Rise of the Fire Queen review

A review of Rise of the Fire Queen, by Alisha Klapheke

Note: I received a copy and this is an honest, voluntary review.

The hunkiest brooding king in the Underworld, Kynan, is back with a delightful ensemble cast and his own perspective this time, which was a great addition. Rise of the Fire Queen has some wonderful Voyage of the Dawn Treader vibes, as well as Maren’s quest to escape from a castle.

Rise of the Fire Queen Hardcover
The hardcover version of Rise of the Fire Queen

I thought the writing in the second installment was fantastic. The banter is better developed and well-placed in scenes, the heroes are endearing–and the villain is very, very villainous. This was an entertaining and page-turning read, driven by the reader’s desire to see Kynan and Maren together again.

Have I ever rooted this hard for a book couple? I’m not sure I have! Kynan and Maren are very worthy of this distinction, and the romantic tension is THICK. I thought Rise of the Fire Queen made for a fantastic conclusion to this duology, and is hands down my favorite of the two books.

My rating:
5/5
Rise of the Fire Queen digital cover
Rise of the Fire Queen digital cover

To learn more about this author, visit alishaklapheke.com.

Married by Wind review

Note: I received an ARC and this is an honest, voluntary review.

Married by Wind is my definition of cozy fantasy. With a unique take on the tale of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp and djinn, the story is pleasantly familiar as we see two characters on a romantic collision course undertake a dangerous journey through the desert.

I was so pleased to see this series start out with a second chance love story. This made the characters’ feelings very believable despite the brevity of the story; they had three months together to develop feelings before the story even began! Note that the marriage is more of necessity due to circumstances, rather than an arranged one, and you shouldn’t expect the spice you may be familiar with in Angela J. Ford’s other romantic tales.

Married by Wind cover

Another caveat: If you’re expecting fae from this story (as I was, based on the series title), you’ll only encounter any in a roundabout way. Instead, Married by Wind focuses on deities, sacred places and a cursed lamp. I did wish Vinn’s character, who has a long backstory that’s mostly just alluded to, was more fleshed out, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

My rating:
4/5

To learn more about this series, visit arrangedmarriagesofthefae.com.

To learn more about this author, visit angelajford.com.

Stolen by the Shadow King review

A Review of Stolen by the Shadow King, by Alisha Klapheke

This book had me majorly rooting for its main characters by the end. Since I haven’t read the Kingdom of Lore series before this, it took me a minute to get used to all the characters and their banter. The pacing was also quick, leaving little time to catch up. But Stolen by the Shadow King is one of those books that gave me faith it was going somewhere good, so I strapped in for the ride to the Underworld.

Stolen by the Shadow King cover
The hardcover version of Stolen by the Shadow King

MC Maren’s ability to speak to spirits is heartwarming (not spooky), and it makes her very easy to like. High Shadow King Kynan is gruff at first but an extremely honorable character–like a romantic version of Ned Stark. He proves to be a character I couldn’t help shipping Maren with.

With a complex battle scene so well-written I had a clear picture of everything, plus real chemistry between characters, this is a fun and highly enjoyable read. By the end, I was so glad book two is out now, because I really needed to know what happened next.

My rating:
4/5

To learn more about this author, visit alishaklapheke.com.

Indie Author Spotlight: Tessonja Odette

Indie Author Spotlight: Tessonja Odette

As the author of 16 titles and counting, plus a new series of retellings called Entangled with Fae, Tessonja Odette should be on your radar, especially if you loved books like The Cruel Prince or A Court of Thorns and Roses. I adored her first book in The Fair Isle Trilogy (To Carve a Fae Heart…my review can be found here), so I was thrilled to find out her new series ventures back into Faerwyvae.

From what I’ve read of Odette’s work, I’d describe it as crowd pleasing fantasy with a sharp bite. There is romance to be had and swoony moments, but they are hard-won by the protagonist.

A Taste of Poison cover mockup

Tessonja Odette was on my “author TBR” for a while when, for the second time, a book of hers fell in my lap through a Book of Matches Media tour (there’s one happening right now, in fact, for A Taste of Poisonsee my Instagram for giveaway details for a contest through Book of Matches Media, which ends August 28, 2022 at midnight PST). I clawed my way out from my endless TBR pile to read this one. Once I started To Carve a Fae Heart, I wondered what had taken me so long!

While my summer of ARC reading has prevented me from getting more than a chapter into A Taste of Poison, her latest, you can be sure I’ll be returning to Faerwyvae as quickly as possible.

To learn more about this author, visit tessonjaodette.com.

The Fair Isle Trilogy, by Tessonja Odette
The Fair Isle Trilogy, by Tessonja Odette

Rise of the Fire Queen is here!

This indie author has been on my author TBR for a while, and also on my Kindle! Known for her romantic fantasy, Alisha Klapheke is back with her sequel to Stolen by the Shadow King (my current read! It’s very fast-paced and I can’t wait to see where it’s going in the romance plot. It’s all very fun so far). Look at just one of the pretty covers of Rise of the Fire Queen!

And a giveaway for series swag and a $25 Amazon gift card is happening on Instagram right now. Check out my account for details on this giveaway through Book of Matches Media!

Rise of the Fire Queen digital cover
Ebook cover of Rise of the Fire Queen

Synopsis for book one, Stolen by the Shadow King:

A human witch. A dangerous elven king. A betrothal set to save the world.

When the vicious king of the shadow elves drags Maren to the underworld and claims her as his fated match, she fights to escape. 

But when Maren learns she is the legendary seer of the underworld, everything changes. She discovers a magical poison spreading, and the only way to save both realms from complete destruction is to bind her power with the king’s to heal the land through their union.

Maren isn’t heartless. Of course, she’ll sacrifice herself to save her beloved family and the world. And her feelings for the protective, mercurial shadow king are changing…

When another shadow lord steals the key to the king’s power and demands Maren’s hand in marriage, she realizes what evil truly is in the underworld.

Now, she must either fight alongside the king and hope they don’t run out of time to save the realms, or surrender to the evil lord and stop the poison’s spread before it’s too late.

Maren can still save the realms, but it will require a true sacrifice of the heart.

The naked hardback and digital book cover with Tayto Potato
Rise of the Fire Queen with Tayto Potato
The ebook cover and hard cover of Rise of the Fire Queen (plus Tayto Potato, who is not affiliated)

That’s all for now!

Cheers,

CKB

To Carve a Fae Heart review

A Review of To Carve a Fae Heart, by Tessonja Odette

Note: I received a copy of this book as part of a Book of Matches Media tour and am leaving an honest and voluntary review.

Love enemies to lovers, or squeal at the thought of a heroine in STEM starring in a fantasy novel? Like The Cruel Prince but wish it was less…cruel? (And no, I’m not talking about The Queen of Nothing!) To Carve a Fae Heart is all that and more.

For me, this book did everything right. King Aspen is proof of how well Tessonja Odette knows her readership. He was the perfect dark and growly fae king, with all the right hints that there was more to him than met the eye. His character hit all the notes a fae king in a (semi) arranged marriage to a human should, the Beast and the handsome prince all in one.

To Carve a Fae Heart Cover

Having a heroine who relies on logic and scientific knowledge dropped into fae lands was also a lot of fun. And I can’t stress how much I appreciate that Evie is a STEM girl! I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and romance, and that familial love (both the comfort and the pain) is so bound into the story, too. Fans of Helena Rookwood and Elm Vince’s An Enchantment of Thorns will also appreciate this one. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next in To Wear a Fae Crown.

My rating:
5/5

To learn more about this author, visit tessonjaodette.com.

Frozen Hearts and Death Magic review

A Review of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

Note: I received an ARC and am leaving an honest, voluntary review. Parts of this book depict a violent, abusive situation.

This book was so much fun! Though Frozen Hearts and Death Magic is inspired by telanovelas, I didn’t find it overly dramatic. The characters, each a royal of kingdoms living in fear of a fae invasion or, in River’s case, an actual fae, were so lovely to get to know, and the intrigues were all interesting and absorbing (better still, readers are on the side of the one kingdom that suspects the bad guys). Because of the modern language and characters, this was a great book to read after Ashley Shuttleworth’s A Dark and Hollow Star.

I really enjoyed the magic system, which is hereditary and usually limited to one ability per character. Ironworkers can manipulate metal (Fel is so accomplished, he can fly; he also was born without hands and has learned to use metal ones seamlessly; he deals with ableism in a bit of fantasy representation). Leah is a necromancer grappling with fascinating dream magic. Naia is just beginning to discover her magic, and her relationship with mysterious fae River gave me the tingles from chapter one.

I would easily rate this book higher, but the writing changed in one of the storylines and there were flashbacks inserted late in the plot, interrupting all the exciting things that were happening. Combined with a lot of copy editing issues there that got distracting for me, I found myself getting a bit frustrated.

Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

A controlling, abusive situation that another character found themselves in was an extremely stressful surprise that others may also find hard to read. (Thankfully, the characters are awesomely magical enough that it doesn’t last long and they otherwise have plenty of agency.) It was well worth reading through these parts for me because I enjoyed everything else so much.

If you are the kind of reader who minds modern language in a high fantasy setting, this may not be for you (I did find it particularly well-suited to the teenage characters, and bristled a bit when the adults slipped into it at times). All that being said, I will happily pick up book two and see what happens to these wonderful characters and their developing magic.

Overall, I thought Frozen Hearts and Death Magic was un-put-downable.

My rating:
4/5

To learn more about this author, visit dayleitao.com.

Paperbacks now available!

Are you as excited as I am? Paperbacks of Girl of Shadow and Glass and Girl of Glass and Fury are now available on Amazon! Order your copies here.

Signed copies should be available later this month, along with series and bookish merch. But more on that later!

For now…Yay!

Cheers,

CKB

Girl of Glass and Fury