Tag: fantasy

This Chick’s Audio Review: Secrets Bound by Sand (Dragon Ridden Chronicles #4) by T.A. White

Tate’s dragon goes on an uncontrolled rampage claiming the emperor’s treasury as her horde and get Tate cast out of Aurelia, if only temporarily, sent on a mission to negotiate a treaty. On her way she is kidnapped twice, each time learning more about her past and the people who claim her as savior. Can she find her way to defeat the big bad that’s still trying to kill off everyone she’s grown to love? Only if she opens her mind and heart to the future, learning from what has happened in her past.

After a great second and third novel in the series, I’ll admit that Secrets Bound by Sand was kind of a convoluted mess. While I still love these characters, all narrated by Natasha Soudek, I’m getting a little restless with the author’s inability to reach a conclusion. You know how some longer series have that book that falls in the middle that just moves the character forward but not much else happens? For me, this was that novel. The only thing new we learned was from Tate’s past and while it was revealing it didn’t really help what was happening in her life today, it just explained how she was sent to sleep thousands of years ago. Interesting but not the conclusion I was looking for out of this novel.

We did learn a bit more about Knight (Night? I’m listening, not reading the book remember!) and his bearcat race. On this journey, Tate, Knight, and Dewdrop meet up with the Vela (sp?), a sentient race who can shift from bearcat to a human-like figure on two legs. This interesting development actually provided more for Knight’s character than the entire book did for Tate!

Did my ho-hum attitude keep me from reading the fifth book? No. I immediately got the audiobook. I’m invested in the series and hope that it reaches its conclusion in this fifth book. I’m over the character insight and want a conclusion so I can move on. Not really what you hope to feel after reading five books from an author you love, but there you have it. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Secrets Bound by Sand

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick’s Audio Review: Destruction’s Ascent (Dragon Ridden #3) by T.A. White

I went back and read my reviews of books one and two and had to chuckle to myself. I lamented the fact that the author had let so much time go by between writing books one and two, and yet book three came out one year after book two, in 2018, and I let four years go by before picking up the series again. Not for lack of liking it because I love this author and I really did like the first two books, but because time just flew by and I had too many other books step in front of this one. Here are my reviews of the first two books if you, like me, need a catch up.

Dragon Ridden

Of Bone and Ruin

Destruction’s Ascent opens with Tate, now in the dragon corps, and going through training. Of course, Tate is not like other dragon ridden since she and her dragon were asleep for generations, but also because she and her dragon speak to each other, something that the others fear lead to insanity. She may be called insane because of the situations she gets in, but Tate’s sanity is pretty normal. Speaking of situations, one arises when Tate touches a mirror in her dragon mentor’s office and an evil creature comes through it and tries to kill everyone in the room. See what I mean about crazy situations? Dragons are as curious as cats, and Tate wants to explore this world on the other side of the mirror. When she finally walks through one, she finds the children who have gone missing throughout Aurelia, and the big bad who have taken them. Destruction’s Ascent is about solving the mystery as well as figuring out a few things about her past.

With a name like Destruction’s Ascent, you better start the story off fast and never stop and that is what T.A. White delivers to its readers. I listened to this book and found myself putting off the more important things in my life (hello job!) and finding moments to keep listening to this story. The narrator is Natasha Soudek, who also narrates the Aileen Travers series, and does a fine job even if the voices she gives the characters aren’t quite what I’d imagine them to sound like in my head. Her characterization of Tate evolves through the story as Tate finds out things about her past but the snarkiness that I love is voiced spot on, so I’ll give her props. She rocked Tate’s voice.

Four years after reading the last book and I’m reminded why I love this author’s novels so much and this series as well. Her heroine’s are always everywomen. Yes, they do heroic and selfless things, but they don’t typically have magical powers. Yes, Tate can turn into a dragon but that is more species related than it is her being magical. The way she processes what’s going on around her and then takes action gives her character a relatability that makes her an easy character to like and root for. If I had one complaint it would be that the novel needs a little more romance between she and Ryu. He is slowly stalking that relationship when is building the tension nicely but I’m ready for some heat, and not of the dragon fire variety.

If you’re a lover of fantasy like I am, please give this series a try. I think, like me, you’ll get into it and won’t want to put it down. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Destruction’s Ascent

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (12/5/22)

I’ll admit that for work I am heading into the busiest time of the year, then when you add in the holidays, parties, and decorating I just didn’t seem to have that much time to read. I did finish a book, and whereas I didn’t hate it, it didn’t grab me either. It has great reviews and I kept wondering what I was missing. So when I was reading, I wasn’t in the right head pace for it. I hate that! Does that ever happen to you? On another note, my husband and I started watching Wednesday on Netflix and OMG, it is so good. That’s probably another reason it was hard to get into this book, it just paled in comparison.

JUST FINISHED

This one was really hard for me to finish. It wasn’t that it was bad, and maybe I was reading it when I was stretched a little thin and didn’t have the time to really enmesh myself into the story, but I just got frustrated with it. A great premise that showed promise and didn’t deliver for me. Bummer!

JUST STARTED

I received the advanced reader copy for this book and it looks like it will be right up my alley. A science fiction space opera with a hint of romance and action-adventure. I can’t wait to get started!

Are your holiday plans getting in the way of your reading? I know how you feel! I hope it gets better!

Happy Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Ascension Day (Ageless Mysteries #6) by Vanessa Nelson

The final novel in the Ageless Mysteries series, Thea March finds herself investigating another murder, or a series of them. The city is preparing for Ascension Day a day to celebrate the Archon, one of the most powerful beings in the world. As Thea investigates she uncovers a revolt that she and her friends need to stop before the Archon destroys their city.

There are so many things I’ve loved about this series. I love how Thea starts off hating the Ageless and wanting to stay beneath their notice, but then she develops a relationship with her father that makes her see that not all was as she thought, but that ageless came in both good and evil, just as humans did. Thea’s self also evolves. She knows now, that she is an Ageless, as her wings made an appearance in past novels at pivotal moments and in this novel the appearance makes it impossible for her to pretend she is human anymore. This series is not a romantic fantasy, but there are hints of a romance between she and Niath. I’m a sucker for those moments between the two of them. The last thing I like is that this series is a classic trope of good vs. evil. For most of the series the evil is unknown, but in this novel the plot is revealed and it’s quite a doozy.

Ascension Day was everything I wanted from the final book in a great series. The mystery was well-written and the final reveal was awesome and vicious. Our heroine proved herself to be selfless, and honorable. Fighting for the good of others and not for her own self interests. She wasn’t superhuman at all but in the end proved herself to be something pretty special.

If you are looking for a quick reading fantasy series, the Ageless Mysteries are a lot of fun and rewarding to read. Start with the first book because the development of the characters are crucial to your enjoyment of these novels! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Ascension Day

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My Top 5 Most Anticipated Book Releases- Dec’22

Surprisingly, I had a tough time coming up with my Top 5 this month. I guess typically I’ve heard of a few authors and am looking forward to their book releases. This month I mined through various lists dedicated to romance, fiction, YA, and mystery to come up with a top five that I feel good about promoting. These are different picks than my usual with the exception of one or two that are pure pleasure reads.

#5 BOOK RELEASE

I have a love-hate relationship with books about the lost Romanovs. This story has a slightly different take as Anastasia’s character, as well as others in this world, have magical abilities. I’m curious to see how this author tells her sad story.

Synopsis:

Anastasia is the princess no one needs: the fourth daughter born to an emperor without a son, and the only royal lacking a magical gift.

Until she collides with a young Cossack rebel, changing both their lives forever.

Damien is taken from everything he knows and raised as a ward of the Romanovs.

Anastasia develops a strange kind of magic shared only by the Black Monk Rasputin.

While her power grows in secret, boosted by forbidden contact with Damien, Anastasia makes a mistake with terrible consequences.

Fate grants her a single chance to set it right… but saving what she lost may cost everything she loves.

Purchase this book through this link!* Anastasia

#4 BOOK RELEASE

I’ll admit the synopsis totally drew me in and made me curious. Sex, voyeurism, and imprisonment in your own home. What?!! This could be really good or go in a direction I’m not expecting at all.

Synopsis: Jane Morgan is a valued member of her law firm—or was, until a prudish neighbor, binoculars poised, observes her having sex on the roof of her NYC apartment building.  Police are summoned, and a punishing judge sentences her to six months of home confinement. With Jane now jobless and rootless, trapped at home, life looks bleak. Yes, her twin sister provides support and advice, but mostly of the unwelcome kind. When a doorman lets slip that Jane isn’t the only resident wearing an ankle monitor, she strikes up a friendship with fellow white-collar felon Perry Salisbury. As she tries to adapt to life within her apartment walls, she discovers she hasn’t heard the end of that tattletale neighbor—whose past isn’t as decorous as her 9-1-1 snitching would suggest. Why are police knocking on Jane’s door again? Can her house arrest have a silver lining? Can two wrongs make a right? In the hands of “an inspired alchemist who converts serious subject into humor” (New York Times Book Review)—yes, delightfully.  

Click this link to purchase this book!* Ms. Demeanor

#3 BOOK RELEASE

I am very, very curious. After traveling to Amsterdam and visiting the office where Anne Frank and her family lived during WWII, I find myself drawn to stories about that time in history. This looks like a very different sort of novel, and the publisher’s comparing it to Like Water for Elephants makes me want to pick it up and hope for that magical moment.

Synopsis: When all is lost, how do you find the courage to keep moving forward?

1938. Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the circus, even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Theo. Brilliant and curious, Lena—who uses a wheelchair after a childhood bout with polio—yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, her mind stronger than the limitations placed on her by society. Then her unconventional life takes an exciting turn when she rescues Alexandre, an orphan with his own secrets and a mysterious past.

As World War II escalates around them, their friendship blossoms into something deeper while Alexandre trains as the illusionist’s apprentice. But when Theo and Alexandre are arrested and made to perform in a town for Jews set up by the Nazis, Lena is separated from everything she knows. Forced to make her own way, Lena must confront her doubts and dare to believe in the impossible—herself.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Circus Train

#2 BOOK RELEASE

This is book #5 in a romance series that’s set around a Renaissance Faire and I am not tired of the setting yet! Jen DeLuca gives us interesting characters who search to better their lives with a brief time working the Renaissance Faire circuit. I’m intrigued, impressed, and engaged by and with her stories. I’ll admit that I’ve already read this one and thought it charming.

Synopsis: The Renaissance Faire is on the move, and Lulu and Dex are along for the ride, in the next utterly charming rom-com from Jen DeLuca.

A high-powered attorney from a success-oriented family, Louisa “Lulu” Malone lives to work, and everything seems to be going right, until the day she realizes it’s all wrong. Lulu’s cousin Mitch introduced her to the world of Renaissance Faires, and when she spies one at a time just when she needs an escape, she leaps into the welcoming environment of turkey legs, taverns, and tarot readers. The only drawback? Dex MacLean: a guitarist with a killer smile, the Casanova of the Faire… and her traveling companion for the summer.
 
Dex has never had to work for much in his life, and why should he? Touring with his brothers as The Dueling Kilts is going great, and he always finds a woman at every Faire. But when Lulu proves indifferent to his many plaid charms and a shake-up threatens the fate of the band, Dex must confront something he never has before: his future.
 
Forced to spend days and nights together on the road, Lulu’s interest in the kilted bad boy grows as he shows her a side of himself no one else has seen. The stresses of her old lifestyle fade away as she learns to trust her intuition and follow her heart instead of her head. But when her time on the road is over, will Lulu go with her gut, or are she and Dex destined for separate paths?

Click this link to purchase this book!* Well Traveled

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase one of these books through an above link, I’ll receive a small stipend.

MY TOP BOOK RELEASE FOR DEC’22

I’ll read any book that Penny Reid releases. Seriously. I did read the first book in this series and I know this book is centered around Cyrus and has a Christmas theme. That’s all I could find out! LOL. No one has a synopsis listed. Despite that, her novels always give me a lift and so she’s got my #1 spot.

Do any of these books make your own list? I’d love to hear what books you’re looking forward to coming out next month.

Happy Sunday!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Raven Unveiled (The Fallen Empire #3) by Grace Draven

Siora is on the run from Gharek, an assassin who has sworn an oath of revenge against her because she betrayed he and his disabled daughter. Overcome by his anger, Gharek can’t see beyond the outcome of his chase, grabbing her just as they are both discovered by the enemy and held captive. Siora uses her abilities to speak with the dead and Gharek his knowledge of the castle to become valuable to this new threat who wants to conquer the throne. Together Siora and Gharek must find the tool to a magical power.

I’ll admit, it had been a little while since I had read Dragon Unleashed, but as I read this book it all came back to me pretty quickly. that’s when I became fascinated with how the author was portraying Gharek, who was the bad guy in the previous novel, turning him into someone we could admire. I thought she did a great job of portraying him as a dedicated father, laying all of his past evils into the column of having done them to protect his disabled daughter. Life isn’t quite so black and white as that, but I did find his reasons believable, as well as his regret at the things he had done. I also could be lieve that Siora could overlook his hunting of her as his love for his daughter and her betrayal making him unhinged. Well, it is a fantasy novel after all, so I chose to believe in the reasons and moved on from that slight hiccup in the plot.

Siora was a really interesting character. She saw ghosts and could communicate with them. Her skills actually evolved throughout this novel, not in a sudden “magical” way but through the need to survive and protect. Her love for her father, one of the ghosts, and for Estred, Gharek’s daughter gave her character impetus to look beyond her own needs. She was a little self-sacrificing, true, but it was a non-romantic love that drove her actions. I kind of liked that! Of course, a romantic love between she and Gharek grew as well but that love didn’t really drive her actions.

Sometimes fantasy novels get bogged down by an epic journey, detailed landscapes, and traveling companions, but this one was light on all three of those plot points. The world had already been established so the reader was just dropped right in, the journey was shortened by alternate universe-type paths, and Gharek was the only new traveling companion that we had to learn and learn to like. Grace Draven made it pretty easy for this reader to slide right in and enjoy the story and I certainly didn’t have any trouble doing that. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* Raven Unveiled

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (11/7/22)

So many great books are coming out this month! I have a lot on my TBR and am excited to dig in as some books are being released. BUT, I’m also reading a new to me author and have been going through her back list Kindle Unlimited. I’m excited to be approaching the holidays because I’ll have a little time off to hopefully read to my heart’s content. Here’s what’s on my nightstand!

JUST FINISHED

I received an advanced reader copy and was excited that I loved it so much. This author is exploring her muse and I love the direction she’s taken recently. Better Than Fiction is her best book yet- in my opinion.

JUST STARTED

This is the only series left from Vanessa Nelson that I haven’t read. All of her books are on Kindle Unlimited so if you’re a member, check her out. Her heroines are action-star worthy and humble. I’m really enjoying reading her back list.

What books are on your next to read?

Happy Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (10/31/22)

Happy Halloween! Do you find yourself searching for horror books or thrillers this time of year? Scary movies? I’ll admit that I like a good thriller but I’m not into being scared. I stick with my same old genre’s. I do enjoy the candy though!

Here’s what’s on my nightstand currently.

JUST FINISHED

I really enjoyed this novel but it wasn’t what I thought it would be at all. Much more serious than the cover led me to believe, all I’ll say is stick with it until the end. It’s totally worth it!

JUST STARTED

I’ve read two series by this author and really enjoy the world’s she creates and the humanity of her main characters. I really have only read the first chapter but I’m looking forward to digging into the whole story.

Have a wonderful Halloween and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (10/24/22)

What a fabulous week! What can I say, I love pumpkin spice latte’s, fall weather, and the colorful foliage! I also love spending my weekends reading good books and I’ve definitely been taking advantage of that! I’ve been reading ahead to get some of my commitments taken care and some new releases are stacking up in my kindle. Here’s what I’ve been reading.

JUST FINISHED

Wow, what a gorgeous cover! This fantasy novel is the third in The Fallen Empire series and whereas you could pick it up and read it without reading the other two, you would get some context towards these two characters back story if you read the second book in the series. I really enjoyed how the author made me like a character that was pretty reprehensible in the last book. I was wondering how she was going to do that!

JUST STARTED

I find these Bromance Book Club novels charming and am definitely half in love with the hero even before this book started. Colton is an aw shucks heartthrob and he has his work cut out for him with a self confident and cautious Gretchen. I just started it but love these two together already.

I’ll admit, I’m in a light-hearted mood when it comes to books. Are you reading something more serious and interesting? Give that book a shout out in the comments!

Happy Monday and happy reading!

Deb

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This Chick Read: A Duel with the Vampire Lord (Married to Magic series) by Elise Kova

Technically, A Duel with the Vampire Lord is the third book in the Married to Magic series, but as each of these books are stand alone novels, they can be read independently, without having to read the others in the series first.

Floriane is the Forge Maiden in Hunter’s Hamlet. It’s her job to forge all of the silver blades that will be used to hopefully slay the Vampire Lord when he arrives with the Blood Moon to try to gain access to Hunter’s Hamlet and kill them all. Floriane’s twin brother will fight for the first time and as he has been secretly training Floriane, she will stay behind and protect their mother. When the evening arrives, her brother brings her a magical draft and tells her to drink it that night as it will give her strength in case a vampire breaks through their forces. When the time comes and Floriane drinks the draft it gives her super powers, including increased hearing and she can hear her brother scream. She runs to the front lines and comes face to face with the Vampire Lord.

I’m a big fan of Elise Kova’s and love the way she crafts her fantasy novels. For me, this is the first one that I had trouble buying into. I loved the set-up with Floriane’s heritage as the Forge Maiden, and Ruvan’s inheritance of the title Vampire Lord. The lore surrounding the “curse” on each side of the battle tells the same story- a curse was wrought unto the vampires/humans that they must kill the vampire lord/Chief hunter in order for the other species to survive. Without giving away that important aspect to this story, it took way too long for everyone to figure out that there was a problem with the story behind that curse. Way too long. I usually read a couple of novels at the same time and will admit that I picked up other books rather than making my way through this story because I got a little bored with the set-up. That is not a normal habit for me with this author at all. I just didn’t find that portion of their story or the romance between Ruvan and Floriane to be all that interesting. As an aside, the cover also threw me off a bit. It’s the first where I found myself really disliking how the characters looks were interpreted. I usually fall in love with the cover first!

I’m used to Elisa Kova’s novels having the heroine go through fierce battles, personality conflicts, and passionate feelings but Floriane’s character was fiercely stubborn in her beliefs about the vampire/human conflict and that stubbornness didn’t redeem her in my eyes, despite her actions in the last third of the novel. I feel like I’m kind of being hard on her, but that’s just how I feel about her and those feelings are reflected in how much I liked the book. Ugh. I hate that because again, I’m a big fan of this authors.

What did I like about the book? I loved Ruvan and his buddies. What a great cast of characters and their backstories filled with drama and gloom only made me love their bickering and friendships even more. These vampir were not the scary beings of childhood nightmares but normal folk who loved and lost. Actually that contrast between Hunter’s Hamlet residents and the vampir were very striking and probably caused my feelings of “blah-ness” I felt towards Floriane. She paled in comparison with these interesting people.

If you’re like me and you are a fan of Elise Kova’s fantasy novels, please do read this one and decide for yourselves whether you feel the same as I. Reading is like artwork in that it’s all relative to the person reading/viewing the piece. You may fall in love with Floriane and not have the same issues I had with this novel. In fact I hope that’s the case. I’m almost positive you’ll feel the same way I do about the cover though. LOL. ❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase!* A Duel with the Vampire Lord

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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