Emilia Hart: Weyward

Emilia Hart, show the power of women who are considered Weyward:

Across the centuries there have always been Weyward women. Being Weyward was once accepted but when people do not understand something that not understanding turns to fear which turns to hatred. In 2019, Kate flees in the night from an abusive boyfriend, in 1619 Altha is in a dungeon awaiting trial for witchcraft and in 1942, Violet is trapped in a home, hidden away from the world as those around her wonder if she will go insane like her mother. Three different women, three different centuries with a story that is intertwined.

Wayward is a book that was talked about quite a bit in 2023 and I don’t know if I would have picked it up if a friend had not lent me a copy. I wasn’t sure if it was for me but man was I wrong. This book is Beautifully written and I found myself drawn to each woman in each century and although their stories are centuries apart, they are similar.  

Very much takes the stand that men are bad and the root of many problems women have faced throughout the centuries. Do I disagree with this fact? No but I wish there more to the story than that. The only redeeming male in the book at all is Graham, Violet’s brother and he is only featured briefly throughout the book, though I would argue he plays a major part and would have liked to have his POV at least once in the book. Within the other centuries there are no redeeming men at all.

I loved how the women interacted with nature, the bird the bugs, and in beautiful ways, not how witches are normally depicted with such understanding of nature. They are not the dark but the lights and should be loved and respected as much as other animals. 

Im a big fan of different timelines within a book and I felt that you get to know each century’s Weyward equally. This also helps show how men have really not evolved as much as one would like and how each man in the timeline blames the women for their actions against them.

I really enjoyed this book and so happy that I picked it up. Hart has crafted a beautiful story over multiple timelines and think that this book is worth the hype.

Enjoy!!!!

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Kelley Armstrong: Cold As Hell

In the third book of Kelley Armstrong’s Haven’s Rock series, all is not what it seems:

Blizzards are a natural occurrence when one lives in an isolated town in the middle of the Yukon. What is not common is Haven’s Rock is for a woman to be drugged during that blizzard and someone attempts to kidnap her. Even though the plan is thwarted Casey still needs to investigate where the drugs came from and who would was trying to drag her into the forest. The hunt is on for a dangerous person who uses the blizzards Mother Nature provides to their advantage.

The original series, Rockton, and this new spin off is one of the my favourites out there. I love that Armstrong is still inventive in her storylines and I each book does not repeat what has occurred before. Is there a bit of a formula sure, but Armstrong is always adding new factors to it.

Just when you think you know what is going on, it totally flips on you and i loved that about this book. I should know by now that Armstrong is more than likely going to surprise me and does she ever in this book. The hunt is on point and the sadistic nature of the perpetrator in this book is dark. This one is my favourite so far in the Haven Rock series so far.

The addition of Casey being pregnant in this book added a new dynamic not just to her relationship with Dalton but also her ability to investigate. One can only do so much with an 8-9month pregnancy especially in the wilderness in the winter.

I would be okay if Armstrong decided this was the last book in the Haven Rock series, but I dont hink that it will be. There are still some loose end and avenues for stories to come but I really enjoyed not only this book but Dalton and Casey’s story arc.

As long as Armstrong writes with series I will read it. I really enjoyed this addition to the series.

Enjoy!!!

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Callie Hart: Quicksilver

In the first in a new series, Callie Hart shows what happens when the Fae and an Alchemist meet:

Saeris Fane is used to fighting to survive, she has had to fight her entire life, even for the basics like a glass of water. Saeris wants to be the change for her land, she has secrets that need to be kept. In a moment, a choice Saeris’ life is going to change forever and those of her realm and other are going to change as well. Saeris’ didn’t know she was a key but when death comes to her door she does all she can to survive once again even at the hands of the Fae.

This is the first book that I have read by Hart and I really loved this book. I was really happy that this was more of a high fantasy book with some romance and a few actions scenes (but I would have loved more of these). I really enjoyed labyrinth and would have gladly had those scenes go on longer.

This is not a slow burn book, there is lust right from their first meeting and things progress rather quickly from there even though this book is over 600 pages. When the romance first started I questioned whether it was needed in the book or not but the farther I read in the book the more I liked having it there and how Hart developed their relationship.

Kingdisher’s powers are amazing and Saeris’ power over metal and a forge are comparable in their own way. I loved how Hart melded (pun intended) the somewhat mystical powers of the Fae with the more scientific idea of alchemy in this book. I thought that the idea of the  Quicksilver being sentient was an interesting approach and not something I have read before (albeit I have not read a lot of high fantasy)

High fantasy may be intimidating to some, as the world building may seem complex but it is quite simple the farther ones gets in this book. In the world that Saeris finds herself in is one of Fae vs vampires but there other realms out there that ai wonder if they will be explored later. There is also political aspects playing out in the background that I am really interested in, especially with that ending.

Do I really know Saeris and Kingfisher by the end of this book? Yes and No. This book was much more plot driven at times as Saeris and Kingfisher are forced from threat to threat but one thing they both share is a sense of loyalty to those around them. 

It is going to be very interesting to see where Hart takes this story and I will be happy to go along with the ride. Highly recommend if you are looking for a higher fantasy or Romantasy read.

Enjoy!!!!

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Jasmine Walt: Burned by Magic

In the first in a series, Jasmine Walt takes readers to a world ruled by Mages who only care about power:

Mages rules the city Solantha and shifters are considered second class citizen. Sunaya (Naya) is a panther shifter but also a mage, something that is considered illegal in Solantha. Naya works as an enforcer, but when her mentor is murdered, she wants nothing more than find who killed them. Unfortunately, her boss doesn’t see it that way and when Naya inadvertently uses magic and finds herself at the mercy of the Mage's council.

I'm always down for another Urban Fantasy series and one that features a shifter as a main character. This is the second book that I have read by Walt (but the first one was a duo author) and I really like the concept, world and plot ideas that Walt presented here, but I wish that the book would have been a bit longer to accommodate everything that Walt set out to do in this book. 

The book starts out really strong and I was invested in Sunaya (Naya) as a character and what she goes through, but then, what one would assume would be the major plot aspect of the book, goes by the wayside until the very end. Naya is given next to know time to investigate her mentor and friends death and when she is able to achieve time to investigate it, it all wrapped up and done so quickly that it is didn’t seem to really matter in the grand scheme of the book. The majority of the book was spent in a more political avenue of Iannis trying to figure out what to do with Naya.

I want to know more about the magic system and why it was put in place. Why do the mages control everything and everyone. I feel like Naya is right to question the system, and I want to know what led to the city being like this as it is hinted at that it is not like this everywhere.

Naya is an interesting character who has bounds of loyalty and I hope that her skills and abilities are explored more in future books. I never really felt like i got to know Naya, but the fact that she is a panther shifter is amazing.

This was a good start to a series and I will continue on reading it, I just hope that there is a little more substance to the mystery aspects in the plot and more about Naya.

Enjoy!!!

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Karen Dionne: The Marsh King's Daughter

Karen Dionne shows what a true Cat and Mouse game is when you never know who is the Cat and Who is the Mouse:

When Helan was a child, she did not know that she was the product on a man abducting her mother and forcing her to live in the Marsh. All Helena knew was the Marsh and her mother and father. Helena idolized her father and wanted to learn everything he had to teach her and sometimes those lessons were painful ones. Twenty years later after leaving the Marsh, Helena has a husband and two girls of her own. Her father is spending time in prison for kidnapping her mother and Helena spends her days trying to fit in. When her father manages to escape from prison, Helena knows that he is coming for her. But Helena has not forgotten what her father taught her, how to track, how to hunt. She knows that she is the only person who can catch him and with her family on the line, she will do everything she has to, to protect them.

This is the first book that I have read by Dionne and I really enjoyed it. This book was fast paced and you really get to know the FMC and how she became the woman she is. I would classify this book as a popcorn thriller as it very much is a Cat and Mouse story but also there is more substance there and I find I am still thinking of some aspects of the book. I can understand why it was made into a movie and I want to see if i can watch it to see how the adapted the story.

I loved the alternating timeline as we get to know Helena as a child growing up in the Marsh as well as the woman now and how she struggled at times in both situations. Dionne transfer between the two different timelines seamlessly and the flow of the story does not suffer from doing so. Even if you do not enjoy reading a book with two different timelines Dionne does it so well that this should not deter you from reading this book.

I appreciate that Dionee makes a point to show that Helena loves her father, questions if she should still love him even though what he did to both her and her mother. Growing up Helan did not know she was being raised differently and the fleeting moments where he showed her praise were what she lived for. You feel Helana's struggle in both the past and present. In the past is it is for her father's approval but also wanting more than the Marsh and in the present, it is about fitting in, not knowing the "proper" ways of doing anything and trying to keep her past hidden. Plus, she struggles with how she treated her mother in the Marsh and out of the Marsh even with insight that time brings. I think this insight shows in how much she her children and will protect them at all costs.

Dionne is fairly descriptive in the book from the hunting of animals to the hunt between Helan and her father, there will be blood, but I think that it is fitting that she did not shy away from this. It does make the book darker, but it also is what needs to occur to fully immerse oneself into the story.

This book is very much Hunter/Hunted and you never know who is who throughout the book. This was a great suspenseful read that was well laid out and written. I know I want to read more books by Dionne.

Enjoy!!!

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Erin La Rosa: The Backtrack

Erin La Rose takes readers on a journey of What if a person made a decision to go one way instead of another?

Wonder if you had done something different at a point in time, what your life would be like? Sam left her small hometown of Tybee Island, Georgia to not only pursue her dream of becoming a pilot, but taking her mom's words to heart not to get stuck there. When Sam arrives at her grandma's place her bedroom has not changed from when she was in high school. Walls covered in 2000s nostalgia including mix CDs. When she finds her old Walkman, with a CD she never played she decides to take a listen. The song transports her back to one moment in her life where she has always wondered What if? What if she would have kissed Damon, what if they would have become more than friends? With her magical Walkman Sam is about to find out.

This is the second book that I have read by La Rosa and I like that she keeps it real (I mean as real as one can with a time travelling Walkman) both the people and the relationships that she portrays in her books just feel real. I would not call this a romcom, this book will take a reader through a lot of emotions and not just happy ones, there are quite a few low points in the book, that you can’t help but feel for the characters. For Sam returning home, brings up the all the memories and questions of what could have been.

I'm not sure if I cheered for Sam and Damon in their relationship, in either timeline.

I honestly didn't feel the chemistry between them at all, I really just felt the friendship between them and nothing more. I understand that they love each other but not the same type as a more serious relationship. I like that La Rosa didn’t make it all rainbows and unicorns for the choices Sam and Damon did/didn’t make, there were tough times ahead in both timelines I don’t know if I even liked Sam or Damon in either timeline either as they both made some choices that I see as red flags for their relationship, from only caring about oneself, their own wants/needs to cheating, just added to not liking them or their relationship.

I will admit that I struggled with this book to being with, as it was slower than I thought it would be. However, the farther I got into the book I really wanted to know how each timeline would end up.

This book is a complete trip of nostalgia with all the song choices, the fashion and what was cool in the 2000. I question the song choices as it was supposed to be this big mixed CD that showed how much Damon wanted to be with Sam but a few songs in there were questionable for what Damon wanted to achieve.

Although I struggled at time with this book, overall, I enjoyed it. I may not have been a fan of the relationship between Sam and Damon I love the rawness and realness that La Rosa put in the book, not all relationships are easy.

Enjoy!!!

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