Court of Claws by Briar Boleyn (blood of the Fae Book 2)
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Cover Rating: 6/10 it’s a nice cover and it’s pretty, but I think that it doesn’t stand out as much with a lot of other really gorgeous fantasy covers.
Publisher: Starwater press
Publish Date: June30th, 2023
Number of Pages: 409
Received: Netgalley provided an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Bound to a man she hates more than she ever thought possible…
Everything Morgan Pendragon knows and loves is gone as she wakes in the dangerous court of the Siabra. The man she was falling in love with is dead, and in his place is a man she barely knows. Surrounded by liars and knives in the dark, all Morgan wants to do is run the other way but Kairos Draven is determined to keep her by his side.
As Morgan and Draven’s lives become even more irrevocably entwined, little do they know the sins of the past are coming for them both…
For the Prince of Claws will drown kingdoms in blood for her sake.
Opening Sentence: “The air was filled with screaming and wailing.”
Musings:
Books like this one are a guilty pleasure of mine. There’s action, romance, court politics, and a plethora of fantastic creatures. In this book Morgan and Draven experience this endless push and pull. Draven is more true to his desires and Morgan questions everything. I rejoiced every moment Morgan gave in to her desire for Draven and those scenes my heart soared at finally getting what I wanted to see from the first book.
Morgan becomes all the more powerful in this book and in other ways so does Draven. I know the romance is supposed to be a slow burn, but damn it kept killing me everytime Morgan questioned Dravens actions. At the end of book 1 he bonded himself to Morgan to save her life. She would’ve died otherwise. Over and over he does everything he can to save and protect her and everytime she lets herself trust him for a while, but then questions everything again.
The best parts of book two were the moments she and him were working together. The pair training together and growing stronger as a unit. As well as Morgan training the exomor and going through secret passage ways with the young shielder she befriends.
In her heart of hearts I know Morgan would protect Draven with her life. She has done so. I am just frustrated that she doesn’t realize that her attraction came long before the magical bond did and Draven’s decision to bond them together wasn’t to rob her of her choices. Draven clearly loves to allow her to make her own choices and wouldn’t do anything against her will except to save her life and try and make things better for both of them.
They need to kiss and makeup in book 3 or I will scream.
Anyway, I truly enjoyed reading book 2 and I loved all the action, magic, and intense challenges that Morgan and Draven face. It’s a really fun read.
A doomed love, a dangerous mission, and a kingdom on the brink of war…
A cast-off princess…
Born into a life of duty and sacrifice, Morgan Pendragon’s destiny has never been her own. Rumored to carry the tainted blood of the fae in her veins, her birthright is stolen from her when she is a mere child. Growing up in the shadow of her brother the king, she has been promised to the goddesses when she comes of age. So, when her brother commands that she seek out a fae weapon of legendary power, Morgan seizes the chance to break free from the chains of her fate.
A dangerous temptation…
As she travels, Morgan finds herself drawn into a strange group of outcasts, led by a dark and enigmatic warrior whose sharp wit and fierce beauty set her heart ablaze. But while Morgan struggles to reconcile her desires with her duty, she and her new comrades discover dangers that await them beyond anything in their wildest nightmares.
A slumbering kingdom awoken by blood…
Believed to have vanished generations ago, a fae kingdom dreaded by mortals is ascending once more, bound to reclaim what was lost by violence and bloodshed. As the fae world, with its intricate web of lies and mysteries, is slowly revealed to Morgan, she is led to the terrible realization that the secrets she carries in her blood make her a greater threat than she could ever have imagined.
The first in an action-packed new series brimming with magic, danger, morally gray characters, and spellbinding slow-burn romance, Queen of Roses is perfect for fans of Holly Black, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Sarah J. Maas.
Opening Sentence: The dagger sliced through the air, whistling like a bird.
Musings:
Morgan goes through so much in this book. This woman is one of the mentally strongest women I’ve ever read. She still wants to think the best of people and do the best for people after all she goes through. She’s truly someone special.
It hurt to read some of the early things in this novel and it does have trigger warnings for a reason. I am happy as it went on that Morgan kept to her ideals and at the end she’s a more whole person than in the beginning and it’s beautiful to see. Even considering the iffy circumstances of the ending, but I’m not going to tell. If you want to know how the book ends you have to read it for yourself.
Queen of Roses has a slow-burn romance that is truly the beginnings and it’ll leave you hoping for the pair to give in to their desires in the books to come. It has so much action and plenty of fantastical creatures to awe the mind. I loved the fantasy elements in this book and when it got to the point we meet our first fantastic creature it propelled me and intrigued me very quickly to the end of this book.
It’s truly an adventure with some beautiful moments to make your heart sore and some absolutely sadistic moments to make you wish that the worst would befall some of the horrific pricks who exist in this book. I hope for even more delicious justice in the next book.
I got to admit so far it’s been great. I love reading and I’ve loved challenging myself to finish books faster and I’ve read some new favorite books already because of this challenge.
These past few days I’ve just been tired. I think I just need some time where I still read, but I give myself the time to breath and do other things too. My body needs more rest right now and I need to reduce stress in my life. I am sure I can try this again when I’m feeling better and life stuff isn’t so hectic.
I know I didn’t really let you all down, but I let myself down. I just need more time for myself to relax and do whatever. I am sure I’ll try again soon when I’m ready.
Thanks for being there for me on my journey. Regardless, more book talk will be on its way soon.
Two high school classmates, Sakura Miyazen and Sota Matsubayashi, are polar opposites: Miyazen is a prim and proper young lady, while Matsubayashi is a brusque former troublemaker. They’re secretly dying to talk to each other, but their backgrounds are so different, they can’t seem to strike up a conversation! And why does a simple greeting make the both of them turn red?!
A cute and light-hearted romantic comedy that will have you rooting for the pair to get closer!
Opening Page:
Musings:
This manga was such a cute one to read. It’s very trope filled, but in a good way. It’s one of those when you’re having a bad day and you want to read something that will make you smile kind of mangas.
It’s the delinquent and the nice girl who wants to get to know him and they both don’t really know how to talk to each other without blushing. It’s super cute and it made my heart feel warm and happy. Their constantly worried about if their doing the right thing and questioning each others actions when really, they are both crushing on each other hard.
I loved this. It was a sweet reprieve for my day when I feel pretty tired and I needed something light to read and uplift myself. Everyone deserves friendship and love even a delinquent. Sometimes, people are just wayward because their super protective and they don’t know another way and deep down they have a soft side. This was super cute to read.
21 tales of sapphic villains, curated by April Yates and Rae Knowles.
Featuring the work of Hatteras Mange, Anastasia Dziekan, Ariel Marken Jack, Maerwynn Blackwood, Avra Margariti, Grace R. Reynolds, Evelyn Freeling, Hailey Piper, T.O. King, M.S. Dean, Chloe Spencer, Mae Murray, L.R. Stuart, Alex Luceli Jiménez, Cheyanne Brabo, Luc Diamant, Alyssa Lennander, Anya Leigh Josephs, Lindz McLeod, Caitlin Marceau, and Shelly Lavigne, plus a bonus story by Eric Raglin.
Musings:
Since these are all short stories I will be rating each one individually.
Gladys Glows At Night by Hatteras Mange
4/5 this was a really cool concept. It talks about the women who worked with radium and had lost their lives due to sickness. I loved the revenge not just for the love of one woman but for the sake of all women.
You Outta Be In Pictures by Anastasia Dziekan
5/5 This story was so awesome. It’s absolutely horrific. It’s about a topic that makes me personally super uncomfortable, but it explores it in a way that’s fascinating. It’s an early favorite for sure.
The Lady of the House on Legs by Ariel Marken Jack
4/5 This story made me feel sad. Even the horror of it just felt like a surrender to a lesser of two evils. It’s painful to read. I feel the truth in it for so many women who are forced to not be able to love who they love. This one is heart wrenching in multiple senses.
To Wilt A Flower by Maerwynn Blackwood
5/5 This was such a sensually beautiful story. I loved the floral descriptions and especially the macabre ending. It was enchanting in the way that magic is stumbled upon and it was so so sexy in a dark way.
Teratoma, Cacodaemon, Erinya by Avra Margariti
5/5 This is a very unique work of body horror. I have become more and more fascinated by body horror as I have gotten older. This piece was fascinating. A manifestation of vengeance growing painfully and grotesquely from the body. I found this story to be so cool.
Torbalan’s Gift by Grace R. Reynolds
5/5 I loved the idea of this story. To give your body up to become something other then yourself because life will not allow you to have that as society stands. It was beautiful. It was beautiful that it was birthed from an orgasmic release. That revenge and justice was brought in the end. I am enamored with this story.
Her Tongue, A Slippery Slope by Evelyn Freeling
3.5/5 I don’t know really what to think or feel with this one. It’s a horrible scenario, but I’m not really sure what I am supposed to make of it. It’s damnation, but in a true sense. I think this is something I will come back to and think on some more.
Modern Art Curse, Mixed Media by Hailey Piper
4/5 Another piece that I feel needs a lot more introspection. I loved how it ends and yet I still feel like I need to think about it to really understand what it leaves me feeling. The art of death. This work was fascinating.
The Flesh Grows Fonder by T.O. King
5/5 This was one that wasn’t horrific it was euphoric. It felt like an acceptance of one’s wantings and a willingness to submit to one’s truest desire. I found it to be a beautifully strange liberation.
Pilgrim of Worlds by M.S. Dean
4/5 this story felt like a moment that is the beginning and the end of many other moments before it. It’s a defining time where someone chooses a new path they’ve never taken and they are forever changed. Everything is different. It made me want to imagine what new things she would discover in the after.
Gingerbread Red by Chole Spencer
5/5 A very unusual and sexy twist on the old Hansel & Gretel tale. One where the witch is seen as a woman of power and where instead of something to be warned against she becomes someone to crave. It’s really such a cool way to flip the story on its head. Still horrific and terrible, but it celebrates that women can be devilish too.
Buckskin for Linen by Mae Murray
5/5 women, especially brown-skinned women, have been taken advantage of for ages. This story is a reminder of the way brown women have been stripped of their culture and the very nature of who they are and are buried for it. It’s cruel and yet there was a beauty of the unity of their death. Like eventually someone would discover and avenge them. That there’s a future where they could be who they really are and live fully.
Oubliette by L. R. Stuart
4/5 This story was romantic in a monstrous way. It was falling in love and destroying it with your own hands. It was a monster and the woman who loves her. Enabling horror because of love.
Conversations With Roe by Alex Luceli Jiménez
4/5 what happens when a woman who usually kills for fun commits a crime of passion? This is the aftermath. The cold reality of the injustice she inflicted on one person who loved her. It’s a sad story, but also it shows how a killer will justify their actions even against the ones they love most.
Our Lady of Devouring Violence by Cheyanne Brabo
5/5 I loved this story. A violent love where it’s two against the world. Something about that kind of love is pure freedom. The love in this story is a fiery revenge.
Family Planning by Luc Diamant
5/5 This is one of the most unsettling of the stories to me. One of the things that breaks my heart the most is manipulation. Even if technically the outcome is “good” it’s still a violation. Violating your partner to convince them to let you bring home a child is a nightmare.
Ungrateful Dead Things by Alyssa Lennander
5/5 I loved this twist on Frankenstein. It’s morbid and heartbreaking and corrupt. I wish I could read a whole book in this version and see what would happen if certain things happened after the fact. It’s such a fascinating concept.
Straight Flush by Anya Leigh Josephs
5/5 this is one of the most enchanting stories I’ve ever read. It was like watching a movie and seeing this powerful woman be fair in her offering, but in the end as humans we all fail her. The betting with the devil was just so cool. I loved this story so much.
A Mirror Has Two Faces by Lindz McLead
3/5 this is one of the only stories in here that I felt just ok about. It’s good, but it didn’t blow me away. I think it’s more that it’s about manipulation but in a way that I see more often in regal life and I just don’t really like it. There wasn’t much shock or anything super compelling in this particular story for me. It’s very mild thriller I’d say.
The Turner House Heritage Store by Caitlin Marceau
5/5 This story was so unique and fascinating. Two wives dealing with an old family house that feeds on you as you walk through it and ages you. It was such a fascinating concept to read about. I loved it!
Enamored by Shelley Lavigne
5/5 I love these original stories in this collection. This one was soul sucking. It was beautiful and deadly in a way that the woman wanted it to be. The painting and the idea of making a perfect statue of a woman’s body was both beautiful and horrifying. This is another one of my favorites in this collection.
The Call of The Sea by Eric Raglin
5/5 All the body horror stories in this collection are so good. It was cool that this was the extra story and it was gay instead of lesbian. Yet it still felt like it fit the collection as a whole. It was terrifying and I thought it was a fantastic story.
All in all:
This is a sexy and horrifying collection of lesbian short stories. I loved how much each story made me think and left me with something new to ponder in the end. I highly recommend it! So many beautiful works of art created by so many incredibly talented women.
Cover Rating: 10/10 I appreciate this cover all the more having completed the book. I love all the symbolism in the cover and how true it is to the book. It’s beautiful.
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Publish Date: February 16th, 2021
Number of Pages: 304
Received: Netgalley provided an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Sparks fly between two teens as they grapple with grief, love, and the future in this unforgettable debut novel sure to entice fans of Jandy Nelson and Jennifer E. Smith
Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded. So when Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to attend a book festival with Endsley in attendance, Amelia is ecstatic. It’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college.
In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.
When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along.
Ashley Schumacher’s devastating and beautiful debut, Amelia Unabridged, is about finding hope and strength within yourself, and maybe, just maybe, falling in love while you do it.
Opening Sentence: “Everyone has a story about the first time they read the Orman Chronicles.”
Musings:
When I started this book and quickly realized it was about grief I thought that it was going to be a much heavier read and I got nervous. However, I realized that while this book is about grief it is also about love, hope, finding yourself, and making your own choices about who you want to be in life.
This story is so beautiful. It made me smile from ear to ear and it made me laugh so hard. I loved Endsley’s big floppy brain dead dog. That dog was a part of so many precious moments in this book and I wish more books had more fun including animals in it like this. All the moments with him were absolutely incredible.
This book absolutely made me tear up. I still felt the grief along with Amelia. Yet, even though Jenna is dead from the first few chapters of the book, she lives throughout the pages. We get to learn about her and come to love her and appreciate the effect she left on Amelia’s life and the adventure she went on because of what happened to Jenna. It’s beautifully woven and I adored it.
This book is also just one of those books for book lovers. It has such a beautiful appreciation for the written word and even though Amelia stops reading after Jenna dies, you still feel the effect that books have had on her and the love she still has for books. This is basically every bookworms contemporary fantasy romance. It made me so happy.
This is another one of those books that I feel everyone needs to read and experience the journey of it for themselves. It’s a whirlwind and it has these amazing descriptions and heartfelt introspections that are so incredible. It feels magical in the way that reality can sometimes be magical, even as something terrible started it all. It’s what the core of what living and loving is all about. I loved this book!
In a world where the children of the gods inherit their powers, a descendant of the Greek Fates must solve a series of impossible murders to save her sisters, her soulmate, and her city, for fans of Song of Achilles.
Descendants of the Fates are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. The Ora sisters are no exception. Io, the youngest, uses her Fate-born abilities as a private investigator in the half-sunken city of Alante.
But her latest job leads her to a horrific discovery: somebody is abducting women, maiming their life-threads, and setting the resulting wraiths loose in the city to kill. To find the culprit, she must work alongside Edei Rhuna, the right hand of the infamous Mob Queen—and the boy with whom she shares a rare fate-thread linking them as soul mates before they’ve even met.
The investigation turns personal when Io’s estranged oldest sister shows up on the arm of her best suspect. Amid unveiled secrets from her past and her growing feelings for Edei, Io must follow clues through the city’s darkest corners and unearth a conspiracy that involves some of the city’s most powerful players before destruction comes to her own doorstep.
Opening Sentence: “The streetcar sliced ahead inches above the tidewater.”
Musings:
Threads That Bind will dazzle you with its action and the secrets that become more and more untethered as the story goes on. Everyone has an agenda and people they wish to save and a cause they wish to fight for. As IO goes on an investigation to discover who is behind creating the murderous wraiths who are killing in the city she finds herself deep into a situation that is way bigger then herself.
IO teams up with Edei the person who shares her fate thread and together they uncover secrets that are ingrained in the society as a whole and will upend all of how it functions by the end of things. IO makes a lot of mistakes and she is navigating an overwhelming situation and she still manages to do the best she can to do what’s right.
I was sucked into this story from beginning to end and I got more and more excited and invested as everything started to come together in the ending. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I cannot wait to read the sequel and discover what will come from how this story ends.
I want to say so much about this book, but it’s one of those times where the journey is so important to your experience with this book. You need to be present with the characters discovering what they’re discovering and feeling what they’re feeling. There’s something so cool that happens when things start to make sense and things get turned on their head more then once and you feel the emotions the characters are feeling when they realize the truth. That feeling was so good. I can’t wait for what’s in store in the future for IO and Edei.
Cover Rating: 5/10 It’s an ok cover. It’s not something that attracts my attention, but I do see how it fits this book. It’s just a matter of it not really being my taste.
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Publish Date: January 12th, 2021
Number of Pages: 320
Received: Netgalley provided an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
From the beloved author of Tweet Cute comes Emma Lord’s You Have a Match, a hilarious and heartfelt novel of romance, sisterhood, and friendship…
When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.
But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.
When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents — especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.
The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby’s growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.
But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones.
Opening Sentence: “It starts with a bet.”
Musings:
I’ve known for a long time that this book was well loved and after reading it I understand why. Lately, all the books I read fit into my life like I was meant to read them right then and this book is another example of that. I know the situation Abby and Savvy find themselves in is rare, but it is a situation I have found myself in recently in my own way and I feel a lot like Abby does. I just want to keep going the way I always have and take the easy way out.
I love the messiness this book has. Messy is how life is. You aren’t always going to say the right things or know what to do right away. Especially not when for Abby she just found out she has a sister she never knew and she had almost kissed the guy she’s been friends with for years and now things are awkward between them. When you have so much going on in your life, like how Abby is also dealing with the loss of her grandfather Poppy, it’s hard to move forward or even think about what the next move should or could be.
That is the heart of this book. Life throwing crazy circumstances your way and figuring out how to deal with them with humor and bravery and maybe doing some things that are way out of your comfort zone. It’s growing up and becoming yourself, a new sense of yourself, as life adds the the sculpture of who you are.
I loved the friendships and the conspiracies and the hiding, but in the end everything comes out, because you can’t hold back such a huge truth for too long without any consequences. This book is about discovering what you need to heal and move forward. It’s about discovering what will work for you in your life and respecting that everyone else is also figuring it out and is just as messy as you.
This book is funny, emotional, full of pranks and hijinks, and life. It’s well worth the read. I’m glad for reading it now and bringing home with me all the lessons it had to teach me.
I did a challenge like this years ago and I ended up reading a book everyday for 56 days in a row. I want to try and do this again and see how far I can go. I really want to motivate myself to read a ton and get through a lot of my tbr for both netgalley and what I have waiting for me on my book shelves and I think that this is the perfect kind of challenge for me to really get ahead on my reading. This can include comics, graphic novels, or poetry books. I know some days I won’t have as much time to read, but I’ll still love to read something on the shorter side when I need to.
This will be something that really gets my netgalley feedback ratio up and I am very excited to get reading! It is a decent time commitment but if I wake up earlier and I spend less time just watching reels on my phone and spend my extra time reading I should be able to do this pretty easily.
I kinda want to be really nerdy about this and time how much I read and how long it takes me to complete each book at least for the first 30 days and clock in my reading time each day. If I could make it to 60 days and most days focus on my netgalley reads it is entirely possible that I might reach 80% on my feedback ratio in those 2 months. It depends on any more approvals I get or how many of my bookshelf books I get to, but we shall see. Either way, I will be reading a ton and I’m so happy to be the voracious reader that I always was.
The Book Raven 