Rider of Dragons - Girl power meets illegal dragon races

 Does the rash racing with dragons, flames and a no holds barred contest thrill your senses? Does women representation in a male dominated sport appeal to your sense of justice? Would you love mixed signals, complicated family dynamics and a sizzling romance? Then this offering from A.T. Qureshi would be right up your alley!

Ginny Sterling has longed to join the illegal dragon races, but since the death of her brother Danny, her family have become over protective and refuse to support her training or indulge in her ambition to follow in her brother's footsteps. She reaches out to the black market for a trainer - the enigmatic Qais, who promises her a win, as long as she parts with the prize money.

Fraught with angst, painful memories and complicated relations, the emotional pull on this one is off the charts! The challenges and the entire racing calendar is laid bare - ruthless and painful in each phase as Ginny learns to use her daggers and gains lessons in pain! With the other riders and the schemes and interplay to funnel through a no rules contest - absolutely brilliant!! and the ending is like a sucker punch to the gut - aaargghhh - how COULD you???

My heartfelt thank yous to Harper360 and Netgalley for allowing me to soar with the dragons and bleed with the certainty that completing the race to finish the book was glory! My doffed hat and curtsy to the infernal A.T. Qureshi for vexing me with this ending and causing my nails irrevocable damage with the tumult of emotions in this book - you better be hard at work on the next!

#Sepetemberstellars #RiderofDragons #Illegalracingdragon #emotionalrollercoaster

The Golden Citadel - Dystopian YA thrill seeker

 This is a novel take on a dystopian society ruled by classes of magic with the undefined relegated to the lowest for maintenance. After a destructive world war, individual colonies are ruled by AI entities who have written up their peace treaties. The setting was uniquely poised in an era where AI is having an onslaught in all fields - melding AI and magic systems seems rudimentary, if you consider it

Lily Inkwood pours her love for the underdog, the never say die attitude and the abject humiliation of Ellie, who treats the AI, Stella,as her personal bestie - the use of technology, magic and the dystopian vibes are all grey and all consuming. The bonding of the top Warrior team and the history, interplays between them is also very well wrought. The quests, the team rankings - this is like hunger games on AI mode with a whiff of the matrix - what is not to love?

I enjoyed the book and look forward to more!

Thank yous to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for the ARC!

#Augustreleases #hungergamesxmatrix #thegoldencitadel #dytopianYA

The Queen's Bodyguard - Racy slow burn built of respect

 If you love a slow burn with plenty of power play, if rituals and social classes fan your flames and if political gimmicks and a glimpse of normality instigate your imagination, then this racy novel is a perfect companion!

Lauren Blackwood introduces us to Theora, the new queen, who has had to rule the kingdom or colony after a ruthless attack from their neighbors. That she is magicless is a well kept secret. Invited to peace talks with their violent neighbor, Queen Pyre, Theora enters into a marriage of convenience with Argos, a warrior of renown, to protect her during the meetings in a neutral territory.

What follows is a slew of dominant behaviors, adjusting to trust and accepting all of one's aspects, not just what the royal decorum demands. Drawn from their respective circles, Theora and Argos, claw, fight and snipe their way to build understanding of what constitutes respect and honor and above all, be of service to the Arneans.

My battle paint filled salutes to Ballentine, Delacorte Press and Netgalley for this opportunity!

#Augustreleases #multiculturalinterest #powerplay #slowburn 

Court of Lies and Deceit - Outplaying the Unseelie King - Isera style!

 Does your heart thrum with magical villainy and the ruthlessness of protecting your own, do you find yourself caving in to the powerful and reveling in new found magical abilities, does a dark flashback - gutting and emotional, always get your heart thumps going, does outplaying a powerful foe who loves games but never plays, sing to your sense of justice, then come on in and let the games begin.....

This book is the third in the series by Marion Blackwood and follows right after the previous one's cliffhanger, with Selena broken and suffering, Draven reaches out to the Unseelie Court's ruler, Orion to save her. Accompanied by Lyra, Galen, Isera and Alistair, they find their way barred as they weren't paying attention to the bargains they made. Orion's court is trapped in its borders and to pacify the restlessness in the kingdom, he hosts games with players - with an ultimate boon being bestowed, and he wants this team to play.

The story rushes forward with the speed of a juggernaut with twists and turns - hope, glory and Isera - in shining bold neon highlight!!! Jacosta, is well cast, as their trainer and the games themselves are an adrenaline rush - with strategy, entertainment and bloodlust - think gladiator x hungergames x dragonshifters

I LOVE how Selena accepts her gifts and comes to terms with her connection with Draven, while also accepting the truth that her powers make her uniquely qualified for a ruthlessness that the upcoming battles will bring forth!

My soulstealing thank yous to Scarlett Press, Netgalley for allowing my shameless bingeing of the ARC! Looking forward to the next rollercoaster this saga will strap me to!

#Netgalley #ScarlettPress #CourtofLiesandDeceit #GladiatorxHungerGames # Augustreleases

Halloween Town - Charming tale of friends to lovers in a quirky town

 Prepare to be bewitched! by crisp clean country air, flashy Halloween decor, the town skeptics versus the believers, nosy ghosts, found family who just don't quit, a uniquely propositioned mayor and her teenage sidekick and a most cozy love story of friends to lovers.

Welcome back to H-Town, this story picks up from Summerween, and follows the tale of Thom and Poppy, two young, giddy children who were best friends as kids and now come back to their security blanket - Solstice Deep, in their hour of need. Together, they sift through their memories, identifying what each meant to the other and realize they are no longer in the same bubble, while also managing their spritual beliefs - add in one farting dog, two best friends, a teenager with psychic abilities, and a meddlesome godmother of a mayor and a town teeming with Halloween celebrations that bring the community together, you have a cozy read that is MADE for autumn and pumpkin spice!

My witchy thank yous to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for providing me an opportunity to indulge with the ARC! this one is best savored with freshly brewed coffee, twizzled with a cinnamon stick!

#Augustreleases #witchyreads #halloweentown

Alchemy of Souls - dystopian society with a magical imbalance

 Room of Requirements based mystery set in dark academia vibes, with a feisty found family trope looped in for fair measure..

Adriana Mather brews a potent magic in this magical setting, in a dystopian society where magic and its practice is rigorously controlled and the elite are able to wield all four magics while the laborers struggle to get their one magical class assignment. It all depends on their performance in the Academy's entrance exam. but deep in the hallways of magic something incongruent occurs when the star pupil and lowly laborer are assigned each other's faces instead of the magical class they truly belong to, and especially when they produce the mystical archive key. Issued a two week reprieve from the Chancellor, Grayson and Eloise stumble their way through the typical and atypical teenage mores of societal adaptation, fake dating and living high stakes, lie-based and life and death variety of excitement, with the undercurrent of fatal attraction.

Eloise and Gray traipse through the hallways of the academy, fending off spies, testing their magical synchronicity and finding their own selves and acceptance to the way things work and what they are willing to sacrifice to achieve their goals. Add in a nefarious and tyrannical uncle, a sister who sings all the time, backstories with sorrow at their heart and finally, a poetic reveal on how magic operates...

My absolutely favorite was Maggie - utterly and bewitchingly wonderful!!! More than Eloise herself, I fell in love with the brash, brutal and frankly scary Maggie!! 

My alchemical thank yous to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing the ARC! best read with spicy pumpkin chai under a warm and cozy blanket with a tart, of course!

#Augustreleases #alchemyofsouls #darkacademia #dystopianfix #rebellion

Fields of Asphodel - Moving retelling on trust, bonds and family

 Ravishing and lyrical ode to the trending Greek myths focusing on the lesser known deities! If you loved Circe but wanted a more youthful countenance with some quests thrown in, then this is the marvelous coming of age story for the youthful flower goddess who claims back everything she thought she had lost at birth, with agonizingly thoughtful quotes and remonstrations.

Callie Rowland bears spotlight on Thanatos, the gentle god of Death and Asphodel or Del, the Flower Goddess and child of Persephone and Hades. Del, raised by her maternal grandmother, Demeter, has spent her life knowing a curse was placed upon her at birth - to never love a God from the Underworld, by her mother Persephone. Under the ministrations of Hecate (Cate) and Demeter (Yaya), she has learnt potion making and tending of her Isle, where she reigns supreme and no one can question her absolute control. Wary of her parents, she remains a third wheel in their family, attending only feasts and plotting with Demeter on how to disenchant Persephone and bring her back into the light.

Things go awry when she is informed of her betrothal to Thanatos, her father's loyal lieutenant, erstwhile God of Gentle Death, beloved teacher to her triplet siblings, and more a member of her family. Her rage and frustration lead her to kidnap Thanatos to her Isle, and what follows is a beautiful tale of trust, betrayal, loss and understanding. 

Drawing on themes of family, cycles of vengeance, seasons of resentment and blossoming of trust and companionship, the story unfolds leisurely, like a walk along a sandy shore, collecting shells in an infinite world of possibilities. There is definitely some sizzle involved, but the tale itself was like the timeless compositions that make Greek retellings romanticized!

My heartfelt thank yous (Styx swear) to 47North and Netgalley for providing me with the arc!

#greekretelling #comingofage #calliemrowland #fieldsofasphodel #augustreleases