I totally picked this one for the title and cover. In this first book of the series, our unwilling heroine, Cinnamon, is a spice farmer who just wants to be left alone to live her rural life. After drunk Cinnamon revives the demon, Fallon, from a witch’s spell, he is hell bent on releasing his fellow demons from her grasp. I was impressed with the breadth she created with only 182 pages of text. I’m so glad I gave this a try since Kimberly Lemming has quickly become a new favorite author. This world had everything a fantasy nut could want, from quests to magic, and impossible enemies. I laughed throughout most of this, but she kept an impeccable balance between the romance, humor, and the more serious plot aspects of the story. (4/5 rating)
Tag: dragons
Book Review – A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #1) By K.F. Breene
This is the first in Breene’s latest book series. I wanted to wait until the entire series had been released until I dug back into this one. I was excited for this since it is a retelling of The Beauty and The Beast storyline. I loved every word and detail of this world and its characters. Breene, as usual, set the first book up to be a series of epic proportioned. I loved our strong heroine, Finley, and the fact that she refuses to back down from Nyfain, especially in the face of his obvious physical strength over her. Hadriel became a favorite side character since he made me laugh a lot. He was a perfect dose of hilarity amongst the heavier tones within this. The pace remained quick while the world building was off the charts. This is exactly why I horde my other Breene books, like a dragon myself. No one does it the way she does. This is not a typical fairy tale, but it is Breene’s fresh take on it, that makes it something else entirely. (5/5 rating)
Book Review – Untamed (House of Berserkers 1) by Lacey Carter Andersen
Checked out with Kindle unlimited in January 2023. My first novel by Lacey Carter Andersen is centered around the House of Berserkers within the Wicked Reform School. Kiera is a female berserker sentenced to the school after berserking to avenge a fallen friend. As one of the only female berserkers that can, she finds a huge target on her back but also help in unexpected places. The world that this school is in was intriguing and I’m interested to learn about the other author series for the Houses. The plot and pacing were effective in building suspense. The cliffhanger has me ready to continue the series. Kiera was a strong female lead, and the subplots for the male leads were interesting but I struggled with how fast those relationships progressed. Even though there was discussion of the mate factor, it felt a bit rushed but that’s my issue and not the authors. Adam and his cat, Princess, were my favorites from this. (3/5 rating)
Book Review – Kingdom of Villains by Ella Fields
This was my first book by Ella Fields, and I’m thrilled that I finally got one of her books off my TBR list. After freeing an Unseelie Prince from her uncle’s dungeon, Fia discovers he is a bloodthirsty beast who has butchered their kind. After her king discovers her actions, Fia will take the prince’s place on the chopping block. Hours before her scheduled death, the Unseelie Prince proposes a marriage contract that will allow both kingdoms to be at peace and Fia to marry her enemy. I have always loved stories centered around the Fae, and this was no exception. I loved this enemy to lover’s plot and the world building. I think I liked the ending the best, where it’s her turn to save him. I enjoyed Fia and her love for animals and independence. If you’re thinking about giving this a try, I recommend it. (4/5 rating)
Book Review – Blitz (The Storm Dragons Mate 1) by M. Sinclair
I discovered this author last year and enjoyed her hell trilogy. This series had me excited with dragon shifters attending a paranormal academy for various other species: Dark Imaginarium Academy. After the most prestigious dragon shifter clan takes her in off the street, Bexley is a shifter and raised within the Bronzeheart estate. Bexley doesn’t expect to get into the Academy since she has never shifted, but her invitation arrives allowing her to join her childhood friend, Gage, at school.
**Spoiler Alert**
I love the Academy and the world Sinclair has built around it. I was a bit frustrated at Bexley at times, but I wanted to know what she shifted into, so I kept reading. I’m also invested in the aspect of who stole her memories and why. Gage was overbearing at times but overall, I liked Bexley’s mates. The pacing felt a bit slow at times, or maybe I was simply impatient to fill in the holes around Bexley. I’ll be continuing this series as well as Sinclair’s other series for Dark Imaginarium Academy. (3/5 rating)
Book Review – Dragon Mage (Rivenworld 1) by M.L. Spencer
Checked out with Kindle Unlimited 10/28/2021 and on my TBR for almost a year. I’m grateful I finally got to this since this epic fantasy was an addicting read. This featured the always majestic Dragons, world ending magic systems, and the ultimate evil villain we all love to hate. Spencer’s writing style had me living in Rivenworld without seeing her words on the page. This story was equal parts heartbreaking and compelling. Of course, I had to add this to my permanent collection. (4/5 rating)
Book Review – The Rowan (The Killian Blade 1) by Stella Brie
This was my first novel by Stella Brie. The first novel of a series surrounds a powerful witch, Arden, who has hidden herself for 300 years. After an assassination attempt on her life, she is forced to flee her isolated location and finds sanctuary within the property of The Abbey. This sanctuary happens to come with an Imperium Cadre of protection with elven, fae, vampire, dragon, and warlock touches. Arden is a witch warrior and I enjoyed watching her punish those who underestimated her. I loved this urban fantasy world with intricate magic and compelling support characters. This was an original and well executed premise with excellent world building skills. I’m anxious to read the next hook and I have another author to add to my favorites list. (4/5 rating)
Book Review – The Queen of Cursed Things (The Serpents and Kings Trilogy 1) by S.M. Gaither
This was my first novel by S.M. Gaither, so I checked it out with my kindle membership first. Our female MC is Alaya, is a descendant of a banished serpent clan and born with the ability to wake them up. Our male MC, the Prince of a monstrous king who wants him dead, will do anything to gain power to stop his father. Together they plan to bring peace to the realm. The premise of this story is well executed with trust and betrayal, leaving Alaya unsure of who to believe wants to help her cause for peace. Gaither weaves an intimate web of deceit around the cast of characters that come together to save their world. I was intrigued by this world and their magic, and I am certainly invested enough to continue with this trilogy. (3/5 rating)
Favorite Books for 2021
I was trying hard to single my read list for 2021 down to 1 book and realized how impossible that was to accomplish. For that reason, I have narrowed it down to my top 5 of the year. Please note that my list does not comprise of what came out this year, merely what I read this year.
1 – A Clash of Fates by Philip C. Quaintrell.
This series I fell in love with last year and the final installment was published this Spring. This is a self-published author that is a must read if you enjoy high fantasy, epic fantasy tales. It also has dragons and dragon riders and no romance. I do enjoy romance novels but sometimes I need something epic and this filled that hole.
2 – The Queen of All that Lives by Laura Thalassa.
This book is the third of a dystopian trilogy. It has a wonderful blend of romance, war, intrigue, technology advances, and betrayal. I love that the main character is this bad ass, fighting chic that becomes queen. I discovered Laura Thalassa this year and have worked my way through many of her novels.
3 – Vinyl by Sophia Elaine Hanson
This was another self published series with a dystopian setting. While it is a young adult, it was no high school drama. This book was a unique plot around subjugating the population to control measures by those in control. You need to read this right now.
4 – For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten.
I fell in love with the unique magic system and who could say no to a setting within a magical forest.
5 – A Ruin of Roses by K.F. Breene.
This was a new series this year by Breene based on Beauty and the Beast. Meant to a three part tale, I also fell in love with her woven drama and magic aspects. While it is definitely filled with romance, Breene is my favorite author for balancing both romance and the plot and she delivered here.
What were your favorites this year?