Fairy Metal Thunder

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Indie Inked for giving me this book and the rest of Faery Worlds to review.

Jason is the guitarist in the Assorted Zebras with his friends, however, they have no gigs and no one has heard of them. That is until Jason follows a thief from his house, and ends up in the world of the fairies. He decides to take some magical instruments for his band, but they are destructive and lead him and his band members into a dangerous chain of events. Fairy Metal Thunder is a light fun paranormal book with some action but does not take itself too seriously. I like the POV of Jason and his struggle to become famous and win the girl of his dreams, but I prefer Aoide’s POV as it was interesting to see more of the fairy world and I felt sorry for her and her band mates. I would recommend Fairy Metal Thunder to people who enjoy light paranormal books with fairies in. 

The Changelings

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Indie Inked for giving me this book and the rest of Faery Worlds to review.

Jayne Sparks has always felt something was missing in her life. After running away from her troubled home life with her best friend Tony, they meet up with another group of runaways. Together they are sent to a forest with magical dangers everywhere. The Changelings is an enjoyable paranormal book and it was very fast paced. I liked how Jayne and Tony were just best friends, unlike most other paranormal novels, they were not romantically attracted to each other at all. I would recommend The Changeling to fans of action-filled paranormal books.

Initiate

*

1 Star/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Indie Inked for giving me this book and the rest of Faery Worlds to review.

Dindi is a young woman who dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, but cannot do anything right and prefers spending her time dancing with fairies. Kavio is a power Warrior-dancer who is exiled from his home for a crime he did not commit. I just could not get on with Initiate as I did not care much about what happened to the characters, and the plot was a bit confusing. If you enjoy fantasy books with fairies in, I would recommend Winter Queen by Amber Argyle.

The Longest Night

****

4 Stars/5

It has been 6 years since the Blood Moon battle, and Lucy, along with her boyfriend Nicholas, have set up a place where both vampires and Helios-Ra hunters who have problems with each other go, so they can get over their prejudices. Aggie, a Helios-Ra student, has been bought up by her sister to hate vampires but she particularly distrusts Cal, a vampire with burning blue eyes. As the winter solstice approaches and a new type of vampire hunter group are becoming more dangerous, Aggie and Cal have to work together to save their friends, and she must discover the real reason she thinks Cal is a threat.

The Longest Night is a good short story and it was nice to see some of my favourite characters back and to see what they have been up to since the last book. However, that being said, it felt like the characters had not matured much in the six years, and with how they acted it could have been set less than a year after the Blood Moon battle.

Aggie was an interesting character as she wants to live up to her deceased sister’s beliefs and decisions, but at the same time wants to make her own opinion on what is right and wrong. The romance in this book is good, but I wish there was more of Nicholas and Lucy as they are one of my favourite couples.

This is a really enjoyable novella, however I wish it was a bit longer. I would recommend The Longest Night to fans of the Drake Chronicles. 

Witch Rising

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Amber Argyle for giving me this book to review.

When her parents are killed and she is shipwrecked, Lilette, an 8 year old witch, is the only survivor. She is rescued by Fa, who adopts her as long as she promises never to sing. After years on the island, an accident causes her to reveal her long kept secret, it starts Lilette on the path to her becoming one of the most powerful and important witches ever born.

Witch Rising is the short story prequel to Witch Fall, it is a good, very quick fantasy read. Lilette is a nice character and I felt very sorry for her but I could not connect much with her, I hope I get to know and like her better in Witch Fall.

This novella did not come to a nice conclusion, which left many unanswered questions for the next book. I would recommend Witch Rising to anyone who is interested in reading Witch Fall.

The Seven Kingdoms

***

3 Stars/5

Peace has finally been reached in the seven kingdoms of Justava, but a new evil power is growing, the Necromancer empire. After they are betrayed and have lost their loved ones and city, Brenik and Nalia must find allies to stop the necromancer’s army. To do this they must overcome their prejudices and seek the outcasts of Justava to ignite their rebellion.

The Seven Kingdoms is an enjoyable book, which is a classic fantasy tale with good fighting evil. Whilst this book is similar to Lord of the Rings, it felt like it was more inspired by it than trying to be like it. The start of the book was a bit slow but soon it picks up as the story got more interesting.

I like Brenik and Nalia as they were trying to do what was right and save all races not just their own. However, I did find them a bit too prefect as they were good at everything. Even though I normally like romance in my books, the romance in this did not feel right to me, but I am not sure why.

I enjoyed this book and I hope there are more in this series. I would recommend The Seven Kingdoms to people who enjoy a good fantasy novel which has a good vs. evil theme.

  

Pawn

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin (UK) Limited for giving me this book to review.

After taking the test on her 17^th birthday Kitty has become an III, this leaves her with 2 choices, work very hard at a miserable job away from her friends and boyfriend or become a prostitute. However, the Prime Minister, Daxton Hart, offers her a third option to become a VII. She is Masked, surgically altered to look like the Prime Minister’s niece, Lila Hart, who was killed. With Kitty being a pawn in the Hart family power struggle, she must choose whether she should stay safe and stop the rebellion against the system and Lila’s uncle or continue Lila’s rebellion and risk facing the same fate.

Pawn is a likeable dystopian novel, full of twists, secrets and betrayals, however, the first half of the book was slow and was drawn out, but the last half got more exciting and was quicker paced. Even though there was a minor love triangle in this novel, I liked how the romance did not take over the plot, unlike most YA dystopian books.

Kitty is an interesting character as she wants to help the people who were like her and who are looked down upon by the higher ranks, but at the same time, is willing to do whatever it takes to keep herself and her loved ones safe. However, I felt the way she thought about and reacted to the decisions she made at the start of the book were not realistic. All the secondary characters are interesting and well rounded, but I did find it a bit irritating that everyone was keeping secrets except Benjy.

This was an enjoyable book and I would like to read the next one Captive. I would recommend Pawn to people who enjoyed reading Matched, The Selection and Inside Out. 

Revolution

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Baen Books for giving me this book to review.

Echo is still reeling after the assassination of Alex Tesla, and the usurpation of Echo control by Dominic Verdigris. Bull is still in a coma, and there is nothing Bella can do to bring him out of it. At the same time, Red Djinni has taken over training Vicki, the only person left of Bull’s team of misfits, as Scope and Acrobat are off chasing Harmony after her betrayal. Meanwhile, CCCP are still helping the community, stepping in where Echo cannot, and, with the help of John Murdock and Sera, gaining vital intelligence on the Thulians.

Revolutions is a rather disjointed read, which is to be expected as it is written by various different authors, however I really enjoyed reading it as there are several threads running through the story which tie it all together. Whilst Revolutions is not a quick read it is very engrossing and leaves you wanting more.  It did feel as if the authors were concentrating on Dominic Verdigris rather than the Thulians; the alien invaders were rather a side line than the main story.

Red Djinni is one of my favourite characters, as even though he is a (mostly) reformed thief and a con artist, he shows throughout the books that he has incredible loyalty to his friends and the causes he believes are worth it. I love that every day he changes his visage to look like a different celebrity. I also enjoy the contradiction that is Vicki, as in her domain she is so confident yet outside in the big, wide world she is so scarred and vulnerable. There was not as much of Ramona and Mercurye as I would like, and I would love it if they could have a bigger part in the next book.

Anyone who enjoyed this book would also enjoy the podcasts, available at the secret world chronicles wedsite, which has other unpublished short tales, by the way, Bella's voice is very annoying! I would recommend Revolution to anyone who likes the first two books, Invasion and World Divided, or who like watching Agents of Shield. 

Falling Kingdoms

*

1 Star/5

The death of a wine seller’s son sparks a war between three kingdoms, and four different young people, Cleo, Jonas, Magnus and Lucia are caught in the centre of this conflict. I felt I should have liked Falling Kingdoms, but I found it was boring and did not interest me, as the plot seemed very obvious and predictable. I could not connect to any of the characters as they all seem very stereotypical. Falling Kingdoms is marketed as a YA Game of Thrones, but I am not a fan of either TV series or books, so people who do like it may like this book more. I did not enjoy this book and did not finish it.

A Breath of Frost

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for giving me this book to review.

In 1814 London, the 3 Lovegrove cousins Emma, Penelope and Gretchen, are unaware that they are witches. When Emma inadvertently opens the gates of the underworld, it lets loose horrors into Regency London. The most deadly being the Greymalkin sisters, who are killing debutantes, and Emma is somehow connected to the murders as she keeps finding the bodies. Together Emma, Gretchen and Penelope must learn and master their powers, uncover the clues and discover the secrets of their families past.

I liked A Breath of Frost, but for some reason, I’m not sure why, I felt underwhelmed with it, compared to Harvey’s other books which I love. However, it was a nice, quick paranormal read set in Regency times.

I liked Emma as she is stubborn and tough, however, both her and her cousins act too much like modern women, as they do not behave how I believe most regency girls would.

I will probably read the next book and hopefully I will connect with it more than this one. I would recommend A Breath of Frost to people who enjoy Harvey’s other books.