Book Review: Beauty of the Beast by Rachel Demeter

Beauty of the Beast
By Rachel Demeter
Series: Fairy Tale Retellings Book 1
Ebook: 342
Publication Date: March 15, 2017
My Rating: ★ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ( 1 out of 5 Stars )

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| Official Site | @RachelLDemeter | Facebook |
Related Reviews: | The Shadow Queen | Heartless |
Categories: Fairy Tale Retelling, Historical Romance

A BEAST LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF HIS PAST

Reclusive and severely scarred Prince Adam Delacroix has remained hidden inside a secluded, decrepit castle ever since he witnessed his family’s brutal massacre. Cloaked in shadow, with only the lamentations of past ghosts for company, he has abandoned all hope, allowing the world to believe he died on that tragic eve twenty-five years ago.

A BEAUTY IN PURSUIT OF A BETTER FUTURE

Caught in a fierce snowstorm, beautiful and strong-willed Isabelle Rose seeks shelter at a castle—unaware that its beastly and disfigured master is much more than he appears to be. When he imprisons her gravely ill and blind father, she bravely offers herself in his place.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Stripped of his emotional defenses, Adam’s humanity reawakens as he encounters a kindred soul in Isabelle. Together they will wade through darkness and discover beauty and passion in the most unlikely of places. But when a monster from Isabelle’s former life threatens their new love, Demrov’s forgotten prince must emerge from his shadows and face the world once more…

Book Review: King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

King's Cage
By Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen #3
Ebook: 528 pages
Publication Date: February 7, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( 5 out of 5 Stars )

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Related Reviews: | Red Queen | A Torch Against the Night |
Categories: Fantasy, Dystopia, Magic

In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s bestselling Red Queen series, allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl's spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?

Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother's web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.

As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare's heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.

When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.

Book Review: A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

A Torch Against the Night
By Sabaa Tahir
Series: An Ember in the Ashes #2
Hardcover: 452
Publication Date: August 30, 2016
Publisher: Razorbill
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰ ( 4 out of 5 Stars )

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Related Reviews: | An Ember in the Ashes | The Young Elites |
Categories: High Fantasy, Dystopian, Magic

Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.

Book Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Heartless
By Marissa Meyer
Series: Standalone
Hardcover: 453 pages
Publication Date: November 8, 2016
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
My Rating: ★ ★ ✰ ✰ ✰ (2 out of 5 Stars )

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Related Reviews: | Splintered | Cinder |
Categories: Fairy Tale Retelling, Fantasy, New Release

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

Book Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

The Shadow Queen
By C.J. Redwine
Series: Ravenspire #1
Hardcover: 387 pages
Publication Date: February 16, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( 3 out of 5 Stars )

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| Blog | @CJRedwine | Facebook |
Related Reviews: | Cinder | Heartless |
Categories: Fairy Tale Retelling, Fantasy, Dragons

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder
By Marissa Meyer
Series:The Lunar Chronicles #1
Hardcover: 390
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ✯ ( 4.5 out of 5 Stars )

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Related Reviews: | Heartless | Splintered Series |
Categories: Fairy Tale Retelling, Fantasy, Favorites

Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on. Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived. But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

Book Review: Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes

Crystal Storm
By Morgan Rhodes
Series: Falling Kingdoms #5
Hardcover: 379 pages
Publication Date: December 13, 2016
Publisher: Razorbill
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( 5 out of 5 Stars )

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| Official Site | @MorganRhodesYA | Facebook |
Related Reviews: | Falling Kingdoms | Beauty of Darkness |
Categories: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Magick

The ruthless Empress Amara of Kraeshia has taken the Mytican throne, and now uncertainty looms over the three kingdoms. Since Lucia unleashed the fire Kindred, wreaking havoc throughout the land, Myticans have been looking for someone—anyone—they can trust. They believe in Amara, not knowing her grand promises are built on lies.

In Paelsia, Magnus and Cleo reluctantly follow King Gaius to the home of his exiled mother, Selia. Selia is a powerful witch and claims she can help unlock the magic of the Kindred—if the visitors agree to her terms. When Jonas arrives from Kraeshia, he is shocked to find that his rebel army now includes his sworn enemies. Along with Nic, Felix, and the mysteriously resurrected Ashur, the contentious group agrees to cast aside old grudges—for now—and united against their common enemy: Amara.

Meanwhile, bearing the child of a Watcher and feared by all, Princess Lucia travels across Mytica to find her family. But time is running out. The impending storm signals the dark prophecy Timotheus warned her about. Her fate is written, and it includes none other than the rebel Jonas. When their paths collied, Jonas and Lucia must decide between blindly following their destiny or fighting for their own free will.

The battle for power culminates at the Paelsian palace, where Amara resides. Rain pours. Blood spills. And soon all will discover that the darkest magic comes at an even darker price.