a book title that starts with the letter Z is tricky, so I snapped up Zack by M. Malone and Zack by Sawyer Bennett. I know nothing about either of these authors and purely chose the books by their titles, so I hope they’re good.

Purchased from Amazon

So that’s it for this week. Keep an eye out for my reviews of these in coming weeks. So what new books did you pick up this week? Let me know in the comments.

Rogue, by Julie Kagawa

Format: e-ARC, 460 pages

Publisher: Harlequin Teen (Australia)

Published: May 1, 2015

ISBN: 9781743690888

Genre: YA paranormal

Back cover blurb:

“There are a dozen St. George soldiers hiding in that maze,” my trainer said. “All hunting you. All looking to kill you. Welcone to Phase Two of your training, hatchling.”

Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can’t forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he’d signed his own death warrant.

Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order’s headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember’s own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George.

A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?

My review: The blue cover was the first giveaway that this would be more about Cobalt/Riley, and in this book we find out a lot more about his past and his role in Talon 12 years earlier, as well as his position as the current rogue leader. As Ember also discovers, Cobalt is far from the carefree slacker she assumed him to be when they first met, and even though I’m still fiercely Team Garret, I grew to like Cobalt much more. 

This book is far more action-packed throughout than the first book, and the romance element is moved to the back-burner. That’s not to say there aren’t some swoony moments, but everyone is in peril too much for those moments to be prolonged. I admit I was a bit saddened by that – I loved the UST of the first book and missed it here.

Kagawa has written some epic twists, and the ending just broke my heart. I have hope for the next book – it’s called Soldier so must be about Garret and the Order – but according to Goodreads I have to wait until 2017 for it! Nooo! #TeamGarret  

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 4/5

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Stacking the Shelves #7

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Welcome back to Stacking the Shelves, a regular meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga’s Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the latest books you have added to your shelves, physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course e-books! Here is my haul from this week.

Approved Netgalley requests

Netgalley approved a few more of my requests this week, about which I am very excited. I received Rogue by Julie Kagawa, Broken Juliet by Leisa Rayven, and Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood, the latter of which isn’t published until December and doesn’t even have a cover yet.

Purchased from Amazon

Amazon sent me my pre-order of Overruled by Emma Chase, and from Audible I purchased Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn. I’m a big fan of both these authors.

Purchased from Audible

iBooks had Holly Smale‘s Geek Girl for free this week, so I grabbed that one as well. Can’t go past a freebie!

Freebie from iBooks

Not bad. Keep an eye out for my reviews of these in coming weeks. So what new books did you pick up this week? Let me know in the comments.

Cold Burn of Magic, by Jennifer Estep

Format: e-ARC, 368 pages

Publisher: Kensington

Published: April 28, 2015

ISBN: 9781617738241

Genre: YA paranormal

Back cover blurb: There Be Monsters Here. . .

It’s not as great as you’d think, living in a tourist town that’s known as “the most magical place in America.” Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power.

I try to keep out of it. I’ve got my mom’s bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.

But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend’s pawn shop, and I have to make a call–get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn’t. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I’m stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I’m going to end up just like her. . .

My review: The Elemental Assassin series is one of my favourites, so it was no surprise I jumped at the chance to get an ARC copy of Jennifer Estep’s first new Black Blade book. Lila Merriweather is like a teenage Gin Blanco: orphaned, kickass, has magical talent, and who gets her jobs from a shopkeeper with hidden connections. There is even mention of her holidaying in Ashland. Lila is just a teen, though, so she still goes to school and is more vulnerable than Gin, which gives us a lot of scope for development.

When a kidnapping attempt happens before her eyes in Mo’s shop, she is compelled to step in and help, earning her the gratitude of one of the ruling families but gaining an enemy of another. She ends up going to work for the Sinclair Family as bodyguard to the kidnapping target, Devon, a swoony boy Lila can’t help feeling attracted to despite their past.

I loved this book from start to finish, and read it in just a couple of sittings. Estep’s writing is fun and action-packed, and there is just enough UST between Lila and Devon to keep me wanting more. The secondary characters are well realised, and I especially liked Oscar the redneck pixie. The lochness is also a great addition to the story. Beautiful cover, fantastic story, and I can’t wait until book 2 comes out in October!

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 5/5

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Inescapable, by Amy A. Bartol

Format: Kindle edition, 368 pages

Publisher: Createspace

Published: August 29, 2011

ASIN: B005JZTP16

Genre: YA paranormal

Back cover blurb: My name is Evie Claremont and this was to be the making of me–my freshman year of college. I’d been hoping that once I’d arrived on Crestwood’s campus, the nightmare that I’ve been having would go away. It hasn’t.

I may be an inexperienced seventeen-year-old, but I’m grounded…sane. I look for rational explanations to even the strangest circumstances. Since meeting sophomore Reed Wellington, however, nothing makes any sense. Whenever he’s near, I feel an attraction to him–a magnetic kind of force pulling me towards him. I know what you’re thinking…that sounds fairly awesome. Yeah, it would be…if he liked me, but Reed acts as if I’m the worst thing that has ever happened to Crestwood…or him. But get this, for some reason every time I turn around he’s there, barging into my life.

What is the secret that he’s keeping from me? I’m hoping that it’s anything but what I suspect: that he’s not exactly normal…and neither am I. So, maybe Crestwood won’t be the making of me, but it could be the breaking of me. I’ve been left to wonder if the dark future my dream is foretelling is…inescapable.

My review: Having loved Ms Bartol’s Kricket series so far, I thought it was about time I started her earlier work, given how much my friends had raved about it. Yes, at times it reminded me a lot of Twilight, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m not sure I entirely warmed to Reed, but I loved all the other secondary characters and Evie was a plucky heroine. The ending came as a complete surprise and I will certainly be reading the next book.

My rating: 4/5

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Talon, by Julie Kagawa

Format: audiobook, 12 hours and 32 minutes, narrated by Caitlin Davies, MacLeod Andrews and Chris Patton

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Published: October 28, 2014

ISBN: 9781483024776

Genre: YA paranormal

Back cover blurb: Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they’re positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon’s newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember’s bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

My review: I may have been one of the few people who didn’t much like Kagawa’s Iron Fey, mainly because I’m not a big fan of fairies, but dragons are another matter entirely. I really liked this, even though there was the usual YA love triangle and Ember seems more human than dragon most of the time. I’m definitely Team Garret and cannot wait until the next book is released next week.

My rating: 4/5

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