Tag Archives: fantasy

Fantasy, Young Adult

Book Review: Given by Nandi Taylor

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Wattpad Books
Published Jan 21st, 2020
449 Pages

Yenni has never been this far from home. With only her wits, her strength and her sacred runelore, the fierce Yirba warrior princess is alone in the Empire of Cresh. It’s a land filled with strange magics and even stranger people—many of whom mistrust anyone who’s different. But Yenni will prove herself, and find a cure for her father’s wasting illness. She will not fail.

No one warned her about the dragons. Especially not about him.

Yes, there is something powerful and compelling about the violet-black dragon known as Weysh. In human form he’s muscular, beautiful—and completely infuriating. What kind of arrogant creature claims a stranger as his Given; as his destined mate? Yenni is no man’s—or dragon’s—plaything. But other magics must be at work here, because Weysh might just be her best hope at finding the answers she seeks.

Only now Yenni can’t tell if she’s fighting her attraction to a dragon…or fighting fate itself. – Goodreads

The cover. We cannot have a conversation about this novel without discussing how amazing the cover is. Not only does it completely grab your attention but seeing a dark skin woman in the front looking not only fierce but feminine does wonders to me.

But as we all know you cannot judge a book by its cover and the book was okay. It didn’t do anything for me by any means but there were things that I love.

I loved the focus on Yenni, her home and her traditions. I liked the fact that she did not change herself, physically or mentally, to fit in with her new environment. She stayed true to herself while also allowing herself to learn.

I loved the imagery within this novel. Everything was clear and it felt as if it was living and breathing because of this it was why I finished the book.

Here is what I didn’t like. The romance was forced and there was no spark or even connection there. Weysh was such a good character but not for Yenni. There was just nothing there and when they did come together there was still nothing there. I didn’t feel real not the whole dragon and human in a magical world real but the love, the attraction, the chemistry was not there.

The book is focused a lot on that romance, but it is also focused on Yenni trying to find out the source and the cure for a sickness in her village. I wish there was more deep dive on the second part. Its not like Yenni was love struck or anything, it was just a case of a romance that actually didn’t need to happen.

But the other issue I had with this book was how slow it was. As much as I loved Yenni and the imagery, the book overall was not really engaging, and it was easy to put it down.

Overall, it was okay. I was expecting more from this book and it wasn’t SOLEY because of the cover. The summary promises a lot but more importantly a steamy chemistry that you can’t help but love.

This doesn’t appear to be a series, but I would actually love another book within this world.

Overall,

2 Pickles

Adult Ficiton, Fantasy, NetGalley, NetGalley Review

Book Review: Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

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Tor
TBP Jan. 21st 2020
176 Pages

Rooted in foundational loss and the hope that can live in anger, Riot Baby is both a global dystopian narrative an intimate family story with quietly devastating things to say about love, fury, and the black American experience.

Ella and Kev are brother and sister, both gifted with extraordinary power. Their childhoods are defined and destroyed by structural racism and brutality. Their futures might alter the world. When Kev is incarcerated for the crime of being a young black man in America, Ella—through visits both mundane and supernatural—tries to show him the way to a revolution that could burn it all down. – Goodreads

This is the first book I read by Onyebuchi. I know its horrible because he the author of War Girls and Beasts Made of Night. But I picked up this book because I love adult fantasy novels that incorporate real life issues.

The book is told in two perspectives, Ella and Kev. At first this was a little confusing not because of any transition but because of why. We start off with Ella as a child pre Kev and discover her power which is called The Thing. Instantly, I’m into it. When Kev comes around I am still into it because it comes at one of the turning points in American history.

But after the first five chapters, the book lost me and I couldn’t find the point/purpose of the story. Ella becomes a background and Kev is the focus for a while. Therefore, origins of her powers, any detailed information about her powers other than some things she can do isn’t mentioned at all. She becomes a shadow as well as her powers in 90% of the book and it was disappointing. There was no development of Ella and her powers and Kev wasn’t that like-able of a character. He became a product of environment even though he had a sister that literally could do anything. Again, disappointing.

The book focuses so much on environment that I could not find what was the point of the story? Was the point to show that even with super powers as a Black American your life will suck due to not only systematic racism but overall racism? But if that is the case, why not do anything with the super powers to show that?

The book had me lost. I was bored. There was no character development. Kev was a baby. Ella had no personality and was depressing and NEITHER of them tried to get to know their mother.

Overall, nah

1 Pickle

NetGalley, NetGalley Review, Young Adult

Book Review: Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

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Disney Hyperion
Published Jan 7th 2020
327 Pages

When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide.

Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception—and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s plotting to bring down—the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one…- Goodreads

This book promises a lot. Adventure, thrills, romance, and suspense. However, this read did not deliver on any of those promises.

Amaya started off strong but the moment she got off the debtor ship, she became the most annoying, selfish, surprisingly entitled human being within this book and every time she spoke all I heard was a whinny brat that was getting a different chance at things but allowed her emotions to ruin everything. It was like she didn’t learn anything from being on a debtor ship and it was disappointing.

The other disappointing part of this novel was the adventure. It was for the most part non-existent. I am trying not to use the word boring to describe this book but in all honesty, I can’t avoid it. Nothing in this book kept me wanting to read the book. I finished it because I had the dnf guilt going on.

I would also like to point out that the romance was predictable at every step of the novel. The love interest lacked so much personality and was truly just as much of a brat as Amaya but with much more well intentions.

Overall, I couldn’t find anything I enjoyed about this book and that is unfortunate. This is not to say that you (the reader) may not find this book enjoyable but it was not in the least what I wanted and expected.

1 Pickle

Adult Ficiton, Fantasy, Young Adult

book overview 2019: The Disappointments

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Part two of the four part book overview of 2019. If you haven’t taken the chance the look at the first post, which I display my favorite books and honorable mentions of the 2019, check it out here.

In this post, I listed some of my disappointed read of 2019. Oddly enough there was a lot and that could be due to me following the hype because one of my personal goals was to read more newer releases to keep up with the trends and hot topics. This caused expectations to be through the roof, which sucked.

But here is my list. What did your year look like?

Inkyard Press TBP Jan. 7th 2020 448 Pages
Mary HK Choi new book cover reveal Credit: ohgigue
NetGalley, NetGalley Review, Young Adult

Book Review: The Phantom Forest by Liz Kerin

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Inkshares
Published: July 16th 2019
300 Pages

Seycia’s father told her this story as a child — a story of the most holy place in the Underworld, The Forest of Laida, where all souls go to rest before embarking on a new life. But Seycia’s father is dead now, and his killer has put a target on her back.

After being chosen for her village’s human sacrifice ritual, Seycia is transported to the Underworld and must join forces with Haben, the demon to whom she was sacrificed, to protect the family she left behind from beyond the grave. In this story of love, survival, and what it means to be human, Seycia and Haben discover that the Underworld is riddled with secrets that can only be unlocked through complete trust and devotion, not only to their mission, but also to one another. – Goodreads

*sigh*

*sigh*

*LE SIGH*

I had high expectations of this book. I am thinking some of the creepiest sentences, settings and characters are going to come out of this book but instead I got a punk ass demon who doesn’t have a backbone and a main character who is completely full of herself, that when I hear her voice in my head, all I hear is a grown woman whining about how she is the chosen one and you are not.

But let’s start off about what I liked, which was the setting. Although not creepy at all, the imagery was very clear. It completely draws the reader in and is filled with promises of the worst evil to come. But that didn’t happen.

As the imagery is the only thing I fully enjoyed about this book, I have to stress that the author wanted these demons to be humans that have simply lost there way and forgot who they were and who they could have been. This took the creepy-ness way out of the book.

Seycia AND her brother are just uninteresting whinny and the most unfortunate batch of heroes that world has to offer. The book is told through both their point of views, so you get a little break within tone. However, while Seycia is the I am not going to think things fully through because I am the great one, her brother is the I am too scared to do anything on my own and need all the help I can get AND STILL and still whine about it. 

I loved the idea of there being a tree that allows people to come back to life and that I fully supported Seycia’s mission to protect her family. But you can’t talk about the Underworld and everyone is pretty much human. 

This book wasn’t for me. But going through Goodreads, I see it is for a lot of other reads. Would I recommend this? I honestly don’t think I would even knowing that there are some readers who would enjoy it.

1 Pickle

 

Uncategorized

The Minis

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Self-Published
Jan. 1st, 2020
131 Pages

 

A genie that needs true love in order to escape her lamp?

I am all for it. I loved this book but would have love truly loved if there was more fantasy involved. The author brushes over a lot of the fantasy to focus on the romance, which was fantastic by the way. But as a fantasy lover, there is a lot of good stuff here and would love to see it grow.

B. Love should write more fantasy novels and make them longer.

4 Pickles

A retired NFL player, Colton, takes over his father’s business and falls for the star employee of the company, Whitney. He doesn’t realize that they met before and she hates his guts.

Self-Published
Sept. 16th, 2019
169 Pages

The romance was forced. The author did her best to create a build up but it was rushed and didn’t make sense. There is history between the two but there isn’t at the same time. What I mean to say is their history is so short and the author uses that to create a conflict that isn’t structured very well.

What was cute about this novel was how Colton broke the ice so they can get to know each other. It was super cute.

However, that didn’t save this novella.

1 Pickle

Pink Cashmere Publishing, LLC
Published May 16th, 2017
242 Pages

What do you get when you have a landlord who is also a popular natural hair blogger rents to a womanizing corporate man? This book. 

I loved this book and it was all because of the womanizer named Ryan Boye. I didn’t really care for Angela. She was a bit too desperate for me at times and she had unrealistic expectations too soon. But Ryan. He did his thing and when he didn’t just wait around for things to happen. He has self-aware and very actionable. I loved him.

There is one scene in this novel and all I could think of was the wedding scene in “A Different World” if you know you know.

4 Pickles

 

Crown Books for Young Readers, Fantasy, NetGalley, NetGalley Review

Book Review: Nameless Queen by Rebecca McLaughlin

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Crown Books for Young Readers
TBP Jan. 20th 2020
352 Pages

Everyone expected the king’s daughter would inherit the throne. No one expected me.

It shouldn’t even be possible. I’m Nameless, a class of citizens so disrespected, we don’t even get names. Heck, dozens of us have been going missing for months and no one seems to care.

But there’s no denying the tattoo emblazoned on my arm. I am queen. In a palace where the corridors are more dangerous the streets, though, how could I possibly rule? And what will become of the Nameless if I don’t?- Goodreads

I liked this book. It was a good read. It kept me invested from beginning to end.

I loved the world building of the novel. But I wanted more of that world. It was very the rich is getting richer and abusing the poor while the poor is getting poorer and abusing each other. The divide was very clear, the picture of peasants and grayness was very visible and greatly appreciated that.

What caused me to give this book 3 Pickles (spoiler I know), was the Nameless that became Queen. She was good at being Nameless but when her title changed she didn’t know how to the play the game. This frustrated me because at several points she realizes that being royal is a game that needs to be played and instead of self-improving and getting hip to the game, she just didn’t and did more complaining as if she didn’t have the power to change things. It was a frustrating circle to read because she saw it and acknowledged it and then did nothing.

There was some character development but not enough for me to bump up my rating.

I wish the author added more about the magic, the history of the city and more history about the Nameless Queen. We find out information but it didn’t completely satisfying. Yes, there will always be questions especially if a book is a series. However, it would have been great to have more development on the world.

Overall, I would recommend this book. I am pretty it is a series, which the way it ended it made sense. But it didn’t need to be a series As previously mentioned,

3 Pickles