Tides of Fortune - multi POV sizzler of a sequel

 Heir of Storms was my cross between a Harry Potter-esque challenge and riddle infused fantasy adventure plot - fast paced, with a protagonist who grows into her own. My only gripe was that Flint didn't get his fair share of limelight and boy, was that remedied in this installment!

If you love magical quests,  roaming through meandering realms, uncovering history and discovering anomalies and recovering artifacts whilst engaging in political out maneuvering, then you will ABSOLUTELY adore this sequel, especially if your heart already yearns for a certain twin brother who totters between having it all abd losing his eye a la Mat Cauthon from Wheel of Time, yep team Flint is my fan club!

From the get go, this book kicks off in break neck speed as we see Flint and Blaze go in search of  the Eye of the Soul. The journey and banter are sensational as Lauryn delivers on that annoying twin bond that these two share. The twins are split up and each finds their own quest for the truth, search the past and are reunited with unexpected allies. 

The surprise for me was Elva narrating Hal's side of the tale from the palace. This queen of shadows truly comes into her own and brings the uncertain to powerful arc that Blaze had in book One. 

The sparks between Fox snd Blaze are blown on, with each demonstrating new facets of power and the secrets the eye of the past unfurled, the casual hints dropped by Caius and King Balen, with his corporal voice effects!! AARGH! This book is the right mix of intense emotions, interspersed with secrets and clues and the mind boggling magical mix of people!!

Loved every second!!!

My heartfelt thank yous to Natgalley and Macmillian Children's Publishing Group for this incredible opportunity!!!

Fishbone Cinderella - Memoirs of a Geisha x Joy Luck Club

If you love lyrical prose, historical events punctuated by actual heart rending feelings, love the rambling emotions and shifting seasons of families and subscribe to the pride and restraint of Asian parenthood, and also dabble a little in fairy tales, then this book is an ABSOLUTE GEM!!

I've been a HUGE fan of Elizabeth Lim since her spin the dawn novel, and was curious when she said this book was inspired by real life and her family history - I have 2 hard core fantasy thrillers to read and yet I boycotted them in favor of this one - It is ALL That and then some...

A ballad of powerful emotions, from Yut Ying and her origins to Marigold combatting and analyzing her abilities to their intersections of when they were younger, Ms Lim masterfully weaves her tale from past to present and all events in between, the spotlight shining squarely on the bond between mother and child and the frequencies that life pitched to alter their ebb and flow. A nuanced peak at how people connected and the commitment behind those interactions - the sheer force of will to follow a path into an unknown country with a relative stranger - requires courage of the highest degree!

Interspersed in these gutsy bold strokes, are the beauty of lost love, loquats, egg tarts, hwamei chirps and all those innocent everyday things from which hope springs eternal. The Old Love vibes that Mari's story brings in are also spectacular and add their own sweet mix to the larger plotline. Between shadows and light, this story stole my soul - an absolute marvel that I would LOVE to re-read... What a thrill! What a ride!! What an end - absolute nonpareil to anything else.

My yin and yang imbued thank yous to DelRey and Netgally for providing me with an opportunity to enjoy this ARC! And doffed hats to the epically divergent and amazing author Elizabeth Lim - you NEVER cease to amaze me!!

#FishboneCinderella #JulyReleases #DelRey #Netgalley

If Books Could Kill - Deaver meets Archer for a Twisted Love Story

Jefferey Archer's Old Love meets Jeffrey Deaver's Twisted (IYKYK)

Step 1: Take one consistent romcom churning author, fill her with a longing to write a crime novel

Step 2: Add in her adoring fan, too scared to seek love but loves seeking solace in the arms of a book boyfriend, who makes a wish to be the aforesaid manuscript's protagonist

Step 3: Add in a timid college professor, who seeks adventure in troves of crime novels than in reality

Result : CRI-ROM-COM A laughter fest of epic proportions with old fashioned slasher plots, modern ideologies and fears, discovering you CAN and falling over smiling at the most QUIRKY LOVE STORY EVER!

If you love romcoms, the steady rhythm of falling in love, the misunderstanding, the grand proposals, and stalk your favorite author for manuscript updates and whine about it to your bestie, then you will ADORE Roxie Mitchell! Independent, sassy and a complete adrenaline junkie afraid of nothing more than attachment!

Granted her heart's desire by the Gifter- to be the protagonist in her favorite author's latest manuscript, Roxie is expecting a meet cute and cuddles until the end, sends her back to reality.... it seems perfect - until she comes to realize, to her horror, it is a slasher novel!! She plays to her strengths, her 7 years of self defense training coming to fore - before she kidnaps, errm, grand theft autoed Grant, a humble college prof with a penchant for crime novels. 

Together these two bluff, canoodle and sleuth their way through the novel's plots - from minor distractions to the sub plots, the cliches of action movies, the grand finale and the reveal! All wrapped up in a cozy cocoon of banter between the wild, willful and wonderful heroine and the soft, subtle and serious sidekick! It was an ABSOLUTE Riot!!!

My diabolical thank yous to Penguin Books and Netgalley for granting me the ARC!

#JulyReleases #IfBooksCouldKill #Netgalley 

Dominion - Iron and Silk Vol 1 - Power ballad to Chinese Myths

First of all, my phoenix silk bound and metal braised thank yous to Putnam and Netgalley for granting the arc request - this book was soul searing with plot twists, politics, prophecies and power plays! Rubi finds herself, a lowly yin powered ribbon dancer, suddenly bound to the Queen of Tygers - with a backdrop of heartbreak and distrust between the Azures and the Silvers, her position is precarious and wracked with turmoil as she struggles with doubt and self worth to bring her true self to the fore... 

If you love Chinese folklore, the symphony of dragons, tortoise, tygers and phoenixes takes on a Hunger Games-esque novella with hints of DireBound and a lot of spice thrown in for good measure! The characters are fast and furious like - larger than life and absolutely loveable, I, however, struggled withe the pacing, and suddenly found myself losing steam. The ending ABSOLUTELY ROCKED! it truly salvaged the read and I cannot wait to read what comes next for Rubi and Flame, Blake, and all the other characters....

This one is a marvelously intense shot of adrenaline for the fantasy genre! Jean Kwok has an excellent debut and can only go upwards from here - I feel an ACOTAR-ish vibe in the making with the next book.... 

#Dominion #Netgalley #Putnam #Asianfantasy #IronandSilk

Of venom and vengance - magic meets myth in a mafia setting

 If you haven't picked up Of Flame and Fury, you dont have to, in order to enjoy this noir YA novel, with a sprite infused mafia tale of revenge, myths and the eternal romantic quest of being seen! The former book is a fast and furious plunge into dragon racing, while this is a gang inspired romeo juliet slow burn!

Inna and Rylan are perfect foils, brought up in secrecy, on polar opposite spectrum, with Inna being sheltered and tested for leadership, after the death of her elder sister, whose death haunts her still..  And Rylan, the last heir of a famous line of alchemists, who has had to deal with treachery, loneliness and has sworn retribution on Inna's clan.. the tale kicks into high gear when Inna's thirst to find her sister's murderers aligns with Rylan's quest for the Pallo vault..

Together they encounter their worst fears, face their prejudices and learn to trust actions than history. The way Mikayla lays out their pasts and its subsequent influence on their current emotional and mental state, truly is a headliner for this novel! The novel magic system, treasure seeking for truth and the lair of the Serpent God, are all laud worthy and fascinating concepts!! I thoroughly relished Celesse, Fernando and Adelia as the supporting troupe whose misguided actions cause Inna to falter, question and ultimately find her true footing!

My heartfelt thank yous to Macmillian Children's Publishing Group amd Netgalley for the arc!!

#Julyreleases #mafiaslowburn #spritesandserpents #alchemicalwarfare

The Winged Game - sear soul searching and superb fantasy racing standalone!

 Ahh!! Sophie Kim - you've captured my curmudgeonly favorite attitude, with symphants and wyverns - all powerful yet puppies, drawn a parallel with the bonding of a certain Violet, and yet, I can't call the tone / attitude or the sizzling bickering / banter, anything other than a seductive slow burn - my heart and spirit are soaring!!. Teissa and Kion or Cho and Locke are locked in an eternal battle of one-upmanship which is absolutely mind blowingly and gorgeously laid out. Teissa is drawn to fighters, and chooses her Winged based on the blaze and relentless drive that she fuels with her RAGE, her humiliation and downfall because of something out of her control and its impact on her sense of self. On the flip side, we have Kion, her senior, idol and destroyer, battles with being bettered and understanding how his once stellar team is now down in the dumps.

When they reach an alliance and get papped, the obvious solution is pretend to date - with hillarious situations involving racy lingerie, adult lollipops and a whole PR stunt which seems to get scorchingly agonizing as the two find their balance and rhythm. 

Sophie does a phenomenal job with the magic system, I love learning as the story progresses, the various winged participants in the Carriwitchet, the semblance of the team, with the robbers, dozers and bailer - fantastically engaging! Add in heated rivalry, mistrust and impediments like swords and falling riders, and at the heart, a very grumpy and surly symphant senior, Cronus whose disposition and abuse at a previous handler proves Taissa's mettle to the belligerent rival team.

The fake dating ploy and the ensuing cauldron tags and comments were ludicrously enjoyable! and I'd be remiss if I did not pay due homage to the supporting characters, each with their back stories and their banding to prove their worth. What unfolds is a mystery with magical roots and bargains and a wild hunt culminating in the MOST fun climax I've had the pleasure of reading!!

My Winged, echelon formation thank yous to Netgalley, Del Rey and Sophie Kim by offering me this read!! It was stunning, spectacular sear and a brilliantly bickered out book!!!

#Junereleases #thewingedgame #carriwitchet #cauldron #cancelledcrone

Checking you out - STUNNING YA ode to fabtasy readers!!!

 Jennifer Chen!! You AMAZING, soulful, Queen of the Meet Cute, I mean, can you beat a kitten for cuteness?!?! Add in fantasy lovers, book trails, libraries and an absolute stunner of a scavenger hunt - you are left with hope, love abd a feeling if knowing what truly matters in your life story.. I Felt my way through this story, which hasn't happened in a looking time!

Lizzie and her cloistered group of varied genre readers, the stigma attached with delving into fantasy, the harsh repercussions of bad experiences - i give up, this could not be better any which way! Dylan ( who lives rent free as Die Lawn), with his dragon sweatshirt and Lizzie with the pastries,  book bouquets,  and of course, fostering the purr monsters - are delightful, naive and utterly un-put-downable characters!! 

The library note exchange was so well executed and the becoming the main character of your life story was also explored gainfully! And woven in is their exchange, rife, with the emotional intelligence and unconditional sustenance you absorb front delving headfirst into fantasy - ADORBS!!! 

Jennifer Chen automatically gained entrance into the auto buy club, CANNOT wait to see what she brings forth next!! I cannot bring myself to compare her with Lynn Painter,  she's in a league of her own!!

St Martin's Press  and Wednesday Books, along with Netgalley made my inner teenager rave with this offering!! 

#junereleases #meetcute #bookishloves #fantasyinspired