I loved Axil and Vork, Bryk wasn’t to my taste, but Jorg intrigued me. My curiosity was well-met, in that Ava Ross did me right and delivered me a sensitive, wounded, badass, who was there to snap necks without worrying about names, to save his damsel. Oh, swoon–this Crakairian is just as wacky as he is deadly, but I blame that dichotomy on his flower garden.
So a Crakairian, human, TX-75, and a creelet jump into a glorm hole, and the TX-75 says… it could actually be a joke, so don’t squint your eyes.
First of all, let me get this off my chest. After how many titles, how come Amo Jones still can’t get a calendar and timeline down? Hers never make a lick of sense! You can’t tell me that an event happened, the next day someone was acting strange, and then they disappeared and then later tell me sixteen days happened within that one day and expect me to understand the plot. Time doesn’t work like that.
/rant
Jade and Royce are inseparable. Royce’s family fostered Jade as a child and adopted her, she and Royce and his friends were tight like Spanx, and everyone could see the writing on the wall that they weren’t sibling-like as they grew older.
/start rant
If you are adopted, then you are no longer a foster; you are an adopted sibling. It’s semantics, yes, but, still, you aren’t what the author says you are through-out the entire freaking book. Either way, you aren’t blood-related and in the world of one-percenter who really would care, but why in the hell misidentify the situation? I can call my chocolate cake lunch for the entire afternoon because I ate it midday and say it’s an essential point to this review, and it would make as much damn sense as calling her a foster when she’s adopted.
/rant
Just when life is all perfect, and nothing could go wrong, Jade experiences Royce’s worst betrayal. And her entire life goes to crap. No spoiler here–this is an Amo Jones book that is just the start of the book.
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Title: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout Genre: Fantasy Release Date:01 September 2020
Summary:
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, the second book in the thrilling and captivating A Blood and Ash Series by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout, is available now.
Is Love Stronger Than Vengeance?
A Betrayal…
Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.
A Choice….
Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.
A Secret…
But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.
Title: Faust University Author: M. Dalto and Laynie Bynum Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Faust University is an assemblage of so many Academy Reads; I don’t know where to start comparing. The book, tongue firmly in cheek, compares it’s invite process to Harry Potter; we can knock that one out. Then I was stuck thinking of Magicians by Lev Grossman, Wonderland Academy by Melanie Karsak, Celestial Academy by Sarah Biglow and Molly Zenk, and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead as I read it. There were many times Faust Academy picked up on other Paranormal Academy novels before it. Still, when something works, it works for a reason, and the plot of Faust Academy has a lot of real estate. While I was often distracted by the similarities to previous novels I read, I enjoyed the narrative.
Eve gets an invite to a private university, and like magic, she is whisked away to this strange place. Upon arriving, she finds it bizarre and secretive, and even more discussions of sorcery are taking place, summoning and beast mastering, to name a few. She has an instant connection with her new friend, and all goes awry when the two find they have an even more substantial relationship.
There is being a badass and just being a bad character, and in Ravage, Esmeray is often a poorly written character who has crossed that fine line.
Revere introduces us to Esmeray and her mates: Bron Drake, Lucian Silver, and Dwade Luther…
–Dwade is still a nonsense name in my book and far from sexy. Should we Dwade into the swamp? Dwading in lakes is far better. See, that is what comes to mind when I hear Dwade. /tangent–
…And we learn about the sexy, no-no-relationship situation the three men are keeping from Rayne and Esmeray; no one knows that Esmeray is their mate. But now Rayne has been murdered, and Esmeray is at the Royal Fae Academy, and keeping the sexy Dark Fae from doing what comes naturally to her without spilling their guts is proving impossible to Bron, Lucian, and Dwade.
If you yearn for slow-burn romances, then Internship with the Devil is the book for you.
Grace Turner needs an internship to finish her degree, but she can’t believe her bad luck when she finds that the good looking, bad-spirited, former football player, with a chip on his shoulder, Brock Anderson, is her boss. Worse, he’s pigeon-holed her as incompetent on-sight.
One of the things Jaqueline Snow does in this book is to focus on relationship growth and character development. While this is good in a lot of ways, I found that it bogged down the pacing. Even though the interactions were snappy and sassy, the relationship status was monotonous. I needed something more than this forward constant. Maybe, I’m not a slow-burn romance girl, but late-late pay-off feels like a tease instead of a reward.
Hmmm. Are all Tayseers essentially the same? The Blind Horseman reminded me a lot of the Alpha Collects, and it wasn’t anything heavy-handed that came to mind; it just felt like a hundred little things that kept pelting me. It was as if things were coming full circle but also all over again.
The Hordesman series ends with this book, all the offspring having their HEAs. Tayseer, much like his namesake, finishes this series, and instead of being a collector, he’s a warlord like his father, Loven. Still on the search for the Impostor and sent on the king’s mission, and by the word of the real King Father, to rid the earth of all of the Impostor’s assets, Seer is battling a future that includes his own coronation. He wants to war, not be king.
