The Beautiful Ones

***

3/5

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for giving me this book to review.

The Beautiful Ones is an enjoyable romance novel which has a hint of fantasy. This disappointed me as with very minor changes it would have been a historical book, and I am much more interested in fantasy books than historical romance books. The story was slow-paced but that meant that we got to know the characters better.

Nina is a naïve character but that did not stop her from being straight talking. I was not a fan of Hector at all as he was such a user who was too trapped in past, and while he did change in the second half of the book by then I didn’t care. In some ways Valerie was my favourite character as I could understand her motives and I like baddies who know what they want and will do anything to accomplish them.

I was disappointed that the story was not as much fantasy as I hoped but the book was still an enjoyable read. I would recommend The Beautiful Ones to fans of romance novels with a hint of fantasy.

Nobody's Pawn

****

4/5

Nobody’s Pawn is the good final book in this trilogy and it is still fast paced and I did not want to put the book down. I really liked the slow burn romance, the world building and the commentary about gender roles. It answered all of the questions I had from the previous books and I did not predict where the story was going at all.

Noll has really matured in this story as she is more forgiving than before while also willing to step up to responsibility of people’s expectations of her as well still being as passionate and adventurous as before. Ailill seems more relaxed in this book but still has so many secrets which seems to take their toll on him. While the other characters are interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them, I wish I could knock some sense into most of them as everyone seemed to be thinking with their hearts but never with their heads and no one seemed to actually have the conversations they need with anyone.

I really enjoyed this series and I am very much looking forward to reading more of Mcnulty’s Books. I would recommend Nobody’s Pawn to fans of the first two books in this trilogy, and the trilogy to those who like surprisingly deep and twist filled YA fantasy books.

Nobody's Lady

****

4/5

Nobody’s Lady is the second book in The Never Veil trilogy and it is just as good as the first book. It is fast paced and I was hooked to the story hoping to discover what was going to happen next, as there seems to be a lot more going on than I was expecting and only The Lord seems to know what is going on. I really enjoyed how different the men and women were, and how they interacted with each other was fascinating. I can also understand both sides and what they might be feeling, although a lot of the problems could have been helped with just people talking to each other.

I like Noll more in this book as she has learnt from her past and is willing to acknowledge her mistakes which makes her come across as less selfish. I wish we could have seen more of Ailill as his and Noll’s dynamic was so enjoyable and there was not enough for me. Like the last book I was not the biggest fan of Jurij as he was acting so whiny and like the world revolved around him.

I really liked this book and with that cliffhanger and a lot of mysterious to discover I am really looking forward to learn what happens next in Nobody’s Pawn. I would recommend Nobody’s Lady to fans of the first book, Nobody’s Goddess.

Nobody's Goddess

****

4/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Patchwork Press for giving me this book to review.

Nobody’s Goddess is a really good YA fantasy novel which is deeper than you might think as it is about choice, freewill and how power can affect how the different genders treat each other. There is a bit of a beauty and the beast theme to this book but there is so much more going on in the story. Well written and with a few twists I did not see coming but I was a fan of the fact that all but one of the questions I had in this book were answered by the end.

Noll is defiant and passionate but also lonely, however, she is also selfish and seems like the person who wants what they cannot have. There was a lot of interesting characters in this story, such as The Lord, Alvilda and Avery but I did not understand Noll’s attraction to Jurij as he was very blah.

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next two books in this series. I would recommend Nobody’s Goddess to those who want to read a thought-provoking YA fantasy book.

Ensnared

***

3/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Pikko’s House for giving me this book to review.

Ensnared is a sci-fi retelling of Beauty and the Beast which was interesting but it is predictable and an unlikely story, which I felt needed more world building. Both of the main characters had major mental health issues because of their past and I wish these were addressed in some way and I felt that their relationship was not healthy or good for each other as they enablers for the other and were dependant solely on each other.

Alainn is a likeable character who is loyal, protective and stubborn, and Lorccan is a very mysterious genius. The secondary characters were not as fleshed out as Lorccan and Alainn which meant I did not care much about them.

While I enjoyed Ensnared, it did not grab me as much as I had hoped, and I would recommend it to fans of The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clark.

Storm Watcher

***

3/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Weapenry Co-Op for giving me this book to review.

Storm Watcher is an enjoyable contemporary middle-grade book about overcoming fears and dealing with grief. This book is not like any of Maria’s other books and while it is not my favourite of hers, it still has her brilliant writing style.

Luke is such a sweet and sensitive kid but he is tougher than he first appears as he is determined and very clever. Like all of Maria’s books the relationships in this novel make the story and I especially liked Luke’s with Megan and Lightning.

While not my normal genre of book I still enjoyed Storm Watcher and would recommend it to people who like coming of age middle-grade books.

Throne of Lies

***

3/5

Thanks to Sara Secora for giving me this book to review.

Throne of Lies is an enjoyable fantasy novel which is full of romance, secrets and a mystery. It raised a lot of questions and hardly answered ant of them and the relationships between the characters seemed to establish very quickly. The main problem with this book is the pacing as the first half of the story could have easily been told in half the pages, and it really drags the story.

Amethysta is self-centred and a dreamer who longs to have control over her own life. Soren is the pretty standard hero, perfect, brave and protective, but I wished that there was more depth to him. Ark is mysterious and a bitter character but who grows to be a kinder than he first seems.

I liked Throne of Lies and I would recommend it to fans of Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson and the Stolen Royals series by Kelsey Keating.