Category Archives: Book Review

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Book Review, ,
Overview

Title: Icebreaker
Author: Hannah Grace
Series: Maple Hills #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary romance, Sports romance
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2022

Thoughts

I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I first opened this book – I mean, I know that it has gotten good reviews and a lot of attention. But, that doesn’t always equate to a book that I’m going to love, or indeed, an author that I will enjoy. That was not the case here. I really, really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to dive into Wildfire. There was something fun and engaging about it all. Plus, I’m not really used to having a book throw quite so many curveballs at me. I literally thought that everything in the story was all tied up, but then realised that there were over ten chapters left to go, and began to kind of dread what was coming.

I’ve read a lot of sports romances over the past few years – there is something about them that I really enjoy. But I’ve never read one that features a figure skater. I really liked the mix of figure skater and hockey player. The differences and the things that they have in common due to their sport. I feel like, in hindsight, it’s a bit of a natural and obvious pairing, but when I started reading this, it certainly didn’t feel like it. In fact, some of my favourite moments are when the two are able to connect through their love of skating, even though their styles and approaches are vastly different.

Anastasia and Nathan are kind of an enemies-to-lovers trope, but they start more as frenemies than anything. I love how it is Anastasia that really drives the antagonism, because she is a tiny pocket rocket of a woman who doesn’t take crap from anyone. In fact, she absolutely calls Nathan on his nonsense from incredibly early on. And, even if she doesn’t quite know the full story, I totally get the vindication and approach that she takes to this nonsense. Although I loved watching their relationship go from frenemies to friends to more in my mind’s eye, I actually loved the process of Anastasia becoming friends with all of the hockey players more. They’re just adorable and kind of labrador-like in their drive to connect with her.

Of all of the relationships in this story, it was Aaron and his treatment of Anastasia that really got my heart racing. I actually couldn’t believe how manipulative and evil he is. By the midway point, I was really hoping that he would just… be set on fire or something equally drastic. But, Grace was a master at crafting her villain. I completely related to every decision that Anastasia made, even if I didn’t actually think that they were “smart”. It was kind of terrifying, a little like Gaston, because he is one of the most realistic and insidious villains I’ve read in a long while.

<- More Hannah GraceWildfire ->

Image source: Simon and Schuster

The Ruins of Gorlan ReRead by John Flanagan

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview

Title: The Ruins of Gorlan ReRead
Author: John Flanagan
Series: The Ranger’s Apprentice #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Fantasy, Medieval fantasy, Young adult
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2004

Thoughts

I absolutely adored The Ranger’s Apprentice series as a young adult, and I seem to be on a bit of a revisit with well-loved series lately. So I was interested to see how this would hit now that I’m that bit older. Luckily (because it’s always dangerous revisiting well-loved things from your adolescence), I loved The Ruins of Gorlan every bit as much on this reread. It was just as fantastic, fun and hard to put down as I remembered, but with a whole lot more nuances that I thoroughly enjoyed picking up on as an adult.

Will, for me, is still that quintessential misfit / coming of age type story. He just doesn’t quite fit the mold with anyone else, and is always on the outskirts. Even amongst his year-mates who are in a very similar boat, Willl still just doesn’t quite fit. Honestly, it’s probably why I related to him so damn strongly as a preteen – I’ve never quite fit in either. And then, he finds his home amongst all of the others who don’t quite fit either – a fantastic way to remind everyone that we all have our tribe, it can just take us a whole lot longer to find them sometimes.

Alongside all of Will’s training and the absolutely brilliant description of archery (I’m an archer, most books get it wrong), I love that this is a story about finding your place in the world. Although, as much as, as an adult, I focus a lot on characterisation and character development, this is also entirely about the battle and the weaponry. I mean, knife throwing and archery were already going to pull me in. But conspiracies and that last, final, epic battle? These are all moments that I loved as an adolescent, and just adore as an adult.

As much as I loved Will finding his place and beginning to grow into himself as a man, I also adored Horace’s redemption arc. Horace starts out as a kind of horrible bully. He was completely set up to be the typical antagonist in the story, and he did work as that for a fair portion of it. But, as in real life, he realised that a lot of his actions weren’t okay. I loved his redemption arc, and that he ultimately ends up being a true friend to Will. It just melts my heart every time, and is so wonderfully heart melting.

<- More John FlanaganThe Burning Bridge ReRead ->

Image source: Pinterest

Fresh Brewed Murder by Emmeline Duncan

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Fresh Brewed Murder
Author: Emmeline Duncan
Series: Ground Rules Mystery #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Cozy mystery, Food
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2021

Thoughts

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this book – I’ve never read anything by Emmeline Duncan, and I really only read this for the Popsugar 2025 Reading Challenge. And boy am I glad that I did, I pretty much read this from cover to cover and loved every single minute of it. There was something fun and light about it, even whilst dealing with murder and mayhem. The fact that this cozy mystery also centred on coffee in a lot of ways just made it all that much better. I freaking love coffee, and I seriously enjoyed the process of creating and making throughout. Duncan has such an attention to detail within this, and it was just absolutely fantastic and drool-inducing.

One of the aspects of this cozy mystery that I absolutely adored was the detail which Duncan was able to impart throughout. She created this world and structure to her story that you are plunged into immediately. Then, as the story unfolds, you get drawn deeper and deeper into the world of coffee and a fledgling food truck business. I could almost smell all the different foods in the Rail Yard. I know that the focus of the story is really the mystery aspect, but I definitely focused in on the food aspect a whole lot.

I loved how, throughout this, there are so many Red Herrings. The murderer could have literally been any one of a number of characters within the Rail Yard. Not only was the victim someone who had wronged or annoyed a number of those characters, then there’s Sage’s family and all of the complications there. I was not really sure who the villain was going to be right up until the reveal. Duncan just did such a brilliant job at entangling literally everything, so that it was almost impossible to figure out what was actually going to happen. Which is probably why I just adored reading this cozy mystery so much – I just couldn’t guess what was going to happen next.

This would’ve been an amazing story without the complications of Sage’s family. But there are so many more nuances and hints of more complications and horrors in the future. I mean, Sage’s Mum is quite possibly insane, and I have a feeling that there will be more surprises in the shape of Gabby in the future. I may be wrong, but I love that there is so much potential layered into this story, what a brilliant way to start off a series! I can’t wait to dive in again and read more!

<- More Emmeline DuncanDouble Shot Death ->

Image source: Kobo

Taken ReRead by Susan Copperfield

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Taken
Author: Susan Copperfield
Series: Royal States #1.5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Magic, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novella
Year: 2020

Thoughts

Taken is a brilliant novella that follows Patrick in his daily life six years after the official beginning of his reign as King. I love this insight into his daily life (to begin with). It emphasises that everything Patrick was trying to set up for when Jessica first showed interest in him in Storm Called has worked out well. His hard work and education of himself has seriously paid off, and it’s made him into a fantastic and (mostly) sane king. Being a reread, I also love how Taken sets out some of what is to come in the rest of the Royal States series, and just why kidnapping a monarch is such a terrifically terrible idea.

The first time I read Taken, I was only a new mother (or about to become one), so it was interesting revisiting it when I was more established in that role. For this read through, I really hyper focused on Patrick’s children. I loved how Copperfield was able to talk about the children, the challenges of parenting and that pure love you get, even when they might be tiny devils in disguise. Having had a girl, then a boy myself who are both absolute chaos demons, I found the majority of the storyline entirely plausible where they were concerned. And absolutely hilarious.

Having read all of the published books (thus far), rereading Taken gave me a great appreciation of the crafting and planning that Copperfield has put into her books. They are very politically motivated stories, but she’s also setting up character arcs and the overall story line from very early on. There are so many little tips and hints throughout that foreshadow the later stories. And, there’s a whole heap of work that is going into structuring the lore of the world, in the most subtle of ways.

Aside from the hints and setting up a lot of the Royal States world in Taken, Copperfield also beautifully sets up Deidre’s story for the future. I still haven’t gotten to that book (because it hasn’t been published yet), but later in the series, a lot of her story is beginning to be touched upon too. It just makes me want to dive headfirst into this series and absolutely devour it all over again, in the hopes that doing so will distract from the fact that I have no idea when the next books are going to hit the virtual shelves!

<- Storm Called ReReadNull and Void ReRead ->

Image source: Amazon

Storm Called ReRead by Susan Copperfield

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Storm Called
Author: Susan Copperfield
Series: Royal States #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Magic, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2019

Thoughts

I seem to have been on a major reread bender lately, and the Royal States series is just the latest in this track. Also, I think that there are going to be a few more books trickling out soon, so I figured I may as well go back to the beginning and see what I pick up on my second read round. Sometimes a reread isn’t the best idea, there have been plenty of books that I genuinely regret rereading. However, that is most certainly not the case with Storm Called – it was just as good and fun as I remembered.

I honestly have no idea what it is about this series that draws me in so thoroughly. The writing isn’t the most sophisticated in the world, but there is just something about it that I absolutely adore. Partially this is the politically driven agenda which threads through all of the writing. But, there is also just something about the world building and characters that is just as good on a reread. I wasn’t surprised by the potency of all this this time, but I was just as pleasantly pleased.

One of my favourite things about Patrick is his practicality. I love that, ultimately, the future king of a “state” is one who is born from the lowest of the castes – and that he uses this knowledge to actually create practical and sane laws. It’s definitely an uphill battle, but with everything that is going on in the world, particularly in America, I think that this message is even more poignant. I mean, we need sane and practical people at the helm to ensure that you know, the world survives and people get to live their best lives…

In amongst Patrick’s drive to just support and love the woman he sets his sights on, this story also heavily emphasises the power of education. It’s such an obvious way to keep the masses down, make education almost impossible to obtain, and therefore, it is easier to keep the masses from being able to rise to power. It’s gorgeous that Patrick recognises this, and then chooses to remove this inequality by making sure he is able to take advantage of the benefits of education. It’s just a reminder that education should be available to all, for free.

<- More Susan CopperfieldTaken ReRead ->

Image source: Smashwords

Love of the Witch by Deanna Chase

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Love of the Witch
Author: Deanna Chase
Series: Witches of Keating Hollow #6
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Magic, Paranormal romance, Witches
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2019

Thoughts

It was obvious from her first introduction in Courage of the Witch, that Luna was going to have a bit of a complex backstory. But, I honestly had no idea what to actually expect. So it was a whole lot of fun finding out more about her life prior to her introduction to Keating Hollow. It was also fun to discover that she actually already had history with her love interest, Chad, and “watch” that unfold as I turned the pages.

One of the aspects of this story that I really enjoyed was how the story unfolded – it was, as mentioned, obvious that Chad and Luna had their own history from the beginning. But not much of it was revealed to start with. Rather, through their interactions, they start to tease out the details of their past. This history was then what they both were able to use to build into their future together. It wasn’t quite a second chance romance, but it was kind of close to it… a bit more of a second chance to get to know one another, not a second chance at being a couple. Or at least, that’s how I felt.

I absolutely called Luna’s family connections when Chase started to leave some of those breadcrumbs. Yet, the journey to get there was still phenomenal and seriously enjoyable. I absolutely adored diving into her journey of self-discovery. And the final twist as to who and what Luna’s family is didn’t quite take me by the surprise it normally would have. Chase is just so fantastic at leaving subtle breadcrumbs throughout her works that it’s kind of anticipated.

Although I go back to Chase’s Witches of Keating Hollow series again and again for the romance, I also love the secondary characters. In the case of Love of the Witch, I think that Levi actually stole my heart more than Chad. He was a great familial love story that just melted my heart again and again and again. I also love how his trauma tends towards the quieter aspects of damage, and then he chooses to still love and care about someone. It’s particularly sweet when he could’ve been displayed as a tough and hesitant young man. But, instead, he and Luna create the most beautiful and sweetest of bonds.

<- Courage of the WitchPower of the Witch ->

Image source: Goodreads

Hearth, Home, and Havoc ReRead by R.J. Blain

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Hearth, Home, and Havoc
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #3
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2017

Thoughts

Hearth, Home and Havoc is a great little novella, one that focuses quite a bit on being controlled and getting revenge. I mean, some of it is justice. But, mostly it just feels like a whole lot of revenge on a bastard who truly deserves it. And then there’s the goddess aspect within the story. And the cute government agent. And the mother who has lost touch with her children. All gorgeous aspects of this story that build and build into a wonderfully fun and somewhat violent novella. My favourite kind.

Running away from your problems and digging a giant hole to literally hide the body is maybe not the best ever coping mechanism. But it is one that I really appreciated and could definitely get behind. It was funny, cathartic and an all round pleasure to read. I particularly like that the lead knows that digging a giant hole to drown a body in isn’t the healthiest or sanest option. But, she continues to do it anyway. Plus, she acknowledges that she is 100% having a break from reality, but just chooses to continue dealing with it / going with it without fanfare. Again, maybe not the best coping mechanism, but maybe one I should try the next time I feel overwhelmed… just digging a giant hole and imagining (ceremoniously) burying my problems deep in the ground.

Although the coping mechanisms in this may not be the best, I love that the importance of therapy is mentioned again and again. In fact, it is visited and revisited at multiple times throughout the novella. With each and every horrible past action revealed, the idea of, and attendance at, therapy is revisited. The normalcy with which this is mentioned was great. I love that it was a fabric of reality to recover from past trauma, without judgement and without stigma attached. I wish this could happen in real life.

Finally, I love that this story centres around the mortal mother of the Goddess of Hearth and Home. And that this little growing deity is all about making sure her Mum is happy and healthy. She not only is the driver of a lot of the interactions and positives within this story, but also the instigator of change. She protects her Mum in the best way she knows how (but with an adolescent mindset), and her Mum in turn tries to protect her. It’s just a gorgeous little novella and signified the unbelievably wonderful strength of a mother-daughter connection.

<- Hoofin’ It ReReadSerial Killer Princess ReRead ->

Image source: Smashwords

Hoofin’ It ReRead by R.J. Blain

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Hoofin’ It
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #2
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2017

Thoughts

Shane and Marian are a great and fun couple, and I love going on the journey with them in Hoofin’ It to find their happily ever after. The fact that it starts with a spitting alpaca, a dead body and a shaved werewolf. Well, of course I’m going to enjoy the heck out of that nonsense. It was funny, sweet (in moments) and just all round a whole lot of fun. I might have been on this journey before, but I enjoyed everything about going on it again. It was just such glorious, unrestrained fun!

Where Shane and Marian were an incredibly fun couple, introducing Ernesto and his brood; and the Babylonians might be an aspect of this story that I enjoyed even more. The Babylonians in particular were just pure chaos demons. Which I loved. They just produced chaos, carnage and insanity wherever they went. Then there were the mounts (of which there were a variety) who just wanted to eat all the human flesh and devour the hordes of evil. Again, absolutely loving the nonsense that is produced by the Babylonians getting involved in the final battle.

Then there’s Ernesto and his clan – they are just beautiful and I vaguely recall something about them coming up at different points later in the series. Their introduction feels so “everyday”, but they are an integral aspect to the patchwork that is the world of the Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) series. Understanding this on the reread meant that I paid a whole lot more attention to Ernesto and his family, and all of the information that is shared about them. I’m not really into vampires per se these days (Twilight absolutely ruined them for me), but I did like Blain’s take on them and the way that they are interwoven into the series.

Back to Marian and Shane though, I love that Marian starts out as an alpaca. Then gets turned back into being a human. Then you realise that she can actually shift into a badger. I’m kind of disappointed that there wasn’t more about Marian turning into a badger. I mean, we have Shane figuring out what animal he shifts into, and spending a bit of time in his animal form. But Marian didn’t have that pleasure, and I really wanted it. But that’s okay, because there are other awesome shifters to come in the rest of this series. Hence the reread.

<- Playing with Fire ReReadHearth, Home, and Havoc ReRead ->

Image source: Kobo

Playing with Fire ReRead by R.J. Blain

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Playing with Fire
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2017

Thoughts

I honestly don’t know why I love Playing with Fire so much. For some books that I love, I can wax on and off about just why I love them so much. But for Playing with Fire and the rest of the Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) series, I’m not entirely sure what it is that keeps pulling me back in. Yet, even though this was a reread, I just couldn’t put this down. I’m pretty sure that I’ve read this from cover to cover both read throughs. I laughed, I smiled and I just enjoyed each and every word of chaos as it unfolded in my mind’s eye.

Bailey has some serious self confidence issues – I kind of picked it up on my first read through, but on this reread… wow. I just couldn’t even handle / stomach some of her comments and just how sad they were. I mean, it’s a testament to how good of a writer Blain is – she manages to take some serious symptoms of abuse and trauma and make them kind of lighthearted. I mean, Bailey’s parents are truly evil and cruel, and of course their child is going to end up with some major trauma. But how is it that not until the second read through, I actually pick up on the total and utter lack of self confidence and self worth. It was really only because of parts of later Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) stories that I think I even picked up on it this time…

Although I love a good, subtle courtship, Quinn’s was too subtle even for me. I mean, he’s been chasing the same woman for how many years and no one is any wiser about it. But, I did love, that when he realises that the object of his affections doesn’t understand that she’s on the receiving end, he decides to up the ante and take control. The taking control part of Quinn’s courtship was kind of adorable. And although I don’t read these books for the steamy factor, it did increase that a little bit. Not in the same way as some of the more X-rated paranormal romances that I read, but in a warm and pleasant way.

The use of Cindercorns (I wonder if they’re based on anything in mythology, or just the author’s imagination?) is still one of my favourite things. Not only is a violent, fire-breathing unicorn just the best thing ever. But, Bailey gets to go on a drunken napalm bender in her Cindercorn form. The fact that she levels a building, saves the world and just generally acts all kinds of violent cute? That makes it all so much better. I freaking love Cindercorns and everything that they bring to the mayhem of Blains’ Magical Romantic Comedy world.

<- More R.J. BlainHoofin’ It ReRead ->

Image source: Kobo

Can’t Get Enough by G.A. Aiken

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Can’t Get Enough
Author: G.A. Aiken
Series: Dragon Kin #0.1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dragons, Medieval fantasy, Paranormal romance
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2008

Thoughts

Shalin and Ailean are honestly a hilarious couple, and I really enjoyed their romance. They definitely break the mold of the dragons in their world, plus, I love that, having read Dragon Actually, they are the ancestors of one of the characters. It just drives home the beautiful layers that have been constructed in this world. And drives home that I need to read some more of these books at the moment, rather than leaving them in the TBR pile…

To start with, it felt a little like Shalin the Innocent was a somewhat suited title, but I love how quickly Aiken is able to completely dissolve that notion. I love how gently Aiken is able to lead the reader to the realisation that this is a very misleading title. And then, you realise just how vindictive and violent Shalin actually is at times. It takes the story from the whole virgin to the rake feel, right into a tale of two well-matched dragons falling in love and finding their own, unique version of happily ever after.

As with many romances, as the story unfolds, you realise that not only is Shalin’s reputation unearned, but so is Ailean’s. His might have been sightly closer to reality, but it is still kind of harsh in moments. I like that his reputation is a big part of just what his character development needs, and the not-so-quiet voice that makes him strive to be better. And also destroys his self confidence at times. The clash between Shalin and Ailean’s perceived realities and the way in which they fuel some of the conflict was brilliant, something I absolutely adored and felt like drove the story beautifully.

Everything about Ailean’s clan and family is absolutely insane, which, if I’m being honest is what I pick up the books by Aiken (Laurenston) for. I mean, ultimately, when they decide that Shalin is one of them, they just… effortlessly band together to kill the competition. With no hesitation, no judgement, just unrestrained glee. It was somewhat manic, but I loved it anyway.

<- More G.A. AikenA Tale of Two Dragons ->

Image source: Kobo