Week 52 Reviews: The Child Prince, The Dreamer's Curse, Crossroads, The Scofflaw Magician, The Canard Case, The Fae Artifactor

From Goodreads:

Sevana Warran, reigning prodigy Artifactor, has absolutely

no desire to selflessly serve her fellow man.

Bellomi Dragonmanovich, Prince of Windamere, is a twenty-one

year old cursed into the body of a perpetual eight year old.

In order to regain his lost throne, prince and Artifactor know that breaking the curse won't be enough. It will take a coup and more than just a little magic.

From Goodreads:

With an un-cursed prince and king back on the throne, Sevana goes back to her usual routine without worry. But her peaceful days don’t last for long. A hunter from a small northern village comes to her, pleading for help. The people in his village are disappearing during the night, transported great distances in their sleep, and they don’t know why.

Transportation magic such as this hasn’t been seen since the days of great magic, hundreds of years past. On top of that, the power levels that Sevana sees are insanely high—far higher than any modern magic can reach. Sevana drops everything, racing toward the small village of Chastain, praying that she can find the source for all of this and stop it.

Otherwise, the magical backlash might destroy Windamere.

From Goodreads:

Sometimes, as is often the case with magic, things go awry. Sevana's quite accustomed to magical explosions, fires, and curses in her daily life. People abruptly appearing inside of Big from a different planet? Well, she has to admit, that's a first.

Deepwoods Guild specializes in traveling, but with Grae at the helm, they've never had a path fail. Until now. For the first time in his professional career, Grae has no idea where they are or how to get them back home again.

But maybe, if the Pathmakers and Artifactors can put their heads together, they can figure it out.

From Goodreads:

Sevana's peaceful routine is abruptly destroyed when a Sa Kao army invades Nopper's Woods, fully intending to declare war on the Fae that live there. Princess Amas of Sa Kao has gone missing, disappearing so completely that it's believed she must have been spirited away, and Sa Kao blames the Fae. Knowing full well the Fae are not behind the abduction of the princess, Sevana goes to investigate and finds that it's not one Princess missing, but a good dozen people, all in the same way. Now she has to figure out how and why and do so quickly. The spell used to take these people is fading fast. If Sevana doesn't find a way to reverse what has been done, then there won't be anyone left for her to save. 

From Goodreads:

"So what is the problem?"

"You are aware that Nanashi has an active volcano on it?" Cheng-Huang inquired. At her nod, he continued, "It will explode soon. The pressure is rising quickly and there's little that we can do to stop it.:

A volcano? Sevana's eyes threatened to pop out of her head. "You want me to stop a volcano?!"

From Goodreads:

People really have to stop kidnapping her….

Sevana has quite enough on her plate, what with her wonky magical core still spastically melting or exploding things on her. She has every intention of seeking professional help, if such a thing exists, but is stopped before she can even go back home.

That is to say, she's kidnapped. AGAIN.

Now she has her Fae family out for blood, the Unda pestering her with a problem to solve, upset human kings demanding compensation for destroyed research facilities, and she STILL has a wonky magical core.

If she's kidnapped one more time, Sevana will not be responsible for her actions.

My Review:
Oh, I loved reading these books! I love Honor Raconteur's writing, and I just devoured this new world! And the fact that there was the crossover with the Deepwoods Saga series was so fantastic! Seeing those characters interact was so wonderful to read! 

Besides the writing, there's two things that I adore about Honor Raconteur's books. The worlds with incredibly fascinating magic, history, and politics. And the cast of characters. They're all so entertaining to read, and I loved this world, and this cast of characters! 

These books were a blast to read, the world and the magic was interesting, the characters were hilarious, and the plots were really entertaining, and I loved watching this band go on all of these adventures! I had such a great time reading this series! 

After this series, I think I have one or two more left to read, and a few stand alones, and I'll have fully caught up with Honor Raconteur's books. There are the books that she's written under pen names that she's going to branch out more in the future, but yeah, I've almost caught up with the Honor Raconteur books! 

This was another really great series by Honor Raconteur, and I've almost read everything under this name!  

Author: Honor Raconteur 
Series: The Artifactor #1, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, Deepwoods Saga #3.5
Read: December 29th, 29th, 29th, 30th, 30th, 30th, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Love her writing, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Books! And The Fae Artifactor is a End of Series 2022 Book! 
Publisher: Raconteur House 
Published: December 17th 2013, May 29th 2014, May 14th 2019, November 19th 2015, November 28th 2016, April 3rd 2019

The Child Prince:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Dreamer's Curse:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Crossroads:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Scofflaw Magician: 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Canard Case:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Fae Artifactor: 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 52 Reviews: Famine, Death, Famine's Homecoming

From Goodreads:

They came to earth--Pestilence, War, Famine, Death--four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

Ana da Silva always assumed she'd die young, she just never expected it to be at the hands of Famine, the haunting immortal who once spared her life so many years ago. But if the horseman remembers her at all, he must not care, for when she comes face to face with him for the second time in her life, she's stabbed and left for dead.

Only, she doesn't quite die.

If there's one thing Famine is good at, it's cruelty. And how these blighted bastards deserve it. Try as he might, he can’t forget what they once did to him. But when Ana, a ghost from his past, corners him and promises pain for what he so recently did to her, she and her empty threats captivate him, and he decides to keep her around.

In spite of themselves, Ana and Famine are drawn to each other. But at the end of the day, the two are enemies. Nothing changes that. Not one kind act, not two. And definitely not a few steamy nights. But enemies or reluctant lovers, if they don’t stop themselves soon, heaven will. 

From Goodreads:

They came to earth--Pestilence, War, Famine, Death--four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

He's known by many names: Thanatos. Horseman. God's last angel. And then, of course, there's the one I'm all too familiar with—

Death.

The day Death comes to Lazarus Gaumond's town and kills everyone in one fell swoop, the last thing he expects to see is a woman left alive and standing. But Lazarus has her own extraordinary gift: she cannot be killed—not by humans, not by the elements, not by Death himself.

She is the one soul Death doesn't recognize. The one soul he cannot pry free from her flesh. Nor can he ignore the unsettling desire he has for her. Take her. He wants to, desperately. And the longer she tries to stop him from his killing spree, the stronger the desire becomes.

When Lazarus crosses paths with the three other horsemen, an unthinkable situation leads to a terrible deal: seduce Death, save the world. A hopeless task, made all the worse by the bad blood between her and Thanatos. But Death's attraction to her is undeniable, and try though she might, Lazarus cannot stay away from that ancient, beautiful being and his dark embrace.

The end is here. Humankind is set to perish, and not even the horsemen can stop Death from fulfilling his final task.

Only Lazarus can. 

My Review:
Oh, I had such a great time reading these books! I love this world and these characters, and things are getting intense, because with each brother, they get more and more powerful, until Death, who has all the powers, and who is the end. I loved reading these books!

I think I might have laughed the most in Famine. They're the couple who are the furthest away from mainstream, she's a former prostitute, and he is grumpy multiplied by anger and hurt. So I just devoured their story, I mean, she thinks about saving humanity with the skills that she's learned, and it was just so great! 

Death, oh man, what a ride! After everything that happened in Famine, Death brought it all together. I loved his and Lazarus's story and how they challenged one another. I wasn't sure how things would work out, but given the past history of the previous books, I had a hope that things would work out positively in the end! 

And oh, that ending! It was brutal and thrilling, and I wanted to know what would happen next. And oh, it brough the emotions, I teared up a bit, which I almost never do. The ending was so fitting for what this series has been, and I loved it! 

These were such fantastic reads, and I can't wait to read more by Laura Thalassa! 

Author: Laura Thalassa 
Series: The Four Horsemen #3, 4, 4.5
Read: December 27th, 28th, 28th, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Books, and Death is a End of Series 2022 Book! 
Publisher: Lavabrook Publishing, LLC
Published: October 1st 2020, November 9th 2021, April 5th 2022

Famine:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Death:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Famine's Homecoming:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 52 Review: The Goal, The Legacy

From Goodreads:

She's good at achieving her goals…

College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick butt in law school, and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path to escaping her shameful past certainly doesn't include a gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night of sizzling heat and surprising tenderness is all she's willing to give John Tucker, but sometimes, one night is all it takes for your entire life to change.

But the game just got a whole lot more complicated...

Tucker believes being a team player is as important as being the star. On the ice, he's fine staying out of the spotlight, but when it comes to becoming a daddy at the age of twenty-two, he refuses to be a bench warmer. It doesn't hurt that the soon-to-be mother of his child is beautiful, whip-smart, and keeps him on his toes. The problem is, Sabrina's heart is locked up tight, and the fiery brunette is too stubborn to accept his help. If he wants a life with the woman of his dreams, he'll have to convince her that some goals can only be made with an assist.

From Goodreads:

Four stories. Four couples. Three years of real life after graduation…

A wedding.

A proposal.

An elopement.

And a surprise pregnancy.

Can you guess which couple is which?

Come for the drama, stay for the laughs! Catch up with your favorite Off-Campus characters as they navigate the changes that come with growing up and discover that big decisions can have big consequences…and big rewards.

My Review:
Oh man, I loved reading these books! I've loved this series so much, these couples and their romances are just fantastic to read about, and I loved the last of their full stories, and the anthology of peaks into their lives later on! 

The Goal, we knew from the ending of The Score, that Sabrina was going to become pregnant. We also knew that Tucker had someone he was seeing in secret, but watching it all unfold from their perspectives, I had a really great time with it! They had some hard moments, because pregnancy is difficult, having a child is difficult, on top of everything else they have going on. But I really enjoyed them as a couple! 

The Legacy had one part that had me in giggle fits throughout. And that was Alexander, the creepy doll. He was added to Logan and Grace's story, The Pact, which was previously in an anthology, and that story was expanded upon, and he was on of the additions. The fact that these four couples were going around sending him to their friends-at various occasions, like engagements and honeymoons, was just so hilarious, and how much they all hated and were scared by him they were!

Seeing these various moments in these characters lives, of them getting engaged and married, of finding out that they're pregnant, I'm really glad that we got to see more of their stories. The Legacy is what I always want from books, because I always want more, so I'm glad that we got it! 

These were such great stories, and I can't wait to read the spin off series! 

Author: Elle Kennedy 
Series: Off-Campus #4, 5 
Read: December 27th, 27th, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Books, and The Legacy is a End of Series 2022 Book!
Publisher: Elle Kennedy 
Published: September 26th 2016, September 21st 2021 

The Goal:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Legacy:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 52 Review: The Cradle of Ice

From Goodreads:

The second book in the New York Times bestselling Moonfall series from thriller-master James Rollins, The Cradle of Ice is a page-turning tale of action, adventure, betrayal, ambition, and the struggle for survival in a harsh world that hangs by a thread.

To stop the coming apocalypse, a fellowship was formed.

A soldier, a thief, a lost prince, and a young girl bonded by fate and looming disaster.

Each step along this path has changed the party, forging deep alliances and greater

enmities. All the while, hostile forces have hunted them, fearing what they might

unleash. Armies wage war around them.

For each step has come with a cost—in blood, in loss, in heartbreak.

Now, they must split, traveling into a vast region of ice and to a sprawling capital of the world they've only known in stories. Time is running out and only the truth will save us all.

My Review:
Oh, this was such a great read! I loved being in this world again, and watching them work to stop the end of the world was so great! Man, a lot happened in this book, and it was so great, and sometimes so hard, to read! 

I was a bit apprehensive about reading this book. Don't get me wrong, I loved the first book, and all his other books that I've read. But it is a big book, and it's pretty intimidating. But once I started, well, the signature chapters and action scenes started coming and they didn't stop coming! 

This book took us deeper into this world, exploring places that were just briefly mentioned, places that were in the plans that they drew up at the end of the previous book. I enjoyed learning more, especially Nyx's quest to the vast, unknown icy region.

There was so much going on in this book, with these characters that we got to know all split up again. They have this quest to prevent the moonfall. And while we've had these perspectives from the future that make it seem like they succeeded, who knows how it'll turn out! It was such a fast paced adventure, so much happened, and I need to know where it's going to go from here! 

This was a really amazing book, and I can't wait to continue! 

Author: James Rollins 
Series: Moonfall #2
Read: December 25th, 2022
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love his writing and the first book, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Tor Books
Expected Publication: February 7th 2023

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 52 Review: The Queen's Chair

From Goodreads:

What do you do with a merchant's spare daughter? What do you do when you are a merchant's spare daughter?

Stasia has known her entire life that she was not destined for the lives that her friends and her sisters were expected to lead. Her father, Minstrel Fielding, has a mercantile empire that would make the queen drool, but with two older daughters married off and ready to carry on the legacy of his empire, splitting it a third time adds no value to anyone. So while everyone else is off learning to run a household staff and navigate the politics of high society, Stasia Fielding-Horne learned to fight with a knife. She learned to climb a building. She took long rides across the countryside on her own, and she picked up any new skill she found interesting.

And then she found herself in Verida.

Verida, where they're battling elves and the annual flood to keep from being pushed into the sea. Where magic flows in the water and everything is new and different.

This would have been the opportunity of a lifetime, but for the expectations she conform herself to high society. Verida doesn't know what a spare daughter is any more than Stasia knows how to behave in the presence of a queen.

So Stasia is breaking out. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of her, doesn't care how she's expected to behave, and she's about to find that those attitudes are going to throw her in with some very interesting people. People who see her outsider status as an asset.

How interesting is too interesting? Will her love of breaking the rules in a city overrun by magic and politics prove to be more dangerous than she can handle?

My Review:
Oh, this was such a great read! I was recommended this book because I enjoy Honor Raconteur's writing, and it was a fair comparison! I had a great time in this world with these characters! This was a really great story and I can't wait to continue!

The synopsis has me anticipating a good time, with a fair amount of humour, and this book delivered! I really enjoyed getting to know Stasia, and watch her find a place in Verida, which was just a wild ride! I had so much fun reading this book! 

Stasia was so fantastic to read about! She doesn't fit the mold of a nobleman's daughter, and kudos on her for recognizing that, and finding something to do that suits her! I loved her adventures, as she helps the Queen in running this city! 

The author has written out all of her plans for this world. I'm a little apprehensive, because there is a lot, and some of the posts are a year old, so I'm not quite sure what's going on, but I can't wait to read more and explore more of this world! 

I loved reading this book, and I can't wait to see where this book, and this world, go from here! 

Author: Chloe Garner
Series: The Queen's Chair #1
Read: December 24th, 2022 
Source: Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Book! 
Publisher: A Horse Called Alpha
Published: January 25th 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars