Mirrored Heavens

March 21, 2024March 19, 2024 / Brienna / Leave a comment

Mirrored Heavens is the fabulous conclusion to the Between Earth and Sky trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse.

With fantastic world building, magic, and intrigue, the Between Earth and Sky trilogy is on par with some of my other favorite fantasy series, such as the Broken Earth, and Inheritance trilogies by N.K. Jemisin.

Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, and Serapio, the Crow God Reborn, both seek to save their people. They each face their own enemies, as we traverse the lands of Meridian, from the depths of the wastelangs, to Tova where the sun no longer shines, and the island of Teek, where the all-female islanders’ magic is fading.

At over 600 pages, it’s another long one, as are the first two books in the trilogy. However, I can’t recommend this enough! I loved the whole series, with its unique take on mythology, legends, magic, and the place of gods among us.

Thanks to NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own. Amazon links in this review are affiliate links, and I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Empire of the Damned

March 17, 2024March 17, 2024 / Brienna / Leave a comment

Empire of the Damned, by Jay Kristoff is the second novel in the Empire of the Vampire series.

I have always loved vampire novels, ever since reading Interview with the Vampire. Empire has all the qualities that I loved from that series: a tortured main character with a sordid past, interesting other characters, epic world-building, lore, magic, and history.

Since this is the second in the series, I won’t say too much about the plot. Like the first in the series, it’s a pretty lengthy book at 709 pages. If you don’t mind epic tales, love vampires, and a good story, I highly recommend this, but you’ll need to start with the first book. You can find what I wrote about the first book in a mini review in this post.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own. Some links in this review are affiliate links, and I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

The City of Stardust

January 23, 2024February 8, 2024 / Brienna / Leave a comment

“Once upon a time, in a magical city on a distant shore, lived Ever Everly.”
The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

Book Cover: The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers.

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers is a fast-paced fantasy novel that centers around a family curse, magic, fairytales, and monsters.

On the surface, The City of Stardust has everything I want in a fantasy novel–a strong female protagonist, magic, monsters, and a decent villain. However, in the end, I felt the novel was a letdown.

Violet Everly grew up in seclusion, kept secret from the world, with no explanation. At the age of 10, her mother leaves, and her uncles Ambrose and Gabriel take over her care. Slowly, Violet becomes aware of the family curse, and the reasons for her mother’s departure.

While the family curse is ultimately explained, in my opinion, it still left a lot of gaping plot holes. Throughout the story, we find Violet following the trail left by her mother Marianne, and this is also a huge letdown. Although I suppose the door is open for a follow-up novel that tells Marianne’s story.

For a novel with magic at its center, we see very little of the magic. The story focuses on the Everly curse and the search for the City of Stardust. The magic is almost an afterthought, which is too bad.

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own. Links in this review are affiliate links, and I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

June 25, 2023June 25, 2023 / Brienna / Leave a comment

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is the second book in the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett. Emily is a professor and dryadologist, and these books follow her on adventures.

If you haven’t read the first book in the series, I’d suggest starting there. If you have read it and enjoyed it, you’ll likely enjoy this one too.

This time, Emily and her handsome, scholarly companion, Wendell Bambleby are on the run. They are being chased by nefarious faeries and other Folk. Why? Because Wendell is an exiled Faerie king, and his treacherous stepmother has finally decided to kill him.

Emily is learning from her mistakes, and there’s a lot of character development and growth for both her and Wendell. These books also tend to be more serious, and are more about the characters and their adventures than the romance. Although, of course there is a romantic relationship. Sort of, maybe?

I found this to be a fun, quick read. Emily is a quirky protagonist, who doesn’t always get it right. This is refreshing, and yet it bothers me that we seem to have either gorgeous women who can do no wrong, or they are like Emily and described as disheveled, slovenly, hunched over books incessantly, and often unfeeling or insensitive to others.. Isn’t there something in the middle? Can’t we have a woman who’s not perfect but also not the worst?

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Del Rey for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.