My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
For her sixteenth birthday, Louise le Blanc’s mother gave her three things: a sacrificial altar, a ritual knife, and a wicked scar.
Lou’s death would have ended the ancient war between the Church and witches, but Lou refuses to become a martyr. Forsaking her coven, she escapes to the gloomy city of Cesarine and hides her magic as a thief in the criminal underworld. But life in Cesarine has its own dangers. Huntsmen roam the city revered as holy men. Witches burn without trial. And the Archbishop, the Church’s austere patriarch, revels in violence.
As a huntsman, Reid Diggory lives by one verse: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
He's devoted his entire life to eradicating the occult and making his surrogate father, the Archbishop, proud. Finally given the chance to capture a witch of his own, Reid is devastated when a foul-mouthed thief thwarts him—and doubly devastated when she too disappears. Hell-bent on bringing her to justice, Reid vows she won't escape again. But when Lou tricks him into public scandal trying to avoid capture, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage.
Marriage to a huntsman could provide real protection from the witches—if Lou can convince Reid she isn’t one herself. The secret proves difficult to keep as Lou begins practicing magic in secret within the heart of the Church, determined to prepare for her mother’s inevitable return. As time passes, however, Lou discovers yet another danger lurking: her own growing feelings for her husband. But Reid is still dangerous. He’s just as likely to tie her to the stake as defend her if he learns her true identity. With enemies closing in—and more than her own life at stake—Lou must decide who she can trust before it's too late…and she's not the only one with a secret.
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REVIEW
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Ah, how I missed a refreshing YA with witches, hunters, forbidden romance and lots of cursing! (well technically it's funny and not that bad).
Serpent and the Dove transport us into an Empire that reminds you the French empire of the 18th century but filled with different kinds of witches, zealot hunters who are hell-bent on destroying them and a plot that could destroy the whole world.
Lou is one witch in hiding, due to some really bad circumstances, and when one misunderstanding leads her on marrying Reid one of the best Hunters, her secrets are threatened. I liked how slowly both came to love each other. Arranged marriages in YA were usually for royal couples and I loved seeing something fresh and new.
The history of the world was quite interesting and I could let the book go. When action picked up my heart broke with the revelations. I seriously can't wait for the next book!
About the author:
Shelby's favorite books include A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and, of course, Harry Potter.
Her debut novel, SERPENT & DOVE, will release from Harper Teen in Fall 2019, with a sequel to come the following year. She is represented by Sarah Landis of Sterling Lord Literistic.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh welcomes you to a remote town on the edge of the world where even the blinding brightness of the sun can’t mask the darkness that lies deep within a killer…
On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbors; the children, more than schoolmates.
That is until one fateful summer—and several vanished bodies—shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement not to look back. But they can’t run from the past forever.
Eight years later, a beautiful young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape.
It’s not long before the dark past collides with the haunting present and deadly secrets come to light.
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REVIEW
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I love Nalini Singh and her books. I've devoured every one of them and listened to the audiobooks. So I was quite surprised when she announced her debut in the suspense/thriller genre. A Madness of Sunshine takes place in New Zealand, where there is beauty and wilderness and monsters lurk in the dark.
It's in the Golden Cove, a small town, where Anahera returns after the death of her husband. The first line hooks you from the beginning and as the mystery progress with lots of suspects and hidden secrets, you realize that nobody is safe. The romance took second place in the book and I liked the outcome quite much.
The surprise of the true murderer left me astonished! I didn't expect this and it was a very satisfying feeling to have a book that kept me on my toes and surprised me.
I don't know if Nalini will write anymore in this genre but I wouldn't mind her if she did! She is an amazing author.
About the author:
I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).
So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the world of the Lux with The Burning Shadow, the steamy, shocking second installment of the Origin series that will leave readers reeling.
When Evelyn Dasher crossed paths with Luc, she was thrown headfirst into the world of the Lux―only to discover that she was already far more involved in their world than she ever suspected.
Because the Luxen aren’t the only ones with a hidden past. There’s a gap in Evie’s memory, lost months of her life and a lingering sense that something happened, something she can’t remember and nobody is willing to tell her. She needs to find out the truth about who she is―and who she was. But every answer she finds only brings up more questions.
Her search for the truth brings her ever closer to Luc, the Origin at the center of it all. He’s powerful, arrogant, inhumanly beautiful, extremely dangerous…and possibly in love with her. But even as Evie falls for him, she can’t help but wonder if his attraction is to her, or to the memory of a girl who no longer exists.
And all the while, a new threat looms: reports of a flu-like, fatal virus that the government insists is being spread by Luxen. A horrifying illness that changes whoever it touches, spreading panic across a country already at its breaking point.
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REVIEW
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Well, you have to give credit to Jennifer for always keeping me on my toes and having my heart being torn open! WOWOWOWOW!
What happened? How did we go from a mystery about the true enemy back to a conspiracy and tragedy!? I have to admit that despite the slow pacing, the book dropped hints about everything and as Luc, Evie and gang tried to solve everything they realized that the enemy is everywhere.
I liked the second book; I can honestly admit that I never suffer from SBS (Second Book Syndrome) while reading Jennifer's books. The romance progressed in a hot, swoony way, there was action, wild action with fighting and both winning and losing and Evie was the one who had to discover everything in the hardest way. The ending was also a cliffhanger so I guess 2020 can't come fast enough?
About the author:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
Sixteen-year-old Ariadne’s whole life is curated and shared with the world. Her royal family’s entertainment empire is beloved by the tabloids, all over social media, and the hottest thing on television. The biggest moneymaker? The Labyrinth Contest, a TV extravaganza in which Ariadne leads fourteen teens into a maze to kill a monster. To win means endless glory; to lose means death. In ten seasons, no one has ever won.
When the gorgeous, mysterious Theseus arrives at the competition and asks Ariadne to help him to victory, she doesn’t expect to fall for him. He might be acting interested in her just to boost ratings. Their chemistry is undeniable, though, and she can help him survive. If he wins, the contest would end for good. But if she helps him, she doesn’t just endanger her family’s empire―the monster would have to die. And for Ariadne, his life might be the only one worth saving.
Ariadne’s every move is watched by the public and predestined by the gods, so how can she find a way to forge her own destiny and save the people she loves?
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REVIEW
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
The ever knowing myth of the Minotaur gets a new, mote twisted and yet amazing, version in Emily Roberson's book. Think about what would happen if the Minoan antiquity met with the Kardashians, Greek Mythology and also had a splash of The Hunger Games.
Terrifying right?
Ariadne lives a life in the cameras. Despite desperately trying to avoid attention her life is filled with them. King Minos, Daedalus, and Icarus use the Labirynth and the Minotaur as a game of death where every year 14 youths from Athens have to compete. Whoever kills the Minotaur becomes as rich as Hades and yet no one has ever won. When young Theseus arrives and he meets Ariadne the clock will start ticking for all and deadly secrets will rise.
First of all, I have to say that there is mention to bestiality here. If you know the myth then you know how Minotaur was born. Another interesting aspect is the absence of the gods. Everyone claims that they act as the gods want and yet truly everyone succumbs to their own vices and hurtful choices. This was well pointed in the book.
Ariadne's family is the worst role model you will ever have. Well, truthfully few families in the mythological chronology were actually good role models but this one gets the award of the worst. Emily Roberson has researched about the mythological royal family and it shows. Ariadne's sisters live a life in the cameras, to the point of pimping themselves, Minos is the man behind everything, a true channel owner/mafia king and Pasiphae, the queen is the worst mother, who encourages her daughters to act the way they do. All in the name of revenge.
The ending was satisfying; it may have felt a little rushed and I would have wanted a different ending, but I think that above all, Ariadne was the one who found her true peace; she became free.
About the author:
Emily's facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emily-...
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