Lisa
(3.75) Magic, mystery, murder, and a slow-burn forbidden romance.
“Milla was the Witch of the Demesne, and the demesne made her more. It was a reservoir, an anchor, and a burden all at once.”
There are so many parts of this book I absolutely loved. The magic and mystery were definite strong points, but other parts left me feeling conflicted. Overall, the good outweighs the bad and I would definitely still recommend this book if the themes above appeal to you.
The Plot: There are multiple mysteries to unravel. Every single character is hiding something and I was dying to figure things out. The author does a great job of dropping clues in a way that gives you some of the information but leaves you wanting to know more. Some reveals were truly surprising. Some were telegraphed a little too clearly. I guessed the two biggest twists very early on, which lessened the impact of the big finale.
The Magic: There's a well established magic system with a deep history and competing power structures. For the most part you learn about things through experience although there is some info dumping in the beginning as things are set up. I did find a few minor parts confusing but it doesn't take away from the magic being one of the stronger parts of the book.
The Characters: Because everyone is hiding things, I feel like you don't get a true sense of Milla and Darkly until later in the book. Darkly came across as a little bland for me initially and it's not until he starts dropping the mask of control that I found him interesting. I admittedly didn't read Brown's other book that focuses on him, so maybe that would have changed things. Milla is incredibly judgmental early on and pretty selfish when it comes to her friends. It leaves her plenty of room for character growth and it plays in heavily to the plot, but it made me dislike her for a good chunk of the book. By the end I really came to respect how she stepped up and took ownership of her demesne and her own Way. Both of them are at their best when they're together, facing danger and embracing their true magic. They truly have the chance to shine as the plot progresses.
The Romance: A little bit of enemies to lovers, a little bit forbidden romance, and a slow burn with a splash of spice.
The Pacing: This was my biggest issue. The first half of the book reads very slow. There's a lot of setup needed and the pacing really gets bogged down with the details. Although there are scenes that piqued my interest early on, I didn't truly get excited about this book until the 50% mark. The plot is at it's strongest when Milla is tending her demesne and using her magic, and you don't get much of that early on, but the momentum builds quickly once things start happening.
The MLM portion of the book was a lot more prominent than I expected from the summary. There's a lot of info dumping with how uplines and downlines work which I found boring. I'll admit, I'm already familiar with the controversy surrounding MLMs but I think it would still be over explained even for someone with zero knowledge. At one point the word ‘upline' was used four times in the span of a paragraph. A lot of this detail is what slowed things down for me in the first half.
The Writing: There's a lot of repetition with dialogue/descriptions/thoughts. Not a dealbreaker for me, but noticeable throughout. A lot of foreign language used in connection with the magic that is sometimes explained and other times not. Also Darkly is Scottish and is written with a heavy accent throughout the book, to a point where it almost became distracting. I can normally tolerate that so if that bothers you even in the slightest, this is going to be too much.
Overall: The first half is a flat three stars for me but the second half is 4+ and more than made up for it. I really think it pays off in the end. The story is exciting, and mysterious, and action packed, so if you're willing to push through in the beginning there's so much to look forward to.
(4.75)
This book was like eating an entire bag of my favorite chips (or tropes) in one sitting and I had such a good time reading it.
This was such a fun take on a grumpy sunshine sport romance. Josephine's sunshine is capable, smart, and sassy and Wells remains a grump even when revealing a heart of gold. It's true insta-love. Wells is concerned, lightly possessive, protective, and a marshmallow under a bad boy exterior. Josephine is talented, loyal, driven, and funny. They don't fall in love, they collide and it's enjoyable to watch.
One of my favorite tropes is hurt/comfort and you get a little bit of that throughout this one. I can't speak to the accuracy of golf or diabetes representation, but as someone unfamiliar with both it came across fine.
As always with Tessa Bailey, you get a pretty even balance of heartfelt character growth, banter, spice, and plot action. My only complaint is that you really kind of just get thrown into the middle of things and it feels like things get set up very fast. Not even just the romance, but getting to know them both as characters before being expected to understand their motivations.
Also if you spend the entire book, like me, worrying about a surprise video scandal with all the canoodling these two do in public, then you can be relieved to know that you don't need to worry about it!
A tender historical romance from a unique perspective.
The romance is sweet, the trio of sisters are fierce and intelligent, and the suspense towards the end was a high point for me. It was an incredibly quick read that let me get swept along with it.
I did find it to be a bit of a slow start and I found myself wishing for more conflict. The relationship between the sisters is supposed to be strained and grow stronger throughout the book, but I felt like they resolved their issues fairly early on. The characters are charming, and most have clearly defined story arcs, but their epiphanies often fell flat to me. They were mostly shown through dialogue without actions to back them up.
The majority of the novel is from Ana Maria and Gideon's perspectives, aside from a small part of one chapter that switches to her sister. I assume she's the focus of the next book but it was jarring to have her perspective added where it was.
There are Spanish phrases throughout that I could understand with my few years of Spanish classes, but someone who isn't familiar probably wouldn't. There's no context or translation given with them. It doesn't affect the reader's ability to follow the plot, but I did find the phrases I didn't know to be distracting.
Overall, I'd recommend this for anyone who enjoys historical romance but wishes there was more diversity. The sisters are independent, bright, capable women, and their status as outsiders allows them space to have more modern opinions than one would often find in a book like this.
This book is an emotional rollercoaster. The first half is a slow ascent of knowing you're getting closer to the point where everything tips into a rush to the end.
Rebecca Ross writes beautifully, and this book managed to do two things well that I was worried about. First, she was able to recreate some of the magic of Iris and Roman falling for each other's words. Second, even when separated, you get a sense of their connection. The story didn't drag with them apart.
If you enjoyed the first book, you'll likely like the conclusion. It feels complete.
Rounding this up to 4 stars from my personal rating of 3.5.
This book's strength lies in the central plot continued from the first book. It's mysterious, tense, and at times shocking. The world's history is rich and evolving in a really interesting way.
It's weakness for me lies in the pacing. The book moves quick. Multiple times I was surprised to be done with a scene. It brings you right to the beginning of excitement and then cuts to black, coming back in after it's resolved. Some of the plot twists feel like they came out of nowhere.
I enjoyed the continuation of this series and I want to see how it goes, I just may be willing to wait a while.
Slowburn, steampunk, romantic fantasy/Sci-fi
This had elements of so many other things I enjoy. The adventurous feel of Atlantis: The Lost Empire meets the hot-headed banter of Han and Leia meets the discovery of hidden cultures from The Last Camel Died At Noon by Elizabeth Peters.
This feels like a quick read but there's plenty of plot. The sci-fi/fantasy aspect is very approachable, although I'm not sure it would appeal to people who aren't already a fan of those genres. I didn't feel like I was missing context for the new dialect of the world.
My only complaint is the formatting, mostly around the italics. Some things were italicized that didn't need to be. Others weren't that probably should have. This was a minor annoyance and nowhere near bad enough for me to stop reading.
I suppose the ending is a cliffhanger but this book still feels complete.
The last quarter of this book is an absolute roller coaster, but at the midway point I wasn't sure I was going to continue this series.
Silla can be incredibly naive, and I don't always have the patience for that (especially in a book this long). Some of her internal dialogue felt too repetitive for me, but there's enough character growth by the end that I don't think that will be as much of an issue moving forward.
There are twists. One in particular felt a little clunky. I could tell where the author was trying to build it up but it felt so out of the blue that I thought the character's emotions were being manipulated through magic. The other big twist was a fun surprise I hadn't considered, and that is the one that is bringing me back. I had an idea of where the plot was going and was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.
Recommended for people who like fantasy romance, slow burn romance, found family, and a sunshine main character who is full of secrets.
The next book seems to have some tropes I enjoy so I'll continue reading, but I don't know that I'll come back and reread this one.
Enemies to lovers, with some suspense thrown here and there.
This one wasn't for me. I've enjoyed previous books in the series but didn't really find a connection with this one. It's written fine and it does have a plot, albeit a weak one. It just felt a little formulatic in ways that I didn't notice with the others. In some part that's probably a consequence of being the seventh book set in the same universe.
I usually appreciate a callback to previous characters but there's so many couples at this point that a decent chunk of scenes is exposition and backstory for previous entries in the series. I could see it being helpful for someone reading as a standalone but it was distracting to me.
Another reason I didn't connect as much is due to Aria's deep insecurities. I understand it as a character choice, but as a reader it was painful to read over and over. The biggest conflict in the first half of the book is mostly between people's feelings and it just fell flat to me.
A lot of this is personal preference so I'd still recommend it for fans of the series. The premise of the next one is intriguing so I'll probably continue.
Lots of love with some light zombies and a thought provoking look at death and grief.
This was a delight. It reminded me of a Miyazaki movie in the best way, while also being a little steampunk and a little western. The world Bannen created feels new and old at the same time. The characters are likeable. The setting is unique.
My only complaint is that I would have loved more description. It has a lot of that thing in fantasy/sci fi novels where you take a familiar object and adapt it to fit the world you're building while it still serves the same function, but without descriptions of what that's supposed to look like I had a really hard time picturing things. My brain jumped all over the place trying to decide what people, places, and objects looked like only to have to start over 50 pages later when we got another small detail. Everything ended up just sort of fuzzy around the edges for me.
But the heart of the story is pretty solid and by the end tears were shed. I enjoyed it from the start but by the halfway point I was truly hooked.
Reads very quick, not a super dynamic plot.
This one is mostly character driven and a little insta-lovey once things get going. I expected a little bit more suspense based off of previous books.
The epilogue wraps up the series nicely though!
Four stars is purely a personal rating because I really enjoyed this one and would reread in the future. Objectively it's more like a 3 to 3.5.
Disclaimer: I won this in a Goodreads giveaway, but my book never showed up. Shout out to my local library for this review!
This is a funny, steamy, instalove-y Christmas rom com. The premise of a 24/7 reality TV show was very entertaining, the jokes were my type of humor, and with the whole thing taking place over a two week span there really isn't time for the story to drag.
Melody is an absolute dork, which I found charming. Think Jessica Day from New Girl. If that's not appealing to you this might not be your book.
Beat felt a little less developed as a character, but the core of his personality is his protective nature and I'm a complete sucker for that. Did it get repetitive? Probably. I didn't care.
I don't know that this is a “five star book”, but it's definitely five stars for me. One of my favorites from Tessa Bailey. It absolutely nails the Christmas rom com spirit. Would recommend.
I was looking for an urban fantasy romance and this was perfect.
Rounding up from 3.5.
I enjoyed the plot and world, but the writing can be repetitive. Another pass through by an editor would have been beneficial.
It's fun, suspenseful, and romantic. I don't think I'll continue the series but it feels complete as a standalone.
Romance, adventure, treasure, murder, and mystery all in a lush historical setting. If you're still chasing the high from The Mummy (1999), this may be for you. It's a bit of a slow start but by the end you'll need to remind yourself to breathe.
Slow burn romance.
A mystery that gets deeper the more it gets untangled.
And an ending that will make you wish you had book two.
Do yourself a favor and look up the beautiful portraits from the special edition.
A love story between two delightful weirdos who play really childish mind games. If I worked with both of them I'd hate it but reading it was fun.
A lot of my favorite tropes, some top tier banter, and the tender moments were so sweetly written.
Quick read, funny, satisfying conclusion. Would recommend if you can get past the first chapter. Will reread.
No spoilers. This was a solid follow up to the first book. The writing seemed to improve, the world/lore is expanded, and for the most part the pacing was good.
I burned through it (pun intended) but it's long. Iron Flame feels like two full books, with two complete story arcs. It's cool that we got all this content at once but my personal preference would have been to have them separate.
The bulk of the first half is focused less on the romance and more on the plot which was great, because Violet and Xaden got on my nerves. I wish the conflict between them had more measurable growth, but they just kept having the same fight over and over until they didn't.
Finishing it left me feeling a little brain fried, probably a lot in part to the 878 ebook page count. Would still recommend if you liked the first one.
A satisfying conclusion to a dark and immersive fantasy duology filled with old magic, evils, and those who find the strength to overcome them.
A brilliant end. It's not often that I'm so engrossed in a story that I'm not trying to figure out where it's going, but it happened with this.
My only complaint is I wish I had reread the first before moving to this one.
This is currently a free Amazon First read pick for prime members!
Very cute. Marriage of convenience with easy to like characters. It's a novella that's spread out over a year so time jumps a lot, but I felt like we still got complete character arcs.
I'm a sucker for a sports romance so I wish this had been full length but the important bits are there. (Unless you're reading specifically for brother's best teammate tropes, in which case you might be disappointed)
Starts on New Year's Even but doesn't feel particularly holiday-y so I wouldn't worry about waiting until the end of December to read it.
This book is such a fun premise. I loved the Halloween setting and the contrast between a serious witchy murder investigation and a cafe/occult shop in Salem.
I had a harder time enjoying the characters and the writing. Foreshadowing was a little heavy-handed for my taste. Sentences were very long and very wordy. I had to reread sentences multiple times to understand them.The characters are witty and the banter is fun, but overall they fell a little flat to me. By the end I wasn't even sure I liked them, and I had a hard time rooting for them to stay together at the end.
I'd still recommend giving it a shot. It's a fun fall read. Other people might find they love the writing style and the characters. This book sets up the next one too.
It's a youthful wartime romance wrapped in magic.
My only issue with it (and the reason I initially wasn't going to finish) is the letter writing is used to tell large chunks of the world's history. The history itself is fine and important to the plot, it just felt lazy to have one character write it out to another character.
I'd still recommend it though. The writing is beautiful and the end will make you wish you had the next book in your hands already.
Personally, I think this is the strongest book out of both sagas. Seeing how the Olympians and gods interact with and adapt to (or don't) the modern world has always been my favorite, and there's plenty of that in this.
When you tell the same story from a different point of view, it can be challenging. Hades and Persephone's story arcs are independent enough that there's plenty of space for this to feel fresh.
The action scenes were well done and dramatic.
This book includes chapters from multiple characters, and while I normally dislike changing that so late in a series, it felt natural and was necessary for this book to feel complete.
The only downside I can think of is that you get stuck with the same cliffhanger twice, but that's kind of part of the fun isn't it?