Teaser Tuesdays - 3 Wishes

Staying open late can be a risk, with the thought of being robbed always a threat at the end of the day.
If the guy standing at the door, glancing around the shop, was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be held up.

(page ?, 3 Wishes by Peggy Jaeger)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Taste of Darkness - Book Review

Taste of Darkness (Healer #3)
by Maria V. Snyder

What is it about:
She's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate threat: The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.

Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.

What did I think of it:
It took me a long time, hunting for spoilers about the ending, and reading Shadow Study before I finally dared to read this book.

And I'm glad I did, because this is a really enjoyable read.

The second book ended ith quite a cliffhanger, so Taste of Darkness started with suspense and action. soon I was back in the story and world, and I rooted for Avry to succeed in her endeavors. I must say that Loren and Quain got on my nerves from time to time. Were they this annoying in the previous books as well? I must have grown less tolerant in the years since.

There's lots going on and at times I wondered how things could be resolved in this book. This being the last book in a trilogy things did get resolved of course. Some a bit too easy in my opinion, but the book is already over 450 pages, so if I had my way a fourth book would have been needed.

All in all this is a very entertaining Fantasy read with lots of action and interesting characters. It might have taken me a while to get my trust back in Snyder's storytelling, but I will certainly pick up more books by her in the future

Why should you read it:
It's a fun Fantasy read.


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Fire Touched - Book Review

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson #9)
by Patricia Briggs

What is it about:
Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?

What did I think of it:
I pre-ordered the US paperback instead of getting the hardcover when the book released in 2016. Somehow I never got to reading it when it arrived in February last year. With the US paperback of Silence Fallen releasing this month I decided to catch up.

And this is a great read.

There are books I love more in this series, but luckily the drama that was in the previous book wasn't repeated. There even were some lines drawn that make future drama even less likely, so I was happy with that.

The story felt a bit easy compared to some of the other books, but still very enjoyable. I liked seeing more of Zee, and of two characters I previously encountered in a novella. One of the wolves got a bit more screentime, and I hope to see more of him in the next book.

All in all a great book in an even greater series. I'm looking forward to reading Silence Fallen.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool Urban Fantasy read.


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On McPig's Wishlist - Ash Princess

This might be a cool read.


Ash Princess
by Laura Sebastian

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Queen of Flame and Fury, was murdered before her eyes. Ten years later, Theo has learned to survive under the relentless abuse of the Kaiser and his court as the ridiculed “Ash Princess.” Pretending to be empty-headed and naive when she's not enduring brutal whippings, she pushes down all other thoughts but one: Keep the Kaiser happy and he will keep you safe.

When the Kaiser forces her to execute her last hope of rescue, Theo can't keep her feelings and memories pushed down any longer. She vows revenge, throwing herself into a plot to seduce and murder the Kaiser's warrior son with the help of a group of magically gifted and volatile rebels. But Theo doesn't expect to develop feelings for the Prinz. Or for her rebel allies to challenge her friendship with the one person who's been kind to her throughout the last hopeless decade: her heart's sister, Cress.

Cornered into impossible choices and unable to trust even those who are on her side, Theo will have to decide how far she's willing to go to save her people and how much of herself she's willing to sacrifice to become queen.


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Shadow - Book Review

Shadow (Paper Gods 0.5)
by Amanda Sun

What is it about:
Meet two teens whose worlds are about to change forever in this paranormal Young Adult novella, a prequel to Ink by Amanda Sun…

Katie Greene’s worst nightmare comes true when her mother dies, and she’s devastated to learn that she will have to leave the only home she’s ever known. Desperate to find where she belongs, she must decide if she has what it takes to start a new life across the ocean.

For Yuu Tomohiro, every day is a nightmare. He struggles to control his strange ability, and keeps everyone at a distance so they won’t get hurt—even his girlfriend, Myu. At night, a shadow haunts his dreams, and a mysterious woman torments him with omens of death and destruction. But these haunting premonitions are only the beginning…

What did I think of it:
It recently occurred to me I never read the novellas that accompany the Paper Gods trilogy. As I really enjoyed the trilogy I decided to remedy that.

And this prequel is a really enjoyable read as well.

This novella leads up to the start of Ink, the first book in the trilogy, and tells what happened to Katie and Tomo in the few months before they meet. The chapters switch between Katie and Tomo and even though I knew what happened as it is referred to in the trilogy I enjoyed getting a better look at the both of them. I even enjoyed this novella so much, I'm tempted to do a reread of the trilogy soon.

I'll be reading the other novella soon.

Why should you read it:
For fans of the trilogy this is a nice extra, while it's a great starting point for people who want to give this series a try.


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Teaser Tuesdays - Red Rising

"He's a mad one, you'll see someday. Mad and brilliant and noble, Narol's the best of my brothers," my father once said.

(page 24, Red Rising by Pierce Brown)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Shadow Study - Book Review

Shadow Study (Study #4, Soulfinders #1)
by Maria V. Snyder

What is it about:
Once, only her own life hung in the balance…

When Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. She survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia.

Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.
Suddenly, though, dissent is rising. And Valek’s job—and his life—are in danger.
As Yelena tries to uncover her enemies, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked.And now she must find a way to keep not only herself but all that she holds dear alive.

What did I think of it:
I really enjoyed the Study trilogy, but was a bit hesitant to pick up this book because I was afraid something similar to what happened in Spy Glass would happen (for this same reason I also haven't read Taste of Darkness yet). After hunting for spoilers I finally decided to get this book. It took me almost a year to actually pick it up and read it.

And this is a really enjoyable book.

It would have been even better in my opinion if one of the three viewpoint characters had been left out though. There's Yelena of course, and I really enjoyed her storyline, which is suspenseful. Then there was Valek, and his storyline was even better. I loved getting to know more about how Valek became the person he is and how he came to work for the Commander. There are hints in his storyline of more intriguing event waiting to happen in the next two books.

And then there was Janco...

Janco was never one of my favorite characters, and I usually only could tolerate him because he was a side character and had Ari as a counterweight to his clownish behavior (they're like a Fantasy version of Laurel and Hardy). Here he's a viewpoint character and at least for me a really annoying one. I will confess I skimmed some of the chapters devoted to Janco to get back to Yelena and Valek as soon as possible.

Skimming Janco's chapters did make that when the storylines came together I was a little confused, but luckily not for long. All in all this was mostly an enjoyable read and I will most probably read the next two books as well. Although I might skim again if Janco stays a viewpoint character.

I might even be brave enough to pick up Taste of Darkness one of these days.

Why should you read it:
It's an enjoyable Fantasy read.


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