The C.K. Beggan Bookish Blog is going on a break!
I need some time to catch up on some writing projects…plus I plan to migrate the book blog to its own site! (The current blog will become my author blog.) In the meantime, I’ll be taking some time off.
I hope you’ll join me at the revamped blog in 2023.
Cheers to you and yours, and a very Happy New Year!
-CKB
(Fairy Tale Romances #1.75)
YA Short Story, Fairy Tale Retelling, Romantic Fantasy
The Frog Prince retelling, clean fantasy, clean romance
What a cute the The Frog Prince retelling! This story is sweet to its bones and has a classic YA feel, and features non-magical trials for the princess’s hand.
Part of the fun of this short read is how obvious the identity of the frog is…to everybody but the main character. I also appreciated that the couple in this romantic story get time to fall in love, plus all the magical details of the setting. Fans of baking competitions will appreciate all the choux pastries, too!
This was a fun, adorable lower YA read.
(The Royal Rose Chronicles #1)
YA fantasy, pirate fantasy adventure, romantic fantasy
Favorite quote: “‘Do you see how he looks at her as if he’s found a priceless pearl inside an oyster?’ Heat flooded my cheeks. I had noticed that.”
Note: I received a copy and this is an honest, voluntary review.
This book just got better and better as it went along!
Early on, Oathbound feels like historical fiction more than fantasy. Though it was on the slower side, I felt like I was on the Royal Rose. But the magic was still missing for me. Then came the magical creatures (and one creepy ghost ship) on the high seas. This book became a page turner for me from that point on.
The romance subplot is woven throughout the story and in the “friendship” between narrators Emme and Arn. It’s so lovely and subtle, a true slow-burn that goes beyond two friends having that conversation. With Emme’s distrust of pirates, Royal Rose captain Arn has a lot to prove.
I loved all the side quests and intrusions by magic and ghosts. Emme is also dealing with a congenital degenerative disease, so we see her struggling with mobility. Note that this book ends on multiple wicked cliffhangers. I can’t wait to read book two!
(From the Mine This Winter anthology)
steamy Christmas romance novella, open door romance
Note: This is an ARC review specifically of one of the stories in this anthology, Naughty List, by Melanie A. Smith. I received a copy and this is an honest, voluntary review.
The most important thing I could note here isn’t just that Naughty List is everything you’d want from a steamy-cute Christmas romance. It’s how funny this story is! Joanie’s frank and hilarious narration keeps the story rolling and adds so much depth and enjoyment.
Greg is a sweet guy and obviously caring, yet he doesn’t come off as a mismatch for Joanie. His efforts to play it cool can be really amusing, though he does find his footing when matching her naughty banter. Add the best friend and her fiance, plus ample self-aware jokes about Hallmark Christmas movies, and it’s a very well-rounded story even with the shorter page count. I felt like I got to know everybody really well.
This was a fun, short and steamy Christmas romance in a small, snowy town, with just the right number of missteps on its way to an HEA.
(Rivenwilde #1)
December 6, 2022
romantic fantasy, interconnected standalone series, fae fantasy, clean romantic fantasy
Note: I received an ARC and this is an honest, voluntary review
Beyond the Filigree Wall is a fast-paced story with a kick-butt heroine—except her only usable weapon is her wits. I really enjoyed this story and its world.
MC Etta is up against her father, the new chancellor Gideon (cue enemies to lovers tension!) and, on top of all that, the fae. But she can’t do anything about the fae until she becomes marshal, a position Etta’s trained most of her life for. Gideon has his doubts about her, however, and single-handedly derails her appointment by the Council.
The romance in Beyond the Filigree Wall develops steadily from a semi-forced proximity situation, with a dash of Pride and Prejudice. I liked that Etta starts as a formidable warrior, but the focus is on her mind, plus she has a bookish love interest. Though the ending was not perfectly tidy (and very complex), expect plenty of fae-worthy secrets, twists and tricks!
(The Outrageous Exploits of Jerrell Landish #1)
Humorous Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure
fantasy heist, anti-hero, morally gray hero
Meet Jerrell Landish, the light-hearted version of Kaz Brekker!
An itinerant thief, gambler and flirt rather than a crime boss, Jerrell is still every bit the anti-hero with no compunction about killing. Yet Thief for Hire is the kind of book you read with a smile on the edge of your lips, and frequent head shakes. It’s not often the word “outrageous” is an understatement!
This book won me over. I found it easy to dive in, but all the casual violence (though not overly graphic) made it hard to root for Jerell for a while. As he got into increasingly tight spots, I became invested again and read straight through to the end.
(Stone Circle #1)
Spicy romantic fantasy, fae romance
Note: I received a copy and this is an honest, voluntary review.
I really enjoyed this debut novel from the Of Smoke and Shadows author. The story, though, is just getting started, so expect a bit of a cliffhanger!
The Borderlands Princess pulls a fun switcheroo on readers. At the start, I expected it to be the story of a human Princess betrothed to a fae king who is morally gray at best. While that’s true, it’s so much more than that! It’s really about a princess whose fate was decided long before she was born learning how to reclaim own life. She’s also a mature princess, not at all what I usually read.
The opening chapters were pacey and the plot had plenty of little twists, plus one big moment that I thought was a home run. There was also some clever play with timelines. I did wish it sunk deeper into Connall’s perspective and showed more of what happened on his end, since there was a lot going on in a short period of time. Note that there were also many line editing issues in the version I read, and the pacing lagged a bit in the middle. The last quarter, however, was truly exciting. It absolutely flew by for me.
I’m already looking forward to book two!
Vella readers, rejoice! You can now read the next installment in the Season of the Fae series, A Court of Swords and Sugar Plums, on Kindle Vella!
Right now, the plan is to later publish this story as winter-themed novella duology, so don’t worry if you don’t have access to Vella. (Vella is still relatively new, and is currently for U.S. Amazon users only.)
Check out the full cover!
