Wren, AKA Nightstrider, literally is a nightmare, crafted by the ruler of The Reverie (the dream world). She hates him, but sinDo you have nightmares?
Wren, AKA Nightstrider, literally is a nightmare, crafted by the ruler of The Reverie (the dream world). She hates him, but since he holds her anchor (the key to keeping her from just crumbling to ash), she has no choice but to do his bidding. So yeah, she does a lot of stuff she isn’t too keen on doing to stay alive, but there are some lines Wren won’t cross and won’t let others get by with crossing. It’s in the act of stopping one such act that Wren starts down the path of spontaneously falling in with a rebellion against her maker, even if it eventually results in her death.
This is only the start of what is going on in this rather large first installment of this debut fantasy series (I think it’s meant to be a trilogy, but I could be wrong). This book is nearly 600 pages, has four protagonists, spans two separate realms, has more than three factions warring for power, a complex magic system that’s used prodigiously, and has a lot of character movement and action. It’s a lot.
The fact that this book is so big and contains so much and yet there is a lot I felt needed explanation despite how long the book already is would explain why I think this book was a great time but not perfect. My largest sticking point was the magic system: It was used heavily in this book, by many characters, but no effort was ever taken to explain much of it (exception:origin of The Boundary).. What’s the source? What’s the exchange? What’s the price? How does it work? What are the rules? A lot of magical and fantastical matters were thrown out there to move the plot along but it was a game of, “Here, catch!”, and I felt like we were just expected to accept it at face value. I could have shrugged it off once or twice, but after a while it started to feel a little sloppy, especially in the third act.
Nonetheless, it was an engrossing and propulsive read that engaged me from the start and surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. There wasn’t a huge pacing lag like you sometimes experience in the second act, which was so refreshing. A real page-turner that has left me looking forward to the sequel.
I was provided a copy of this title by the publishers and the author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Adult Fantasy/Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series ...more
Leopold Berry thought he had put and done away with childish things. His mom has passed away. He’s now living with an overbearing and self-important fLeopold Berry thought he had put and done away with childish things. His mom has passed away. He’s now living with an overbearing and self-important father who wants to map out every step of Leopold’s life. His friends are getting older and looking forward to their happier, brighter futures.
Leopold just spends every day in a daze, wondering if he’s losing his mind and if he’ll ever grow capable of standing up to his father. He just has this itch under his skin and in his hands telling him there’s something missing, or something is missing him, and he can’t go another minute without at least trying to figure out what’s humming inside of him.
From this point in Sunderworld, Vol. I, it’s an all-out roller coaster of urban fantasy, fantastic whimsy, a terrifically-constructed city layered over another city, great bits of Los Angeles lore, urban exploration, fun and imaginative world building, great pacing, teenagers acting like teenagers, explorations of grief, the beginnings of found family vibes, a fierce friendship, plenty of action, and a whole lot of fun secrets uncovered.
I wasn’t around for Riggs’ Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. Those came out while I was raising my kids, I think, and my kids weren’t readers (still aren’t). So I was only peripherally aware of Riggs as an author and his imaginative worldbuilding skills. This is why I wanted to read Sunderworld even though I knew it was going to skew toward a younger YA audience than I normally read. This book is labeled inside as being marketed towards those 14 and older, but I don’t believe in age-bracket marketing. I’m putting it here because someone reading this review might. I will say though that I think a kid as young as 10 or 12 could read this and be just fine.
I’m definitely sticking around for the next installment. This was a lot of fun to read and there are not enough books with whimsy in them, in my opinion. Give me all the whimsy.
I was provided a copy of this title by Netgalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Book Series/Fantasy Series/First Book in a Fantasy Series/Urban Fantasy/YA Book Series/YA FantasyYA Fiction ...more
Have you ever loved a book series so much you wished you could live inside that world?
Barbi Bancroft has. She practically eats, drinks, and breathes Have you ever loved a book series so much you wished you could live inside that world?
Barbi Bancroft has. She practically eats, drinks, and breathes everything involving the fandom surrounding the books about the realm of Akkaya and its characters. Akkaya is her whole life. One day, at a fan convention, she’s handed as-yet unannounced, unreleased manuscript to the next book in the series. However, when Barbi gets home and opens it to read, she’s magically transported to Akkaya, which turns out to be so much different than she thought it would be.
This book didn’t end up being what I thought it was in two different ways: it was both darker than I thought it would be and the FMC was different than the type I usually read or invest my time in. I never have any issues with books being darker than planned, since I love dark books in general; however, I did struggle with Barbi’s characterization at times. I loved the overall story arc and the general plot, and the ending to this installment of the series was definitely unexpected. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this story goes.
After seeing several social media posts and videos extolling the virtues of author Callie Hart’s first book in The Fae & AlchemDo you believe in fate?
After seeing several social media posts and videos extolling the virtues of author Callie Hart’s first book in The Fae & Alchemy series I decided to take the day off from my normal ARC reading/reviewing schedule to give it a read. What can I say? I had bad FOMO. I’ve come to realize that while I’ve been spending most of my time doing trad pub ARC reading, I’ve been missing out on a lot of great releases from the indie publishing world. I decided not to miss out on this one.
I’m so happy I took the day off for Quicksilver. I haven’t felt like this about a romantasy in a long time. Have I loved other romantasies as much as this? Yes, but in a different way. Quicksilver is the type of romantasy I love best: quick-witted, fast-paced, action-packed, spicy, funny, rude, two grumpy and traumatized main characters/love interests, no love triangle, tortured hearts, sexual tension and chemistry for days, protective streaks for days, stubborn and self-sacrificing idiots, and a healthy amount of snark.
What’s the best way to take down a monster? Does slow and careful save the day, or do you do it quickly and damn the consequences?
Everyone in the AerWhat’s the best way to take down a monster? Does slow and careful save the day, or do you do it quickly and damn the consequences?
Everyone in the Aeravin knows their Eternal King is monstrous, inhuman. What no one can agree on is what they can or should do about it. The largest dissent in opinion is between the Blood Workers of the nation and the Unblooded. Even though the Unblooded outnumber the Blood Workers, you can guess who has all the money and power. There are those within the ranks of the Blood Workers who would like to see the Eternal King fall, however, and one of those is the newly ascended Lady Shan LeClaire, the Blood Worker daughter of the king’s late spymaster.
Despite a somewhat misleading blurb, this novel was just as dark, sexy, bloody, violent, and intriguing as I thought it would be. No matter what fault I might have found with this book, the vibes were spot-on, 100% vibing. This is undoubtedly helped along by the evocative atmosphere Enright describes so well, thorough worldbuilding, the passionate natures of the main characters, and the inherently dark material that comes with any blood-based magic system.
This book was too long, in my opinion, but the story inside was great and it’s a great start for a trilogy. The main characters are fantastic and the LGBTQ representation is amazing. I’m eagerly anticipating book two.
I was provided a copy of this title by Netgalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
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