BOOK REVIEW: "Scavenge the Stars"

Although this is a re-telling of the Count of Monte Cristo, I haven't read the Count of Monte Cristo, so I took this story at face value, not affected by that comparison.

I liked the 2 main characters, Amaya and Caryo, and felt they were fleshed out pretty well. They weren't perfectly good or bad, but still tried to do the right thing, and I liked that about them most, especially Caryo. 

This book is the first in a series. The story is basically driven by secrets and revenge, so I kept feeling that once the revenge is meted, and the secrets are revealed, much of the wind would be taken out of the story's driving force. This did happen, but by the end of the book, the secrets kept multiplying and the revenge became multi-layered, and the story was neatly set up for the next in the series.

The pace was moderate, and there were times the action lagged, but it kept my interest and I liked the little twists we kept getting along the way. I would have liked more world-building and more information about the political climate and surrounding countries, but based on the end of this book, I'd guess that will be covered more in the next installment.

Overall, I liked this story, and am definitely interested in reading the next book in the series! 3.5 stars.

"Scavenge the Stars" publishes January 7, 2020.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for a copy of an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Wolf and the Shadow"

This book was an entertaining read.  I really liked this world's norm of M/M heirs being arranged in marriage, just the same as M/F.⁣

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I felt that the enemies to lovers relationship of the 2 main characters took up the bulk of the story, and it was sweet, albeit a little too fast, going from mutual disdain to heart-wrenching love in a couple of weeks.⁣

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In fact, the whole story felt kind of rushed, and the characters were just moving on from one death-defying situation to another; I felt a little tired on their behalf. This kept the action coming, but it also unfortunately meant that the world (more magic, please!) and the characters lacked the opportunity to build any real depth.⁣

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Overall, this is the perfect book for a nice, quick read with a bit of adventure and a sweet love story; nothing too deep. ⭐⭐⭐💫 📚69/52⁣

"The Wolf and the Sparrow" releases on November 25.

Thanks to NetGalley and Nine Star Press for an ARC in exchange for my review.

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BOOK REVIEW: "BEHIND THE DRAGON'S VEIL"

This story has all things awesome: dragon shapeshifters, powerful scorcerers, steampunk contraptions, overthrown queens, exiled kings and tons of twists! 

The story unfolds gradually, and is told through 3 different POV. Some characters have secrets, so their narrative is full of hints and not-fully explained thoughts, which confused me a bit, especially at the mid-way point where a lot of the action takes place and some pretty significant revelations are made. Also, the shift in POV was sometimes jarring, and I'd have to re-read a bit.

I liked the growth of our MC Ann, and how she was strong and brave, but not obnoxiously so. Finding out about the other characters and how their identities added to the plot was interesting, too.

The main conflict was resolved, but there are still loose ends to deal with for the second book. I made the mistake of reading the excerpt of the second book, and it left off with a cliffhanger! 

Overall, this had some unique characters, which I'd like to learn more about, and interesting plot ideas. Although a bit confusing at times, this was an entertaining read.  3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and SilverSwallowPress for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Guinevere Deception"

I really wanted to love this book! I've read TH White's OaFK and have memorized the movie Merlin (the older one with Sam Neil & Helena Bonam-Carter) so I love the legend of Arthur.

The first 50% of the book was painfully boring. This is a book about knights and magic and inexplicably there was no action! 

So "Guinevere" is sent by Merlin to protect King Arthur from a magical attack. She arrives to Camelot in the guise of being his wife. But she doesn't know anything about the threat, she is ill-prepared for life as a queen, and her magic skills are minimal, limited to "knot magic". 

The first half of the book can be summarized: "Guinevere sneaks through Camelot, tying knots, bumbling around, jumping to conclusions, complaining about the boring duties of a queen, pining for Arthur, and worrying about her limited magic abilities." That's it. Seriously.

The second half finally picks up with some action and some (predictable) revelations. Even so, a lot is left unanswered, in preparation for the following books in the series. 

I feel this book is geared toward a younger audience, as the concepts are pretty simplistic, man vs magic, good vs evil. The insta-love and weak love triangle are my least fave tropes, so I found them annoying. The characters lacked any real depth, so I did not connect to them. There was really no tension in the story, and no strong compulsion to find out what happened next.

Overall, I almost DNF'd this because of the first half of the book, but the second half hints that it might be worth trying the second book.

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and DeLaCorte Press for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.