The Pages of Adeena by C. M. Castillo

 

Rating – 4/5.

 

Synopsis –

It’s the summer of 1952, and Adeena “Addie” Kahlo loves her life in Chicago, where she helps run her close-knit family’s nightclub on the south side. But Addie has a dream that she is determined to make a reality; attending college in New York and becoming a published author.

Through a blind date, she meets Alan, who becomes her best friend and closest confidant. They share a secret that they can never divulge. Together, they discover a door that opens to a magical place that leads to other worlds and to times past and future; Cafe du Temp, a nightclub like no other. At Cafe du Temp they listen to soulful jazz, drink fancy cocktails, and slowly begin to understand that its opulent and stunning ambience means something unique and special to each person who enters its doors.

It’s here, in this strange and elegant place, where Addie meets and falls in love with the beautiful poet, Isabelle Androsko. Their chemistry is immediate and powerful. Despite this, they soon discover that their vastly different worlds pose near impossible obstacles to the life they want to build together. Addie believes that the mysterious Cafe du Temp, and its serendipitous existence in their lives, is the catalyst to their future, but can this belief transcend time and heartbreak to bring her to her ultimate destiny?

 

Review –

Would you be able to pass up on a book if I describe it as ‘The love letter(movie)’ meets ‘The time machine’ meets ‘Alice through the looking glass’, which, let’s be honest, are all unique and amazing? I’m not even kidding. I also know that it would be a challenge to actually pull it off even for an experience writer, let alone a debutant.

I have always loved historical romance for they are different from what I’m seeing and experiencing at present. The romance in a good historical novel always feels magical in itself even without any fantasy element involve. But when it does have that fantasy element and is writen well, now that’s my kind of fiction.

The story is about Addie who met Isabelle at a mysterious night club(#looking glass), whose love transcend through time(#The Love Letter). The night club has portals, portals to(no, not to another dimension) another time(#Time Travel). Pretty dope, right?

The writing is good, the romance were well written, the chemistry between the MC’s were spot on, the side characters were well put, the character development was well portrait and… okay, the sex scenes are pretty good too(applause!!).

Too many pros. Now, lets talk cons. As an avid reader(I’m sure it’s a curse), I did feel like the novel could have been shorter and could do with a little bit more editing. The pace was a little slow in the middle and suddenly picks up towards the end. I would have loved it if the writer actually trim down the middle a bit and avoid rushing the ending.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading it and well, obviously, I recommend it.

#ARC given to me by the writer for an honest review.

A Different Landing by RhinoMouse (Fan Fiction – The 100)

RATING – 5/5.

SYNOPSIS –

The drop ship was always going to have problems coming down. Unfortunately for the 100 they ended up in Ice Nation territory where the locals were far less forgiving. With all the wristbands gone and the survivors unable to contact the ark, the ark never came down. Now four years later the surviving members of the 100 have been assimilated into Nia’s army. When Lexa calls for the armies of the coalition to march on the mountain Clarke finds herself leading the Ice Nation forces.

 

REVIEW –

I have read tons of Clexa fan fictions which are good(thankfully!) and a few which are exceptional(very very grateful). It would be pretty crazy of me to write the reviews of all the fan fictions I read, but I wanted to share the reviews for the once I feel like people will be happy to read. Also, I will be posting a few more reviews of Clexa fanfiction and they will only be of completed ones.

This particular one caught my attention because it’s #BAMF Clarke and #Azgeda Clarke which, lets be honest, everyone loves. Also, this one isn’t a canon so it’s a plus, for me at least. Here, the 100 falls into Ice Nation and so they haven’t met Lexa when the story begins. Which is more exciting because Clarke and her friends have a different perpective of how Lexa.

This story is basically about taking down Mount Weather. Which means Lexa calling the 12 clans and all of them gathering in one place. Now, that always spells trouble and that is never boring when ‘The 100’ is concern. Also, the arc never came down in this one or at least hasn’t come down yet. It has a second part which is ongoing so I don’t want to give out spoilers.

The plot, the writing, the world building and character building in this one is really well done. Also, it has flashbacks which is always difficult to pull off, but here it was very well done. I can say for sure that you guys won’t regret reading this one and I highly recommend it(I have a feeling that all the Clexa fans might have most probable already read it though!).

 

LINK –

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6610291

The One Who Eats Monsters (Wind and Shadow #1) by Casey Matthews

Rating – 5/5

Synopsis –

Long ago, before history broke in half, elder gods exiled the vengeful deity Erynis to a far corner of Earth. When Ryn is found weakened after saving the life of an innocent villager, the U.S. military mistakes the battered immortal for a feral teenager and places her in New Petersburg, a decaying city full of monsters.

In her clash with the city’s demons, Ryn is confused by her intense emotional connection with Naomi Bradford, a senator’s daughter she has sworn to protect. But while her claws can kill anything that dies (and a few things that cannot), she must also contend with the human race. They lie, they speak in riddles, and to protect her friend, the immortal must navigate the senseless rules of their flawed civilization. Worse, they are fragile—and giving her heart to one makes Ryn afraid for the first time in her eternal life.

Review –

Wow! For a book that seem to a YA urban fantasy this is seriously hardcore. To be fair our kick ass heroin is an immortal and had lived for who know how long. And when I say hardcore, I mean it. The villains that are portrayed here are seriously twisted, and deservingly so is the way Ryn killed them(more like eat them. Soo.. yeah twisted, yet I can’t stop turning the pages even if I tried.).

This is a book about Gods and monsters and evil spirits. Ryn is a monster/deva who had lived away from humans in uninhabited parts of the Earth. Until unfortunate and unavoidable circumstances led her to live amongst humans. She is pretty much like an anti-hero. So, there are lots of cool action scenes and serious thrilling moments. And then, there’s Naomi. As you might have guessed, yes, Ryn fell for her. But the cool thing about this book is that, someone bigger is at play and it keeps us wondering if everything that was happening is part of a bigger plan. And the author did a wonderful job of making us wonder all this only at the last few pages. Who won’t want to read the next part after such an ending?

The Queen of Ieflaria (Tales of Inthya #1) by Effie Calvin

 

Rating – 3/5

Synopsis –

Princess Esofi of Rhodia and Crown Prince Albion of Ieflaria have been betrothed since they were children but have never met. At age seventeen, Esofi’s journey to Ieflaria is not for the wedding she always expected but instead to offer condolences on the death of her would-be husband.

But Ieflaria is desperately in need of help from Rhodia for their dragon problem, so Esofi is offered a new betrothal to Prince Albion’s younger sister, the new Crown Princess Adale. But Adale has no plans of taking the throne, leaving Esofi with more to battle than fire-breathing beasts.

Review –

Who doesn’t love a good fantasy read with princess and magic and well dragons! The plot is pretty awesome too. But the execution is darn frustrating. When a novel is turn into a movie, everything is rushed like in Harry Potter movies. This novel feels like the movie version of the story. It seem like the writer is trying to finished the book within a fixed word count and a very short one too. I love the story, the plot and everything(come on even the cover is fantastic!), but I’ll never get why everything was rushed or edited. I said edited because that how it feels like while reading it, like a part of the story/scene was just removed or cut off. I was very excited to read about the magic vs science part, I don’t have a clue to why the writer brought it up in the first place if she wasn’t going to actually go through with it. I had wanted to know why he God of magic left out Princess Adale and few other things, but instead there were lots of details on the different kinds of Gods which seem irrelevant to the plot. That made me even more frustrated because somehow the writer manages to include that in the story and fails to put the things that are much more relevant and needed to be there. If it were written as it is supposed to be I would have loved it very much and I’m even sure it would be a 5 star.

Princess of Dorsa (The Chronicles of Dorsa #1) by Eliza Andrews

 

Rating – 4/5

Synopsis –

The fate of an empire lies in the hands of one untested princess.

Princess Natasia is the eldest child of the Emperor Andreth, ruler of the Four Realms. If she were a boy, she’d be the unquestioned heir to the throne. But as a girl, her main duty in life is to marry someone her father can shape into his successor.

Everything changes when an unknown would-be assassin nearly takes Tasia’s life. Someone wants to destabilize the Empire — but who? Was the assassin aligned with the power-hungry Western lords, who have always rebelled against the Emperor? Was he hired by the barbarians in the East, who are fighting against the Empire’s subjugation? Or was he a member of the mysterious Cult of Culo?

Unsure of whom he can trust, the Emperor realizes that his daughter might be his best option for an heir. There hasn’t been a female heir to the throne in living memory, but as palace intrigue becomes increasingly dangerous, the reckless, rebellious, and stubborn princess suddenly has to face the responsibility of learning to lead.

Will she rise to the occasion? Or will the Empire fall at the hands of one of its many enemies?

For fans of epic fantasy… with an LGBTQ twist.

Review –

This one is a surprise. I’m a big fan of ‘Game of Thrones’ so when people compare it with a f/f version of that, I couldn’t have avoided it even if I tried. And oh goodness, it doesn’t disappoint. It’s not as must brutal as GoT but still brutal enough, and the story is written in 1st person so it’s nothing like ‘Songs of Fire and Ice’ and also there’s much less sex than GoT and no incest(if you are worried about it!). But the interesting thing is that, like Got, this on has or I believe will have a one true mythical villain just like the ‘White walker’. The only difference, here it’s more of a fire creature and not ice. Just as the author said, this is pretty much a lesbian version of GoT. The plot, the settings everything is similar. Conflicts, betrayals, murder, and of course everything happens for want of the throne. While the four realms are eyeing for the throne, a new and powerful enemy slowly grew it’s size away unchecked and disregarded as myth. Ooo..but this isn’t all there is that I can’t wait to read more, Princess Natasia is like Daenerys Targaryen and my favourite Josyln, who is a bodyguard of the lovely princess, is very much like Jon Snow. Although, there are many similarities with GoT and this, this book is just as different and interesting. I can’t wait for the second part and to learn more about Josyln. The story is just getting started, both the twist and turns that are being put in a single book was amazing and keep me hooked the whole time. I would have loved it more if there was at least two POV’s, since there are many plots and subplots and more plots, twist and turns in the story, but nevertheless it’s still amazing. Highly recommended. If anyone is looking for an epic fantasy, I’m sure this one won’t disappoint.