The Divine and the Cursed (Fae of Alastríona, #1) by J.E. Reed Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The Divine and the Cursed is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

This book is the best thing Stuff Your Kindle Day has ever given me - it had me absolutely gagged the entire time, and the only reason I did not finish it in one sitting was because my eyes could not stay open any longer. I have been searching high and low for a new fantasy series to get into, and The Divine and the Cursed delivered everything I could have imagined, and so much more. 

I loved the premise of this story, and the characterization of our female lead, Arianna, was fantastic -- she is strong and stubborn, and truly made a great protagonist to follow. Not to mention Rion, more commonly referred to asThe Demon, who immediately had me giggling and kicking my feet over. A general feared by all, with such a complex backstory accompanying well-paced development, he is one of my new favorite male leads in fantasy.

The relationship between Arianna and Rion was something so interesting to see unfold, and Reed does an excellent job at pacing their development so that the reader is truly able to see them individually grow alongside one another. Both characters have such tortured pasts, and watching them both have to come to terms with what they have been through and how they are connected to one another made an entertaining read. Side characters provided a great sense of support to the story, and the friendship between Arianna and Zylah was so important to Arianna's character growth and understanding of the consequences of war. I will admit, Talon got a little on my nerves, mostly because he reminded me so much of Chaol Westfall, and I have beef with that man. However, he completely changed my mind by the end of the book, and I have to say I will be rooting for him to find happiness and leave his crush on Arianna behind him.

As a lover of multiple point of views, this book was feeding me well, especially since they were in third person perspective - my preferred style of writing. In addition to having Arianna and Rion's perspectives, we get to see the story through a number of supporting characters, which in my opinion was a pretty good choice for this story. We as readers were subjected to seeing the plot from our main leads for the majority of the story, but the addition of more perspectives towards the end of the book really allows readers to get the full picture.

The action and battle scenes were great to read and easy to follow without leaving the reader confused on the sequence of events -- the elemental abilities of the characters makes excellent scenes. Watching different characters become one with their magic and form such strong senses of self as they utilize their abilities made the story even more intriguing.

Personally, I had so much fun reading this book, and after being in a major reading slump, this was exactly what I needed to knock some motivation into me to stay on track with my reading goal. This was a great first installment to a series, and I have not had this much fun reading a fantasy book in a long time. The potential for this story is certainly there, and I will definitely be continuing with Arianna and Rion's story to see it to the end.

For fans of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, this is certainly the series for you -- while it is not high fantasy, the action and subtle romance binds the story together that closely resembles a similar feeling and storytelling.

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The Wolf and the Witch (Witch Walker, #3) by Charissa Weaks Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of The Witch Collector and City of Ruin on my blog, now!

I have such a growing attachment to this series - it is such a great combination of fantasy, romance, and action - I truly speed through these, and the characters make the series even more entertaining the more you get to know them. After the ending of City of Ruin, I have been itching to get back into the series and see how everyone would recover from those events. The alternating perspectives throughout the novella really showcased Weaks' ability to connect multiple stories together without losing the integrity of the project as a whole.

Nephele's development throughout the series is a major highlight for me, and the way he is an absolute animal (literally and figuratively) had me kicking my feet. You can see the clear dimensions of the character, while the author is still able to keep some things a mystery. I absolutely loved seeing how Neri and Nephele interacted throughout this novella, and it was a treat to witness how strong their bond became as their story continued. The way they spoke about one another and to each other... oh I was eating it up and my jaw dropped several times.

The smut in this book... absolutely insane, the author out did herself. There was just enough that it earned the romantasy genre tag, and my goodness, the author knows how to write. The banter is sensational - Neri and Nephele's relationship is so intriguing and is one of the main reasons I have fallen into this series. They completely draw you in and make you entirely invested in their development - their tension is off the charts and you can physically feel their attraction come off the page. Weaks turned up the notch when it came to their more intimate scenes, and if this is only a small glimpse into their relationship, I can only imagine what happens in the next installment.

For fans of The Divine and the Cursed, this series is a must-read. A fantastic fantasy romance series that will pull the reader in and have them longing to see the characters have the endings they deserve. I honestly would have loved if this was longer! As a novella, I understand why the author chose to do so, but I would have read an entire full-length novel about Neri and Nephele. With phenomenal pacing and intriguing plots, the Witch Walker series is the romantasy lover's next read.

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Nights of Obedience (Vines & Venom, #1) by Rachel Mays Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Reader discretion is advised - for a list of complete content warnings, you can visit the author's website.

Emilie's family has thrown her into an arranged marriage to a widowed king in order to gain his favor, and even thought that is simply not what she wants for her life, she wants to make the most of the situation. When she arrives to meet Cyrus, her future husband, there is more to him and the kingdom than meets the eye - his brother, Ladon, poses an unruly bump in the road for her as she attempts to acclimate to being a future queen. The world building threw me off in the beginning chapters - I could not get a firm grasp of how modern the fantasy world was - they have kingdoms but also devices. In my mind, I was picturing a more technologically advanced kingdom in The Priory of the Orange Tree.

Cyrus is in his early forties.. potential age gap alert!! I know he is not the enemy in our enemies-to-lovers, but I have to say I was hooked on him for a bit. He is really only present for the first third of the book and then sprinkled throughout, but he is a character that I enjoyed and definitely added to Emilie's character development. Ladon... he reminds me so much of Rowan from the Throne of Glass series, and his attitude shift regarding Emilie is so gradual as they are in each other's presence more throughout the book.

The trauma Emilie and Ladon go through in this book truly had me jaw on the floor - I did not expect the amount of hardship they would endure. Mays does a great job of diving into both of their minds as they make sense of everything that is done to them, and with dual perspective chapters, we see how they feel internally and how they watch each other deal with it in their own ways. Reyna is such an evil character, but she is fleshed out in the most intense way that we do nothing but root against her since her introduction - I have not felt this type of anger towards a character in such a long time.

Emilie and Ladon's characterizations and perspectives really grab the reader and pull them in - you see the constant struggle they both go through, and while they have very different views on the world and on the situation they are in, they pair very well together. I do not think they would have been able to accomplish what they did in this book without being so differently from one another, they balanced each other out very well. I was shocked by the things they were put through, and the author was able to address their different reactions and how they coped very well - you could tell that a lot of care was taken when creating these characters.

I devoured this book - it reads so well and the pacing never leaves you wanting to set it down. This book was intense in more ways than one, but it was handled with a lot of grace. The relationship between Ladon and Emilie was just entrancing, and I could not help but love them since the moment they first met each other. The fantasy aspect of this book is not overwhelming, and it is easy to follow without overpowering the story. I will absolutely be finishing this duet, I just have to know how everything ends. For fans of The Divine and the Cursed by J.E. Reed, this is the perfect next read for you!

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The Last Storm (Rogue X Ara, #1) by J.D. Linton Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have been on yet another romance binge and needed a fantasy to cleanse the palette before diving right back into the romance genre - I downloaded this book - and the next two - on a Stuff Your Kindle Day a while back, and I figured now was a great time to finally crack it open. I am a big fan of a book with an enemies to lovers moment, and while I would not say Rogue and Ara are true enemies, they definitely have a distain for each other in the beginning that really lights s fire for their relationship.

Unexpected age gap win for me!!! I am not even joking when I say this but I was literally kicking my feet every single time Ara and Rogue would get into an argument or Rogue would be chasing this girl down whenever she tried to escape that castle. Forever grateful for a 26-year-old female lead because I was just tormented with a 15-year-old lead in another series and I though my brain was going to fall out of my skull. That being said, Ara has been so sheltered her entire life by her father, she often comes across as naive and impulsive - she does not understand the urgency of certain situations. She definitely turns a corner at one point and finally grasps the gravity of everything that is happening around her and takes accountability in attempt to held those around her.

Rogue's harshness towards Ara is more out of how he grew up rather than a trait he desires to exhibit, and watching him try to reign it in when he is with Ara was refreshing to see - though I did enjoy when he would acknowledge his harshness with pride. Ara shows similar traits to Rogue, but more in response to his actions and her uncertainty of the future - she is essentially attempting to protect herself by building walls, but that inhibits her abilities to get to her full potential and open up to Rogue. Watching their relationship develop and the banter between them blossom from stubbornness to grown fondness and teasing was very enjoyable. Their "hate" period could have lasted a touch longer than it did to really build up that tension, but I think the author did a decent job of setting up their hate to love.

The combination of Fae and dragon shifting was certainly something that I have not seen before - it was a unique premise, and I found that the author seemed to favor the Fae portion over diving too deep into the shifting aspect of the Fae's abilities. It turned out to all be for good reason in the book, but I did keep expecting the shifting to play a larger role. It would have been great to read more about the dragon shifters from the past to get an idea of what to expect - we get glimpses, but I really wanted to see this aspect further explored. I think this series has a lot of promise and it has definitely captured my attention enough that I will be continuing on with the next installment,

For fans of The Divine and the Cursed by J.E. Reed and The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, this fantasy series takes its readers on a romantic and action-driven story as Rogue and Ara discover things about themselves, their people, and their past.

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City of Ruin (Witch Walker, #2) by Charissa Weaks Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Witch Collector on my blog, here.

I really enjoyed The Witch Collector, and was excited to dive back into this story. The dynamic that Raina and Alexus formed throughout the first installment is stronger than ever in this book, and I loved seeing how much they relay on one another when it comes to recognizing their limitations. On the other hand, it was great to see how they supported each other when they knew they were capable of much more than they realized - especially, when it comes to Alexus aiding Raina's own development.

Alexus and Raina are giving Rhysand and Feyre a run for their money when it comes to being freaky in a tent when war is on the horizon. Their spicy scenes definitely got kicked up a notch, and they really were going at it like no tomorrow. That being said, at times the smut felt somewhat out of place, even more so when they would be worried about survival one minute and then getting their freak on the next. Meanwhile, Finn is as boring and third-wheeling as ever, basically giving Jeremiah Fisher from The Summer I Turned Pretty a run for his money.

I would have loved to see more action in this installment - at times, it felt as though we were running in circles about the same details over and over again, and then the author would jump to a new scene or switch perspectives. Considering the first book set up a pretty solid foundation of the world and its characters, I was unsatisfied with the plot points that should have had more impact on the story. There was just too many times that the plot was abandoned so that Raina and Alexus could get it on, and while those chapters were great, it became too repetitive.

Alexus, my man... top tier book boyfriend material. Completely obsessed with how he always puts Raina above all else, and even when she hates what she does, he does it because he cares so deeply for her. I loved how much you could visibly see how much he loves her, and how he is constantly making people aware that they are together, even when people do not support their relationship.

The last third of this book really picked up and had me locked in - it felt as though so much was happening and so many truths were being revealed. The ending totally had my jaw on the floor, and I was screaming at my book the second I realized what was going on. I will definitely be continuing on with this series, and I would recommend it to fans of The Divine and the Cursed by J.E. Reed.

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