Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1)by Rebecca Ross (2023)
YA Fiction | Historical | Fantasy
Blurb:
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
YA Fiction not only unafraid of the darker side of life, but that goes after it staring into its depths unflinching and writing down what it sees.
I’ve officially caught up on (almost) all things Mindy McGinnis, finally reading her entire backlist except things like short stories and co-writing projects done for other authors. But McGinnis’ solo stuff? I’m all caught up and what a wild ride. The first book of hers that I read was The Female of the Species and from that moment I was hooked (it’s still my favorite though I wish they hadn’t changed the cover recently. The original cover shown in this post looks like it’s a book with something to say while the new cover just looks like creepy semi-abstract art imo). I read Heroine, Be Not Far From Me, The Initial Insult duology…then it was time to partner with my library’s resources to find everything else I’d missed. My conclusion? She’s still one of my top favorite authors who can tackle any genre that comes to her mind and one day I hope to meet her.
In this post I’ve included brief reviews for all of her books (except sequels though most of her books are stand-alones anyway) and if I’d written a longer review (you know how I like to ramble haha) then I’ve included the link. So scroll through and see if anything catches your fancy. She really is a talented author and at the very least her books will make you think twice before settling in Ohio lol.
Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros (2023)
Fiction | Fantasy
Blurb:
Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
YA best-selling authors team up with the superhero cash cow. An exciting partnership or a basic marketing ploy?
The year was 2017. I’m obsessed with Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas while the movie industry is obsessed with superheroes. Again. Or, rather, still? The publishers are making bank off of several popular YA authors and have an idea of how to make more. DC’s perk? They reach the up-and-coming audience. But while I was voraciously willing to pick up anything by these new favorite authors, the release of DC Icons made me pause and choose to save my carefully rationed pennies not only because I was hesitant about the genre but because by several accounts these books were, in a word, disappointing. However now it’s 2023 and I’ve remembered that libraries exist.
The most amazing thing has happened! I discovered this series back in college when I perhaps needed magic the most and it whisked me away on a fantastical journey that has kept close to my thoughts ever since. I don’t collect books for the sake of collecting them and only afford to buy physical copies when it’s something I want to read over and over again. This being a special series to me, it was something I wanted to try and collect. For the longest time I only had the eBooks and I began a hunt for first editions which was much more difficult a quest than I’d anticipated. Finally eBay raised my hopes only for an unfortunate basement flood to dash them and then once again magic struck, the magic of an author and her book community. Keep reading this post to see what exactly arrived in my mailbox as well as for more info on the series (no spoilers!) and the author!
Jade City (The Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee (2017)
Fiction | Urban Fantasy
Blurb:
JADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu.
The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It’s the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities.
Iron Widow (Iron Widow #1) by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021)
YA Fiction | Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Blurb:
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.
This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra #1) by Emily Thiede (2022)
-eARC Review-
YA Fiction | Fantasy
Blurb:
Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.
Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.
You probably already saw my Book Blitz post back in September for this book, but I’m back now with my official review and as part of the Blog Tour! Annette Marie’s latest addition to the utterly epic Guild Codex series, THE ONE AND ONLY CRYSTAL DRUID, kicks off a brand new sub-series in the Guild Codex world and I was so happy to receive a copy to review! The Guild Codex books so far are a series I don’t mind posting more than once about if only to help get the word out to new readers. Keep reading to find out more about the book, read my review (how does this new series compare to the others??), find links to the rest of the Guild Codex world, enter a giveaway, and more!
*Click on the tour banner to find a list of all the tour stops!
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