The Burning Queen - Sizzling sequel to the Phoenix King

 This book picks off from the shards of the Phoenix King. We see the world through Elena's eyes, her misgivings, her regrets, losses and the things she needs to sacrifice to take Ravence back. Dangling in her path is the love hate arc with Samson - the prophet of the great Serpent, looking to become Seshar's savior. Elena teeters between ruthlessly securing her kingdom to accepting that part of her which craves power to loving herself, despite it. 

At the other end of the spectrum is the Butcher, the prophet and the Blue Star, whose fire is waning and yet his urumi wreaks havoc and sheds blood with abandon. Determined to save Sesharians who have been subjugated, he is already at the peak of his powers, and paranoid on who to trust, even the young queen with her fresh agni.

How these two work together with some other resurrected factions forms the core of this fantasy, with kings and queens and agni ruling rife and myths coming to life with each twist of the tale. With revolution, new kingdoms arising and old feuds and prejudices being tested, Aparna Verma sears a cliffhanger at the end of this book - please write faster to end the suspense!

I personally admired the growth in Elena, it was refreshing! Jaya offered a unique perspective as was Div's unique backstory - Aparna excels in bringing the prejudices and injustices meted out to those that are perceived as different to fore!

Thank you Orbit Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC!

Stupid Magical Love - finding magic in a piggycorn world!

 Disclaimer: this was my first Amy Boyles book and boy did it sock me!! If you are looking for a fast read of simmering chemistry, unicorns, magic and a wholesome community feel, look no further!

Pane and Rowe are from polar opposite ends of the wealth spectrum, and yet, face the same hunger for love, for what is living without someone who sees you as you are, and loves you for all of it. Pane is challenged by his mother to turnaround Rowe's non magical piggycorn farm in 2 months to take over the mantle of Maddox industries. On the other hand, Rowe is beaten by loss and betrayal of a personal kind, that leaves her empty and pulls her walls up high.

There are sparks from first sight and they learn about each other and look beyond prejudices as the tale progresses. How Pane finds belonging to the community and Rowe , her healing, form the rest of the tale.

This was a fast paced tale with a quirky magic systems amd a few unicorns along the way! The chemistry was on point for the protagonists and the small town gossip mill is true to life!

Thank you Montlick and Netgalley for this magical opportunity!

Julia Song Is Undateable - getting kultural with kpop romkom

 A soft, culturally infused k-pop romance!! If you are looking for a swift read, warm fuzzies in a community where nothing is secret and expectations run rife, look no further! From parental pressure, to found family friends, to dating misery, this tale takes us to low lows with Julia Song's dating life. Outspoken, successful and vegetarian, Julia Song is a handful for most folks, especially as CEO of her own Korean cosmetics company, her no filter brain and strong opinions drive away the dregs of the successful, tall and handsome Korean pool.

Her grandma twists her arm to date and find love, and entrusts the process to her neighbor, the handsome handyman-esque Tae Kim. What follows are date preps, product demos, learning to order veg in a korean barbeque place, a k-pop concert, as Tae and Julia discover what each really want and accept that the other sees them no more or no less.

I was in love with with Julia, and enjoyed the growth of the hot, popular Tae, in finding a career beyond caring for people or selflessly devoting his hours to others. With strong familial bonds, and a friends group which interferes in love life, this book was a quick read for me and I thoroughly relished it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing the arc!!!

The Isle in the Silver Sea - an eternal tale of incarnates bound by limni ink

If you love enemies to lovers, against all odds, queer, sapphic romance - this book will blow you out of the water!!

Tasha Suri is a maestro at weaving tales which loop through time, space and defy the normalcy of existing romance... With this tome, she explores tales and their power to shape - a future, a heartbreak, wreak lives or build anew with each twist and turn they take. In an isle where incarnates are bound to their tales by a magic as old as time, Simran and Vina struggle to bind themselves to their roles of witch and knight caught in an endless loop to kill each other. Th eternal queen and the archivists keep incarnates on a tight leash, ensuring that no tale changes, for the whims of the protagonists alter the Isle itself. An assassin of the incarnates is roaming the land, one who defies death and is persuasive in his effort to free the tales through death.

Wound through these tangled threads are the solace of found family, the adventure of discovering new tales, and the grief of forgetting old ones, especially those told by Elsewhere (any land outside the silver sea), experiencing the art of bargaining (or making bad bargains as Vina says).. Sprinkled throughout the tale, are segues into dark forests, trysts with faes, cunning folk and witch circles, each offering a rich and unique perspective of the wounds persecution raises.

Exploring tropes of mixed cultures and marginalization of minorities, the supporting cast provides a marvelous, variegated and colorful mix of characters whom you grow to love - hate and relish their interactions. I LOVED how the second half unfolded and it was an absolute triumph of a revelation and homecoming!! you will not be disappointed!

My heartfelt thank yous to Netgalley and Orbit books for affording me this opportunity!!

Red City - Spectacular symphony of alchemy, loyalty and love - a study of perfection

 Absolutely speechless!!! what a resplendent tale from the talented and quote worthy Marie Lu!!! This book was a Magicians meets Kane and Abel meets Into the Badlands vibes!! a lethal, explosive and ruminative, resonant experience of a read!! The Macmillian audiobook team comprising of André Santana, Eunice Wong, Natalie Naudus and Sid Sagar vividly bring out the character nuances and enhances the feel and ambience of the chapter. A modern ballad which weaves drug infused alchemy, syndicates and the race for power an dominance and the repercussions of aforesaid pursuit on the soul... a beautiful , moving ode that soaks in the cultural undercurrents of migrants and their drive to work hard and aim for the stars...

First things first, the descriptions in this book are simply stupendous, like drowning in a kaleidoscope of normal and finding the innate beauty of little things. The quotes and missives at the start of each chapter are also fabulous - my favorite being biochemistry can flood your body with dopamine and yet cannot successfully reproduce love (kudos to the narrators for bringing this random yet elusive gems to life!). This book accompanied me on my morning walks, made me notice the clumps of grass growing in the pavement and also infused the sense of loss at their transitive nature and the ease with which they disappear. 

The books revolves around Ari Rathod and Samantha Lang, two migrant kids who each face a difficult challenge in meeting parental expectations, with one hating the limelight thrust on him and the other yearning to be seen - they are a perfect yin yang couple and the notes they pass in class could be a book on its own. The cryptic and elusive childhood exchange that rambles on everything and nothing at all, It builds to a cymbal crash as they realise they are on opposite sides of a power war that engulfs them, teetering blurring lines of loyalty to an organization that built them to the all consuming love of someone who knows them best. I loved the pseudonyms assigned to the various characters and the training and heartache through building their craft. The ending was symphonic and worked like a Mozart interlude! Brava!!! Can't wait for more form Marie Lu and Tor! 

The book absolutely deserves 5 stars and my thank yous to Netgalley and Macmillian audio for affording this superb opportunity!!!

This is a review of the audiobook.

Never Ever After - spell binding fairytale

 Aaargghhh!!! Don't you just Loathe takes where you have unwittingly enmeshed yourself in the weaves of the story, relishing the plunging free fall of twists and the heady pull of emotions tugging your gut!!!

Sue Lynn Tan remains mistress of the Chinese myth inspired lorecraft. Her words bring alive the magical elements while suffusing them with the political machinations that bring kingdoms to their knees. In this duology she brings that to fore, her world building second to none!

Yining is an orphan who steals under the cruel clutches of her step aunt, who steals her ring, while sneaking into the Crown Prince's ball. This begins the tumultuous, teetering and tantalizing tale of Yining, the lost princess. Peppered with challenges, balls and courtyard etiquette, Yining realises her tryst in the Palace may not be as free as she initially envisaged.. true to her ilk, Sue Lynn Tan creates two heart throbs, who tease, tempt and vex Yining in equal measure..

You love her, for she flounders, unencumbered by the prejudices of history, she grasps and reacts and learns.. and boy do those twists keep coming, unexpected, unwieldy and heart tugging.. Her heart, her love and strong yearning for family and her thorny path in pursuit of truth, dotted with her promises and bargains.. its spellbinding!!!

I had the pleasure of receiving the audiobook from Hatchette Audio and Little Brown Young Readers for this exquisite opportunity to review this book!! I finished it over the weekend!! Natalie Naudus does a spectacular job of infusing life and tone into this roller coaster of a tale! It was my absolute pleasure and I am gutted that the sequel is not out till next year..

Miss at your own peril!!

Phoenix Rises Dragon Soars: Raw beginning to a trilogy

 The Four Guardians trilogy flies off on a premise that follows the 4 Chinese inspired magical mythical elementals following fire, water, earth and metal using the 4 creatures from folklore. 4 characters follows the trail of the story, each with their broken past. The shamaness and the general are the senior members of the group, who lost their families, whilst Shufang faces lies from the her past and her grief seems forced, it could have been handled with more introspection and her sudden recovery and amnesia, although refreshing, seemed too easy. Longwei, on the other hand, faces the more severe trials. His arc could have been explored more. Shufang's character wavers from emotion to emotion, and perhaps, needs additional explanation on how her magic works.

The lack of explanation around the Gu, or evil magic, also hurts. I would love to understand how the empress controls the magics she does, or even know more of the Serpent guard. Being the first in the trilogy, I felt that the magic systems were not laid out in the best possible manners and the severest of issues came to the younger protagonists. I am definitely hoping the character arcs develop as the sequels develop. I also hope the ultimate aim of the Empress is also explained or her character is explained more with a little background.

Thank you for the opportunity to read the arc, Netgalley and Victory Editing!