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REVIEW; Nettle & Bone
Title: Nettle & BoneAuthor: T. KingfisherGenre: Adult, fantasyType: E-bookPublisher: Tor Books After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself. Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning. On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend…
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REVIEW; The Kiss Curse / The Wedding Witch
Title: The Kiss Curse / The Wedding WitchSeries: Graves GlenAuthor: Erin SterlingGenre: Adult, romance, urban fantasyType: E-bookPublisher: Avon Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow. Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the…
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REVIEW; Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes / the City of Gold / the Nectar of Immortality
Title: Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes / Aru Shah and the City of Gold / Aru Shah and the Nectar of ImmortalitySeries: The Pandeva QuintetAuthor: Roshani ChokshiGenre: Middle Grade, fantasy, mythological reimaginingsType: PaperbackPublisher: Rick Riordan Presents War between the devas and the demons is imminent, and the Otherworld is on high alert. When intelligence from the human world reveals that the Sleeper is holding a powerful clairvoyant and her sister captive, 14-year-old Aru and her friends launch a search-and-rescue mission. The captives, a pair of twins, turn out to be the newest Pandava sisters, though, according to a prophecy, one sister is not true. During the celebration of Holi, the heavenly attendants stage…
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REVIEW; The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches
(Yes, I do see the irony of this going up as the post immediately after the last one. I’ve had it in drafts for ages though.) I have a new favourite book and this is it. It is cozy, emotional, romantic, warm, the vibes are immaculate, characters are distinct, the hurt/comfort is real. I love it. living for the slow burn and pining and just – ahhhh! The whole time I was reading this book – which was a very short time because I did not want to put it down – I was liveposting on Bluesky. It was just so well done, the angst so heartwrenching. The premise that…
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REVIEW; The Secret Life Of Miss Mary Bennet
This was such a fun romp. I’m always looking for a good Mary Bennet story, and this was wonderful! I love seeing Mary as the star of the story without any of the sisters taking too much precedence – I’ve unfortunately seen that happen in so many stories. I think taking Mary into a new place, with original characters surrounding her, was a smart way to give her a story with that pitfall. One of my favourite things about this story is how the canon traits we are shown of Mary – few though they are (she’s honestly such a blank slate since we see her through the eyes of…
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REVIEW; The Purple Haze
Title: The Purple HazeSeries: The Western Lands and All That Really MattersAuthor: Andrew Einspruch Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, HumourType: E-bookPublisher: Wild Pure Heart Her twin abducted. A treacherous rescue mission. Can an unproven princess escape a prophecy of doom? Princess Eloise Hydra Gumball III prefers things just exactly so. As the meticulous Future Ruler and Heir with an almost-useless magical gift, she’s in no hurry to take the throne. But when a seer foretells her royal twin’s peril, a simple quest with her champion friend to rescue the girl becomes a complicated journey filled with danger. Thrown completely out of her comfort zone and with her wayward sister slipping through her fingers, Eloise’s desperate hunt turns to…
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REVIEW; Of Princes And Promises
Title: Of Princes And PromisesSeries: St. Rosetta’s AcademyAuthor: Sandhya MenonGenre: Retelling, contemporary, romance.Type: HardcoverPublisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Caterina LaValle is determined to show she’s still the queen of St. Rosetta’s Academy. Sure, her crown may be slightly askew after her ex-boyfriend, Alaric, cheated on her, but she’s a LaValle. She’ll find a way to march right back in there, her hands clutching the strings to the whole puppet show. This time, she’s going to be untouchable. Rahul Chopra knows that moment he shared with Caterina LaValle at the winter formal meant something. Surely she feels it, too. He’s a little uncertain how someone like him (socially inept to a point way past “adorkable”)…
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REVIEWS; We Hunt The Flame / We Free The Stars
Title: We Hunt The FlameSeries: Sands Of ArawiyaAuthor: Hafsah FaizalGenre: Fantasy, romance.Type: HardcoverPublisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux People lived because she killed. People died because he lived. Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. Both Zafira and Nasir are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya–but neither wants to be. War is brewing, and…
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REVIEWS; Ms Marvel (Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Magnificent #13-18)
I’ve had the collected issue editions of the first of Kamala Khan’s run – Ms Marvel Volumes 2 and 3 – for a while now, but I finally sat down to read them recently. And clearly, I loved it enough to seek out issues from the Magnificent Ms Marvel run. You can say I’m a comics person now. I’m going to be finding more soon. I regret nothing. I’ve had a copy of this for a while, and I finally sat down to read it – and I flew through it. The colours, the characters, the fast-paced dialogue and snappy writing were so engaging and fun and dynamic. It really…
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REVIEW; The Hunt And The Haunting
Title: The Hunt And The HauntingAuthor: Victoria Audley Genre: Gothic, horror.Type: E-bookPublisher: Victoria Audley Agnes Marchdale loved to tell fantastical stories. She never expected to find herself in one. Everything seems to be looking up for the Marchdale sisters after Marianne’s engagement to the rich and handsome Lord Blackett. But when a long-buried scandal rears its head and threatens to overturn everything, Agnes must determine where truth lies or risk greater danger than she ever imagined. The Hunt and the Haunting is a story about ghosts, both literal and metaphorical; a story about the stories we love, the stories we believe, and the stories that shape the world around us. This review is going to be…