The Fiction Feature

Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston

One-Sentence Summary:

After everything she’s ever known is overcome by the cursed woods, Cerys must travel through the woods themselves with the help of a Fox-turned-boy and benevolent bear to save her friends, family, and kingdom.

My Review:

This book was everything I wanted. A darker fantasy standalone with amazing characters and woodland monsters? Sign me the heck up.

The worldbuilding was one of my favorite parts of this book. A happy, healthy kingdom, and only rumors of a city within the cursed woods, but after a curse took over, the rumors had to be true. The magic made sense, it was neither complicated nor underdeveloped.

My favorite part was Fox, Cerys’s fox friend that got turned into a human by accident and wants to be a fox again more than anything. He was absolutely adorable, but also realistic. [mild vague spoiler alert] Running away from danger before remembering you might need to make sure your companion escapes too? I could definitely see myself doing that. 😬 Regardless, Fox was amazing, especially when he basically said, “I don’t like feelings, I do like food.” (Paraphrased LOL) Again, relatable AF.

Essentially, I loved this book. It’s great for fans of dark fantasy as well as the classic fantasy journey into the darkness with curses along the way! As I said in my review of Don’t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross, I love both of those books and think they’re great for fans of the other. Read Among the Beasts and Briars for lots of woodland monsters, healthy romance (I know, I’m swooning too), and just an amazing book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Don’t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross

One-Sentence Summary:

A legendary dragon hunter and queen of the forest team up to defeat the dragon terrorizing their homes and find the hunter’s lost brother.

My Review:

I just really loved this book. The characters were all complex, I couldn’t hate one of the crew for too long because I learned more about them. My favorites were Ryś and Czarn, but I thought they were all amazing. Nothing was as it seemed. I loved the inclusion of flashbacks to each of Lukasz’s brothers being called to the Mountain and his own reluctance. My favorite part was arguably the pronunciation guide at the back of the book simply because I realized I had pronounced almost every single name wrong except for “Ren” 😂 Everyone in the story was incredible, and I was completely trapped in the book from the very beginning of the story to the end.

My one critique is how “stereotypical fantasy” it is. It bore so much resemblance to the quest for magic that basically every single fantasy book has that it annoyed me a bit. I went to compare it to another book I read earlier in the month only to realize it was because they were both so cookie cutter fantasy! I don’t think it affected my enjoyment of the book though, so it didn’t affect my rating either.

I would recommend Don’t Call the Wolf to fans of the classic fantasy quest. The book I had compared it to was Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston. They were both books that I wished would never end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

I’m back! I know I was gone forever, I plan on writing a bunch of reviews soon and I read seven books this week. 😂

One-Sentence Summary:

In this Romeo and Juliet retelling, Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai must set aside their past and overcome their family rivalry to stop a madness spreading in 1920s Shanghai.

My Review:

First of all, my favorite parts! One thing I loved was that in some ways, there were two Romeo and Juliets, one pair being Roma and Juliette obviously, and the other being Benedikt and Marshall! Roma and Juliette obviously had the gang rivalry, but I liked Marshall and Benedikt much better, and they took a few Romeo and Juliet tropes, but the biggest one is a horrible spoiler. The main positives of the book are just that it’s well-written and enjoyable! My favorite character was Marshall because he’s perfect, then Benedikt, then Kathleen!

The ✨negatives✨: Well to start it off, the reason I originally DNFed this book! There are extremely graphic depictions of madness-induced suicide by tearing out throats, which is less than pleasant! There are also lots of bugs, and the combination of those things put me off of the book for months. It’s mainly in the first 100 pages, but it’s pretty bad.

This one is more of a story issue; I thought it was predictable. Not the retelling part, lol, but just the “who’s the villain” bit, any foreshadowing was pretty obvious, things like that. It wasn’t a huge problem like it has been in other books (side-eyes review I wrote that I’ll post soon), but it was worth acknowledging.

Anyways, I would totally recommend this to people who like retellings! These Violent Delights is great with politics, some of the history, and lovers to enemies to lovers! Go read it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

One-Sentence Summary:

After the death of her twin sister, Emilia must step into a world of demons and intrigue to solve her sister’s murder and keep the world safe.

My Review:

I love Kerri’s books, I do, but this one fell flat. I had actually been warned that it was disappointing, but I went in with high hopes anyways, which was a mistake.

Let’s start with the good! I liked that from the start, Wrath never actually harmed Emilia and only really threatened her once (the standards… they’re so low). The chemistry was undeniable, and I really wanted to see where their romance went. That’s pretty much all of the positives.

Okay, so the plot. I love murder mysteries and in the past, Kerri Maniscalco has done an amazing job writing them! However, in Kingdom of the Wicked, like in Capturing the Devil, romance took center stage. The murder mystery here was insanely predictable, and while I never really thought about who it could be because I was binge reading, it was glaringly obvious.

Here we go, what you’ve all been waiting for… the romance. A little summary of my thoughts: no. I like Wrath, I think he’s hot, but because of the nature of the sin he represents, his relationship with Emilia has been less than healthy, especially since he kept the truth from her a lot. At least with Capturing the Devil you could sort of say that the romance made the lack of plot worth it, but here? Pardon me [🚨SPOILER ALERT🚨 ], but the entire book seemed to lead up to Emilia sleeping with a demon and she didn’t sleep with a demon. If the quality of a book is going to be sacrificed for romance, which it generally shouldn’t be, you’d think the romance would progress more. This book just seemed like Kerri Maniscalco cashing in with the fantasy and new adult crowds with a demon love interest to entice everyone.

I really wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who likes to play the critic, but if you’re just reading for fun, it is enjoyable. Read for dark fantasy, addictive romance, and ✨demons✨.

⭐️⭐️/5.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna – ARC Review

*Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing this book as a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Summary:

After finding out that she’s one of the alaki, a demonic race of golden-blooded girls, Deka is recruited to be a soldier for the emperor.

My Review:

I didn’t know much about THE GILDED ONES before requesting it, but I’m glad I did so anyways. THE GILDED ONES is the feminist fantasy tale of Deka, who discovers that she has the “impure” demon blood of the alaki, a species (of a sort) of girls who are faster and stronger than regular humans and can only be killed in one way, their “final death”. Unlike those before her, Deka and other alaki discovered are taken to be trained as (almost) immortal warriors for the emperor and used to kill deathshrieks, deadly beings that feed on those fearful of them. This story was so incredible and unique. There was an amazing group of strong female characters, great representation, romance, and everything you want in a fantasy novel. Despite a lot of the focus being on Deka learning more about herself and her family, there’s still action, and the story is filled with unpredictable twists and turns. Above all, I appreciated that there was a HEALTHY romance that wasn’t too rushed, and the loyalty between Deka and the other alaki despite Deka being an unknown even among the others. Seriously, put this on your 2021 TBR.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

The Gilded Ones will be released on February 9th, 2021!

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell – ARC Review

*This book was provided as a digital galley by NetGalley and Tor Books in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Summary:

After his cousin Taam’s death, Prince Kiem must marry Jainan, Taam’s widower, and solve his murder to save the alliance between Thea and the Iskat Empire.

My Review:

I... love this book. First of all, it’s pretty inclusive. There are customs used to specify pronouns immediately in this world, and sexualities are respecting when arranging political marriages. There are people of all different cultures and though there’s definitely a certain system of power, the point-of-view characters never abuse the power they have over others. Kiem and Jainan own my heart. Jainan made me a little mad at the beginning, but his development just in the first few chapters made me love him so much more. The characters were incredibly well-developed and everything had its relevance. For the most part, I had no idea what was going on, but in a good murder mystery way. It was a little hard to keep track of all of the sci-fi elements, but they made a lot of sense. Maxwell knew just the right way to manipulate the plot so that the reader couldn’t be sure of anything (again, in a good way). I don’t really know any sort of combo I would describe this book as, but I would recommend it nonetheless!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

This book will be released on February 2nd, 2021!

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I’m so sorry for being MIA, have this review!

One-Sentence Summary:

Penellaphe “Poppy” Balfour, the Maiden, navigates through a rebellion against her kingdom and growing feelings for her new personal guard, Hawke Flynn.

My Review:

To start off positive: the worldbuilding and plot! I actually thought those were pretty decent. I don’t love vampires and werewolves, but these were just fine. The plot had a lot of romance, but it was kind of a romance novel. The non-romantic plot points were actually really good and consistent! I haven’t noticed any plot holes in the series yet, but I am a little confused with some of the stuff because there’s so much contradictory information.

To the romance… ugh. To begin with, Hawke was like the worst parts of Rhysand from ACOTAR and Edward Cullen from Twilight. For a lot of the book, he was just one of those “I know you want it” guys. If I ever met him in real life, I would probably be scared of him, and not even because he kills a ton of people.

In my opinion, Hawke is just so toxic. I would like to point out that Poppy isn’t nearly as bad, as she’s a badass who just wants freedom. I just cannot get past how much I hate Hawke. Kieran is superior. Yes, Hawke is sometimes vulnerable, but I personally don’t think that can redeem him.

In actuality, I didn’t think the book was bad. It was by no means a masterpiece, but From Blood and Ash is entertaining. I’d definitely recommend it for fans of Sarah J. Maas, and, to be honest? Twilight. Sorry FBAA fans, I had to say it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken – ARC Review

This book was provided as a digital galley by NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Summary:

Lore joins forces with a goddess and two childhood friends to get revenge against the man who killed her family.

My Review:

LORE was just so unique. I love Greek mythology and I’ve read a lot of books including it, but LORE was just so different from the rest.  One thing necessary in all books, but especially standalones because there’s less content, is remaining unpredictable. While I guessed at the relationships and a very early plot twist, everything else truly remained a mystery until it was on the page. I never like main characters but this crew was so amazing. I feel like I need to devote a special section in this review to how empowering LORE was. The patriarchy was a big factor in the Agon, the seven day fight between all of the hunters and gods, particularly because of how large a role tradition played. One of my favorite parts of the book just had two powerful women talking about the strength men only took advantage of and couldn’t see. The greatness of LORE is just beyond comprehension. READ THIS BOOK.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

One-Sentence Summary:

In the sequel to The Gilded Wolves, the gang travels to Russia to find a lost artifact to survive and become more powerful than ever.

My Review:

I loved The Gilded Wolves, but I was really convinced that The Silvered Serpents would be worse. When you read a really great book, it’s hard to believe that the sequel will live up to the reputation the first book set. The Silvered Serpents was SO GOOD.

An interaction from Lydia Reading The Silvered Serpents:

Me: *walks into sister’s room unannounced*

Me: So I read 100 pages-

Her: It’s been a little over half an hour since you left to start it.

Me:…

Me: So I read 100 pages, and-

It was really that good. Just like the first book, The Silvered Serpents had so much diversity and actually followed up on the lives of the characters, not just added a stereotypical character and changed what they looked like. Also, I’m not totally sure if this is confirmed, but there’s a (basically) canon demisexual main character! That’s all too rare in books, and I love the representation Roshani Chokshi is including. ❤️

Additionally, there was so much complexity. I love how many ciphers and riddles Chokshi includes in the first two books of the trilogy because it makes it so much more fun to read! Not only do the ciphers create some suspense before they’re decoded and when the ominous message is visible, but this book actually contained a cipher I was familiar with! I know this isn’t something that everyone could apply, but I actually decoded the two messages written in it before reading the characters do it, which made the writing even more creepy to discover on my own.

The relationships in this book……… they killed me. You know that moment where you know the author will sink your ship but you’re in denial? That was, like, 80% of the book for me. At least I ship what I know will be endgame too. Roshani Chokshi did not give her characters a break and I’m here for it. She tested every romance and friendship, and y’all, I can tell you that only the strongest survived.

I do have a little criticism, of course. The complexity and intricacy of the book did make it a little hard for me to keep up. This is honestly probably due to my being a speed-reader, but I feel like it’s worth mentioning. These are definitely books where you have to pay attention.

Aside from my personal inability to keep track of what was going on, The Silvered Serpents was amazing! I think fans of its predecessor will be and are happy with the book, despite it completely sinking my ship and leaving me with no hope or happiness for the finale (oops.). I think it was a very different five stars from The Gilded Wolves, but I give it the same rating nonetheless!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

One-Sentence Summary:

Following her sister’s betrayal, animage Veronyka pretends to be a boy to join the legendary Phoenix Riders.

My Review:

I originally read Crown of Feathers in December last year (I think?) so I think it’s important that I share my opinions from now and my first impressions (all of which are good because I love this book).

Crown of Feathers deserves so much more attention. The plot centers around three point-of-view characters: Veronyka, Tristan, and Sev. Veronyka’s story is described in the one-sentence summary, so I’ll talk about the others! Tristan is the Phoenix Rider commander’s son, but he’s only an apprentice. One reason for this is that his training has been hindered by his fear of fire. He has to complete his training and become a Master Rider to prove himself to his judgemental father, but first he must face his fears. The last one is Sev, an animage soldier. Most animages are slaves, but no one knows about his powers until two of the animage slaves traveling with him get wind of his abilities and blackmail him for his help and insider information.

When I initially read Crown of Feathers, I actually didn’t love Sev. I didn’t pay too much attention to Sev’s POVs, so I thought he was boring. After rereading it, I can say that Sev is actually very interesting, in part because of Kade, one of the other animages and also one of my favorite characters ever because 😍😍😍. Essentially, hating on Sev is not allowed.

I’ve always loved Veronyka’s journey in Crown of Feathers, but I think my reread made me love the secondary characters in her story more than I did before. Veronyka is such a strong character, but I love that Nicki also shows us her weaknesses, like impulsiveness and previously her blind trust of her sister. I definitely like Veronyka best in Crown of Feathers compared to Heart of Flames. I really like Tristan this time around too.

During my reread, I developed an appreciate for Sparrow and Val, specifically Val. Val, Veronyka’s sister, is actually such a badass, but everyone overlooks that because of what she does on-page. More people need to appreciate Val, I’m saying it. I’m a Val stan now, even though I wasn’t when I first read it.

Crown of Feathers is amazing for people who like high fantasy. Basically the entire cast of primary and secondary characters has power over animals, and two characters and one side character have telepathy with humans too. You should also really read Crown of Feathers and the others in the series because of how insanely underrated they are! Nicki Pau Preto is an angel and the books are amazing, so support them!!!!

I probably would’ve given the book four stars last year, but after my reread…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.