Fiction Archives - Page 18 of 32 - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

Favorite Book of March (Fangirling on Friday)

By Brookelorren on April 5, 2019April 4, 20194 Comments

It’s Friday again, which means it’s time to fangirl! Today’s Fangirling on Friday topic is “Favorite of March”. I read so many great books this last month, so even though I have one book in mind, I also have several honorable mentions.

So I think I’m going to give the favorite book of the month award to Sky without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell! This was a great book. I loved the main characters, Chatine and Marcellus, and I hope that when the next book comes out I get to see more of them together. Of course, Alouette is an interesting character as well, but I’m hoping for Chatine and Marcellus to get together.

The book is described as Les Miserables meets The Lunar Chronicles. I need to read both of those books, but I haven’t yet. Why? Well, maybe because of the other 300 books on my TBR…

I read so many good books last month, but I should give an honorable mention to The Grisha Verse books by Leigh Bardugo. So I started reading Shadow and Bone in February, but in March I read Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising. I completely ship Malina! I also listened to Six of Crows on audiobook (same universe, different story). They were all good.

In March I found out that Leigh Bardugo is releasing a book on October 1st (what’s up with that date… it’s also the date Rebel and The End and Other Beginnings comes out) called Ninth House. I want to pre-order that book, but I looked at my budget for this month, and since I’m meeting Sandhya Menon next week, I’m getting When Dimple Met Rishi instead. I’m sure I can pre-order her book next month, but October is still six months away, so there’s plenty of time to come up with $22 between now and then.

So that’s my favorite from March. What were your favorites?

Dollars and More…

By Brookelorren on April 4, 2019March 28, 2019Leave a Comment

Dollars is the second book in the Dollar series by Pepper Winters. It was another book that was difficult to put down. After reading Pennies, I was happy that my library had this one ready to read (I had to request that they buy Hundreds, I’ll probably buy the last two books). It is far less disturbing than the first book, and deals with a person in recovery.

Because this is the second book in a series, there are spoilers.

Dollars starts where Pennies leaves off. Elder has rescued Pimlico from Alrik, but the damage done from over a year of abuse has already occurred. Not only is her mind damaged to the point where she can’t even wear clothes without being uncomfortable, her tongue is damaged and her body bears the scars and burdens of someone much older than she is.

Even though she has been “rescued”, she still is not free. Pimlico may be in a gilded cage rather than a torture chamber, but she still belongs to someone. With her damaged mind, will she ever be able to be truly free? There’s a scene where Pimlico and Elder are on a business trip and Elder runs into someone who plans on attending one of the auctions run by the same company that sold her in the first place. Her mind nearly shatters again at that. She fears that she might be sold again.

In Dollars, we get to know the mysterious Elder, although there is still much about his past that needs to be revealed. He says he’s dangerous, but there doesn’t seem to be much that he does to hurt Pim.

The book was difficult to put down. It’s hard to put a finger on why, but there’s something about this book that was addictive. Fortunately, Dollars isn’t as dark as Pennies, otherwise I’d have trouble finishing this series. Pim and Elder are obviously developing an attraction to each other, but Pim still refuses to talk.

Pennies is still free (probably with the hopes of sucking you into the rest of the series) and Dollars and the rest of the series is reasonably priced. I haven’t had the chance to read any of the series past Hundreds, but I do plan on reading the last two books at some point. If you liked Pennies, I recommend continuing with this book.

Pennies is Dark But Worth More

By Brookelorren on April 3, 2019March 28, 2019Leave a Comment

I got Pennies for free last November; it came with a matching audiobook at the time. I figured if I got more audiobooks, I’d be able to read more books in general. I had been interested in reading A Boy and His Ribbon by the same author, so I figured I might as well pick it up.

This is definitely not a YA book. It’s fairly disturbing. But it’s worth reading if you’re okay with that.

Tasmin is strangled, revived, then renamed as Pimlico and sold as a sex slave when she was eighteen. She endures brutal treatment by the jerk that bought her, whose name is Alrik, but she is expected to refer to as Master A. After two years, she is just a shell of what she used to be, half starved and covered with scars and bruises.

Will she ever escape this living hell before death claims her? At one point this book seems hopeless and you know something has to change, or it wouldn’t be a good story. Fortunately, it does.

Alrik invites a client over, Mr. Prest, who sees Pimlico for what she is: a slave. He’s not a very nice guy himself and doesn’t want to get involved. Any involvement on his part could result in worse treatment. When he leaves, you want him to come back and take her away. You’ll just have to read the book to find out what happens next.

The book is very dark and hard to read at points, but fortunately, even though Pimlico undergoes extremely harsh treatment, we don’t have to read any graphic rape scenes or anything like that. We just know that it is happening. You have to feel sorry for her, want her to escape, and want her tormentors to see justice.

Pennies is difficult to put down. I stayed up a little bit to late so I could finish it. There are more books to this series, and you’ll want to find out what happens next, so you’ll probably want to plan on reading the next books in the series at some point after this one.

King of Fools… On April Fool’s Day!

By Brookelorren on April 1, 2019April 1, 20192 Comments

Happy April Fool’s Day! It’s entirely a coincidence that I’m reviewing Amanda Foody’s King of Fools on April 1st; the book just happens to be coming out within a month and this was the next book on my list to review. I was provided with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

After beating the Shadow Game, Enne and Levi’s lives are about to change. Enne has earned a notorious reputation as her alter ego, Séance, and Levi’s gang is in ruins, but he wants to rebuild it. Levi sees a potential opportunity when Harrison, Vianca’s son, contacts him and wants to 1) win the upcoming election, and 2) see Vianca dead. The difficult part is going against Vianca when she has an omerta against him (and Enne).

While Levi is trying to rebuild his gang, Enne (Séance) is forming hers. Enne’s girl gang is a lot different than your typical gang. Instead of your typical guy clothes, these girls wear fancy gloves and skirts. And they have cats (so does that make them crazy cat ladies?).

King of Fools excels in many areas. First, the relationships are great. Levi and Jac’s friendship is tested in several ways, as is Levi and Enne’s budding relationship. There are several characters, not just Levi and Enne, that have lives and make independent decisions that drive this story. They also have to deal with their consciences and past demons. It’s well-done.

Another place where this book is great is in how it deals with power. Power (both among the gangsters on the lower rungs and among the powerful politicians) is a huge theme of this story. The way the politicians’ decisions affect the people’s lives and the way they fight back is great.

While this book kept me interested the whole time, it did seem to lag a little bit towards the middle, but then picked up and I stayed up a little too late so I could finish it.

The ending of King of Fools! I definitely plan on reading the next book because I want to find out what happens. I don’t want to say what happens because – spoilers – but the next book will definitely see some changes.

I definitely recommend King of Fools if you like power manipulation and exciting books with gangsters and a little magic. You’ll want to read Ace of Shades first though, if you haven’t, otherwise you might be lost.

Least Favorite Tropes (Fangirling on Friday)

By Brookelorren on March 29, 2019March 22, 20197 Comments

It’s Friday again, which means it’s time to Fangirl. Fangirling on Friday was started by Books in the Skye. Every week, we have something new to fangirl about.

Last week, we talked about our favorite tropes, and this week, we’re talking about our least favorite tropes. These sometimes even appear in my favorite books even, but they get overshadowed by the things I love about the books.

Unnecessary Love Triangles

Some love triangles are done well. Cassandra Clare handled the Will/Tessa/Jem and the Mark/Cristina/Kieran love triangles well; the book I’m writing right now, as well as a fanfic that I hope to write this year have love triangles in them. It’s just when a love triangle is thrown in there for no reason other than to increase tension that I’m not a fan.

In Divergent, there seems to be this hinted love triangle between Four/Tris/Uriah… fortunately, it doesn’t go very far, but in Allegiant, we get Nita and Matthew that seem to barge in. Do people really get jealous that easily? In Prodigy, all of a sudden Tess develops an interest in Day now that he’s fallen for June? The Anden/June relationship seems more realistic in that book, at least. I thought the Magiano/Adelina/Enzo love triangle in The Rose Society seemed realistic enough though.

If an author is going to do a love triangle, it should feel realistic… not just thrown in there to create tension.

Bad Boys Without a Soft Heart

No pictures, because I don’t spend a lot of time reading these kinds of books. I guess 50 Shades of Gray would be an example of this (I haven’t read it)? There are some boy (and girl) characters that I love that have done some bad things, but the bad is not typically who they are. Chatine from Sky Without Stars, who steals to survive, is an example (she’s a girl, but same concept). You don’t get into a relationship to reform a boy, right?

Weak Girls

So last week I said that I liked to read about strong girls, but on the other edge of the coin, I don’t like to read about weak girls. It’s probably a good thing that I never got around to reading Twilight, because I’ve read that Bella is the kind of girl that hangs onto her man and doesn’t really act much for herself.

While I thought The House of One Thousand Eyes had good historical information that was important to know about, there were aspects of the main character that frustrated me to no end. Lena, the protagonist, was foolish and allowed herself to be assaulted without doing something about it. I guess a corollary to not liking weak girls is I don’t like foolish, stupid girls either. Or boys.

Fortunately, I don’t read too many stories where the main premise of the book happens to be one of the above tropes. Maybe I’m lucky, those kinds of stories don’t appeal to me in the first place, or they’re just not popular enough with my reading friends to attract my notice.

Next week is already April, and I’m going to talk about which book was my favorite this month.

The Light Between Worlds

By Brookelorren on March 28, 2019March 25, 20194 Comments

I recently read The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth. Look at that cover! Plus, Ms. Weymouth is a really sweet lady, so I ended up pre-ordering her book. The Light Between Worlds is inspired by Narnia. Who doesn’t love Narnia? I found that my favorite aspect of this book didn’t have anything to do with C.S. Lewis’s world, however.

In The Light Between Worlds, Evelyn (the Lucy character) longs to return to Narnia, errr… The Woodlands, and is having difficulty functioning in the real world. Just like in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the characters spent years in the alternate universe, and when they returned to World War II Britain, they had to re-adjust to being children again. Evelyn couldn’t make that transition.

Philippa (the Susan character) would like Evelyn to become a functioning member of society again, and when it doesn’t happen, she’s frustrated, and this puts a strain on their relationship. Not only does Philippa feel guilt over what happens next, she feels guilt over a decision she made long ago…

The book is told in two sections, with the first half focusing on Evelyn’s voice, and the second half in Philippa’s.

Narnia Inspiration

To be honest, the Narnia inspiration was my least favorite aspect of this book. The Narnia books are still copyrighted until 2034. It doesn’t look like the Lewis estate is interested in allowing permission for an extension of their work. Another author, Francis Spufford, actually tried to get a Narnia work published; the estate won’t talk to him. So the book is like trying to tell the story without any of the original characters or the original world. Although we know who all the characters are supposed to be, it’s just not the same.

Where This Book Shines

Although I wasn’t exactly impressed with the Narnia inspiration, this book does shine when it comes to the relationship between sisters and how they deal with guild and depression. Philippa is overwhelmed with guilt. Evelyn is depressed because she had to leave the place where she felt most at home and could never return. I enjoyed the second half of the book (where this seems to be the main focus) better than the first part.

The setting, characters, and language of the book were nice enough and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for Narnia fanfiction, then you’re probably better off heading over to AO3 – there are thousands of stories there to choose from, and they don’t have to hide the characters behind false names. However, The Light Between Worlds is much more than just thinly disguised fanfiction. This is a fantastic story about sisters, guilt, and depression, and I recommend it for that aspect.

The Devouring Gray

By Brookelorren on March 25, 2019March 23, 20197 Comments

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman is a creepy novel about a small town that’s… just a little different than most small towns. I enjoyed it a lot and plan to read the second book when it comes out. Thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Violet is new to a town where everybody has known each other since they were babies. She soon discovers that even though she’s new to the town, her family’s roots in Four Paths run deep. Not only did her mother grow up in this town, her family is one of the founding families. While that might not mean much in most places, founder’s kids in Four Paths are revered, have special powers, and are tasked with protecting the town.

Oh, and Four Paths has a dangerous monster roaming about that kills people. No biggie.

As Violet gets adjusted to her new life in Four Paths, she learns about the town’s history, the long history between some of the kids, her powers, and the danger that lurks in the town. She also learns that… there may be some corruption in the town itself. While dealing with small-town politics and the monster lurking about in The Gray, she also has to deal with her family’s past and her own grief over the loss of her sister.

The Good

The Devouring Gray is a compelling story with delightful descriptions. The characters and friendships are complicated and realistic. The setting is creepy, and the small-town vibe is perfect for this book. I haven’t read Stephen King in a long while, but it reminded me of his books, with a lot less cursing and less gore.

The Downsides

The only downside I could see to this book is that there’s a little bit more head-hopping than I would prefer. One moment you’re reading through Violet’s eyes, the next paragraph you’re in one of the other character’s heads. The ARC’s format could have contributed to that a bit, as it still needed to get the paragraph breaks fixed an all that (the finished copy shouldn’t have these problems) but it still switches between POVs a little often. That was the only drawback I could see to this book.

Conclusion

While The Devouring Gray wraps up nicely, there’s more to this story. I enjoyed this creepy book, and plan to read the next book when it comes out.

Tower of Dawn

By Brookelorren on March 22, 2019March 13, 2019Leave a Comment

Tower of Dawn is the sixth book in Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series. Like the other later books in this series, this book is epic in size, but it’s well worth the read.

I was sad to say goodbye to Aelin and her friends to read this book, but a lot goes on in this book that will tie into the big finale when I finally get around to reading Kingdom of Ash.

Chaol and Nesryn have traveled to the Southern continent in hopes of finding a healer that might be able to repair Chaol’s broken body. At the same time, they’re hoping to find some allies to help them in the upcoming war. Here, we find more major worldbuilding going on, as well as some new characters. In a book series this epic, it can be a little difficult to keep track of everyone and every place. Fortunately, there are plenty of clues for those of us who get a little hazy on the details after a while (it’s been a few months since I read the last book with Chaol in it, Queen of Shadows. I can imagine what it would be like if you haven’t read that book since it was first released!).

Chaol’s healer Yrene is talented, but she has a few things against the old king, and she initially takes this out on Chaol. Yrene is a complex character like many other people in this series, and I enjoyed learning about her and her family. Eventually, Yrens is able to see Chaol as more than just the former king’s Captain of the Guard.

The royal family in Tower of Dawn is roughly based on the khaganate, which I thought was pretty cool to see. As a student of history, it was interesting to see elements of this historical civilization come to life.

You won’t want to skip over Tower of Dawn and move straight to Kingdom of Ash, because there are some significant revelations you’ll find in this book. My husband is better at guessing where plots are headed than I am, but I was surprised at some of the things that were revealed. Plus, you want to find out whether Chaol is healed or not.

I don’t think Tower of Dawn was my favorite book in the series, but I still enjoyed it a lot and was glad to read it. Perhaps the only drawback to this book is that 700 pages can be a bit much sometimes. Anyway, if you’ve followed this series so far and liked it, I recommend you continue with this book.

Favorite Tropes (Fangirling on Friday)

By Brookelorren on March 22, 2019March 13, 20196 Comments

It’s Friday again, which means it’s time to fangirl. Fangirling on Friday is hosted by Books in the Skye. This week, we’re talking about favorite tropes.

Cinnamon Roll Boys

I’m not a big fan of bad boys in fiction. I was never attracted to them in real life, and I don’t really care for them in fiction either. That doesn’t mean that they can’t be strong either, I just love when they’re super-sweet, even though they might have gone through some things.

Maybe this is why I just love certain authors? I just love Four and Akos from Veronica Roth’s Divergent and Carve the Mark, or Magiano from the last two books of Marie Lu’s Young Elites series.

Enemies to Lovers

I tend to love the enemies to lovers trope as well. Bonus points if the boy is a soft, squishy cinnamon roll! I think this might be one of the reasons why I enjoyed Echoes by Alice Reeds. Fiona and Miles didn’t really have a reason to be enemies, and once they figured this out, they discovered they were into each other. Marie Lu’s Legend is a classic enemies to lovers story that I just have to read again every once in a while. I have my fingers crossed that Chatine and Marcellus from Sky Without Stars will have their own love story in the sequel.

Strong Girls

I don’t think all girls need to be deadly and kick butt like Aelin in the Throne of Glass series, but I do prefer girls that have some spine to them, like Keralie from Four Dead Queens or Nathalie in Spectacle. A lot of Cassandra Clare’s female characters aren’t pushovers either, even if they don’t always make the smartest decisions (but who does?).

Perhaps I tend to like strong female characters because I tend to be pretty stubborn myself. Whatever the reason, a strong female character will often give a book bonus points in my mind.

Next week for Fangirling on Friday, we’ll talk about my least favorite tropes. See you then!

Empire of Storms

By Brookelorren on March 21, 2019June 3, 2019Leave a Comment

One of the outstanding books I’ve read this year is Empire of Storms, the fifth installment in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. A part of me was disappointed to finish the book and move on to Tower of Dawn (although I wasn’t disappointed with that book either). I still have to finish Kingdom of Ash, which I’m looking forward to reading this spring.

Aelin is supposed to be the queen of Terrassin, but not everybody wants to see her that way. Even a girl with a queenly bloodline that can incinerate cities as easily as taking a walk through the park needs supporters, and with the dire situation of the world, she can’t exactly incinerate her way onto the throne. Aelin makes some very shrewd decisions that I’m sure will pay off when we rejoin her in Kingdom of Ash.

Empire of Storms spends a lot of time with different points of view. Sometimes I was disappointed in leaving one POV for another, but the story kept on building and it was great nonetheless. There are many great characters in this book, and even though Chaol is gone from the scene (for now), many of them meet up for an epic showdown towards the end of the book.

The ending of Empire of Storms was absolutely crazy. I’m not sure if I had been Aelin I would have made the same decision she did, but she did what she thought was right and I can’t wait so see how everything works out in Kingdom of Ash. It’s an ending where you are left scratching your head and wondering how they’re going to make it.

There is some mature content in this book that isn’t in the previous ToG books, so I wouldn’t recommend this for younger teens. Aelin and Rowan do find some time alone… and end up enjoying it quite a bit.

The worldbuilding here is epic and as a writer… I just hope that I can do worldbuilding even a fraction as well in my books as in these. The territory is so vast that as a reader (who didn’t binge read the series) I sometimes have difficulty keeping track of all the towns and people, but I always have a general idea of where they are on the map, so I don’t really need to. The world is populated with animals and magical creatures that Lysandra (the shape-shifter) must have had a blast with.

The whole plot is so complex and involved that I can tell it took a lot of planning to create it. But real world wars are complex too… that’s why historians write volumes on events like World War I.

If you’ve enjoyed the previous Throne of Glass books, I recommend you continue with Empire of Storms. I thought it was great and can’t wait to finish the story with Kingdom of Ash soon.