The Book of Heartbreak - Tragic, tempestuous and terrific!!!

This Book!! OMG!!

Ova Ceren weaves a tale of heartbreak, revenge and betrayal with elements of Celestials, memoes and the old school romance of Istanbul into a gothic reminiscent piece. At its center is Sare, a girl cursed to die of heartbreak, and her Celestial, Munu, whose task it is to harden her against it.

With each loss she faces, Munu urges her to stop her tears, and finally , after losing her mother, Sare accompanies her grandfather back to Istanbul.

Enter, Leon, her neighbour with True Sight, a Seer who claims to break the spell. Add in a host of divinities, zinging memoes and the suspense of the past, it is a thrilling ride from start to finish.

Deathly escapades, stolen memories, guilt and angst drive all the main characters, as they seek clarity, accept the mistakes of the past and each, forge their own way to forgiveness. The best parts for me were the email exchanges between the divinities, and the slow unfolding of the tale, like peeling the layers of the onion. I enjoyed the slow, languid flow with the throwbacks and the reveal at the finale. The ending was just, fair and brilliant!

If you liked the Apothecary, then this one is an Eastern inspired version for you! Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC!

Her soul for a Crown - delicious devilish and devouring

 Alysha, you are a Divinity for the written words!

I was wondering if a poison wielding orphan would have enough bite to pull a tale along, and boy, was i in error!!! The story weaves itself around political skirmishes, divinity rebellions and how the people caught in the crossfire cope... the story had several wonderful slew of characters like Bithul, as Alfred, Premala as the acolyte who finds her voice, Reeri, the Yakka who suffers from guilt, and our heroine Anula, who's path is never easy but filled with plot twists and turbulence!!

What particularly drew me to the story is Anula remains the primary lead character even though she's playing on a field where divinities and elemental powers are at play, her growth and choice of what she truly wishes to be, comes to fore!!

A spectacular standalone, slow burn with a feisty female at the helm, magic, divinities and mayhem galore - if that doesn't jolt you to pick up this book, not sure what will..

Thank you to Casablanca source books and Netgalley for the ARC! It was a pleasure to read!