Milky Way of Books: Pandemic Edition & Blog Update

When did we leave the book pages and our life became a live-action movie of a dystopian novel? Welcome my dear friends to this post of Milky Way of Books.

It feels like weeks since the movement restriction and ban of the movement were instituted here in Greece. We are all at home, not going anywhere, unless we have special forms filled or have sent to the system a special SMSM stating our destination.


I am also working from home so that's the good thing. Due to the businesses closing everywhere at least I am no afraid of my job.

On the bright side being at home has helped me with my GoodReads challenge, although my inspiration for writing blog reviews has diminished.

So in this little update, I was to say that the blog will go on a wee bit of a hiatus until the shitshow with the covid-19 passes and all of us return back to normal. I wish you all to be safe, stay at home with your loved ones and if you can enjoy a good book.

ARC Review: "Crystal Caged" (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles #5) by Elise Kova


Crystal Caged by Elise Kova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads

The highly anticipated and breathtaking finale of Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles by USA Today bestselling author Elise Kova.
One way or another... she will be the end of the world.
With powers that weren't supposed to be touched by mortal hands, Vi Solaris is determined to free herself and the world from the deadly vortex it's trapped in. This mission has taken her to forbidden lands and has transformed her from a sheltered princess to a fearsome warrior.
But the ultimate triumph requires the ultimate sacrifice, forcing Vi to choose between the last tethers to her humanity and the very people she's sworn to protect.
Vi's story of magic, sacrifice, triumph, and love reaches its epic conclusion in Crystal Caged. Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles should be read in order:
Vortex Visions 
Chosen Champion 
Failed Future 
Sovereign Sacrifice 
Crystal Caged



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REVIEW

I received an e-ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

An explosive ending people! After reading the Air Awakens series and now having finished this one nothing will ever be the same! Vi and Taavin have time to save the world from both nefarious villains and a vengeful god...or do they?

As they travel through time slowly trying to find the relics and also outpace their enemies, Vi will discover more new people and also meet old loved ones. I loved this book. It was amazing to read it and see how Elise managed to cram all these surprises together and make me laugh and cry and feel for Vi and Taavin.

This series was in one word spectacular!









About the author:

Elise Kova is the USA Today bestselling author of stories filled with magic.

In her past lives, she has graduated from an MBA program, lived in Japan for a bit, and worked for a Fortune 500 technology company. However, she finds herself much happier in her current reincarnation as full-time author. When not writing, she can usually be found playing video games, drawing, watching anime, or talking with readers on social media. She's happy to call Saint Petersburg, Florida, her home, but is always looking forward to her next trip.

Waiting on Wednesday: "A ​Sky Beyond the Storm" (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir


Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here, at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you're continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.



Summary from GoodReads

Prepare for the jaw-dropping finale of Sabaa Tahir's beloved New York Times bestselling An Ember in the Ashes fantasy series, and discover: Who will survive the storm?

Picking up just a few months after A Reaper at the Gates left off...

The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory--or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life--and love--he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save--or destroy--all that he knows.
 



I mean this finale? After everything, they've been through!?




ARC Review: "Where Dreams Descend" (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles


Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.




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REVIEW

I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.


The Star, the Master, and the Magician aka Kallia, Jack and Demarco. What can I say about these characters and this mysterious world where magic comes at a price and there are far worse creatures lurking behind mirrors?

Where Dreams Descend is a fantasy set in a world where cities are both scary and magical and at the same time exists a forest that also tries to devour one of them. Into the forest Jack lives, having a private club rife with gambling and magic. With Kallia as his 'angel'.

When Kallia discovers treachery, she escapes and embarks to the city searching for a way to make her luck. A traveling circus and a Magician competition are the ways to do so.

Too bad women aren't allowed to be Magicians.

What I liked were the rife descriptions Janella Angeles gave to her world. I could feel the cold, the dread and the sparkle all at the same time with the characters that struggled to discover the mysteries behind the falling city.
But at the same time, I felt a little annoyed with Kallia. She was too cocky for me and sometimes she could have easily consulted with her new friends and find a solution to her problems. Demarco, who surely felt like a "Raoul" for me (from the Phantom of the Opera) also held more secrets and he could also be more developed. Thankfully the last pages of the book gave me a glimpse of the strong character he can grow to be.

I both loved and hated Jack. He is mysterious and definitely scary but in a way that reminded me both a stalker and a guardian. Since there was lots of worldbuilding here and not much revelations I'll anxiously wait to see what will happen in the second book since it ended in such a cliffhanger.




About the author:


Janella Angeles is a Filipino-American author who got her start in writing through consuming glorious amounts of fanfiction at a young age–which eventually led to penning a few of her own, and later on, creating original stories from her imagination. A lifelong lover of books, she’s lucky enough to be working in the business of publishing them on top of writing them. She currently resides in Massachusetts, where she’s most likely to be found listening to musicals on repeat and daydreaming too much for her own good. She is represented by Thao Le of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. WHERE DREAMS DESCEND, Book 1 in her debut fantasy Kingdom of Cards duology, will be out June 2, 2020 from Wednesday Books.

Waiting on Wednesday: "Daring and the Duke" (The Bareknuckle Bastards #3) by Sarah MacLean


Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here, at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you're continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.






New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with the much-anticipated final book in her Bareknuckle Bastards series, featuring a scoundrel duke and the powerful woman who brings him to his knees.

Grace Condry has spent a lifetime running from her past. Betrayed as a child by her only love and raised on the streets, she now hides in plain sight as queen of London’s darkest corners. Grace has a sharp mind and a powerful right hook and has never met an enemy she could not best...until the man she once loved returns.

Single-minded and ruthless, Ewan, Duke of Marwick, has spent a decade searching for the woman he never stopped loving. A long-ago gamble may have lost her forever, but Ewan will go to any lengths to win Grace back…and make her his duchess.

Reconciliation is the last thing Grace desires. Unable to forgive the past, she vows to take her revenge. But revenge requires keeping Ewan close, and soon her enemy seems to be something else altogether—something she can’t resist, even as he threatens the world she's built, the life she's claimed…and the heart she swore he'd never steal again.