Heir to the Sky - Book Review

Heir to the Sky
by Amanda Sun

What is it about:
As heir to a kingdom of floating continents, Kali has spent her life bound by limits—by her duties as a member of the royal family, by a forced betrothal to the son of a nobleman, and by the edge of the only world she’s ever known—a small island hovering above a monster-ridden earth, long since uninhabited by humans. She is the Eternal Flame of Hope for what’s left of mankind, the wick and the wax burning in service for her people, and for their revered Phoenix, whose magic keeps them aloft.

When Kali falls off the edge of her kingdom and miraculously survives, she is shocked to discover there are still humans on the earth. Determined to get home, Kali entrusts a rugged monster-hunter named Griffin to guide her across a world overrun by chimera, storm dragons, basilisks, and other terrifying beasts. But the more time she spends on earth, the more dark truths she begins to uncover about her home in the sky, and the more resolute she is to start burning for herself.

What did I think of it:
I really enjoyed Sun's Paper Gods trilogy so had to try this book.

And although the story has its moments I was annoyed by the lack of explanation in the worldbuilding. Monsters threatened to erase humans from the earth three hundred years ago, so a phoenix created the floating kingdom. So far so good. But I wanted to know more. Had the monsters always been there? If so, what caused the scales to tip in favor of the monsters? If they hadn't always been there: where did they come from?

As the story unfolded more questions arose that didn't get a satisfying answer. Yes, apparently Kali doesn't know everything, but that's not an excuse for vague worldbuilding.

Annoyances over the worldbuilding aside the story was entertaining, but then it ended in a way that made it hard for me to believe in the outcome, so all in all this was a nice but lacking read.

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


Buy from bookdepository

Teaser Tuesdays - Haunting the Deep

I seem to remember Mom saying they were from New York. I think some of them survived the Titanic. But I really don't know much more than that.

(page 24, Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather)


Buy from bookdepository

---------

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!

Release Alert - Oria's Enchantment

Book 5 in the Sorcerous Moons series is out and it is awesome!


Oria’s Enchantment (Sorcerous Moons #5)
by Jeffe Kennedy

The Temptation of Power

No longer a princess and not yet a queen, the sorceress Oria welcomes the rush of power the ancient mask brings her—though the obsessive connection to it frightens her and alarms her barbarian husband, Lonen. But retreat is not an option. She must wrestle the magic to prevent an annihilating war, even if she must make the ultimate sacrifice.

A World in Flames

If Lonen wants to reclaim his throne—and save his people from destruction—he must return by sunset on the seventh day. What he thought would be a short and simple journey, however, leads them deeper into the mountains—and Oria deeper into the thrall of foul magic. Until he must choose between two terrible paths.

A Heart-Wrenching Choice

Struggling with conflicting loyalties, Oria and Lonen fight to find a way to be together… lest they be separated forever, and their realms go down in flames with them.


Find Buy Links here

Bookish Update

Half-Blood - Book Review

Half-Blood (Covenant #1)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

What is it about:
The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is.

If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

What did I think of it:
This was a bit of a wonky read for me.

I liked the writing and the world building, but I didn't really connect with Alexandria/Alex. She knows she will be turned into a mindless drone if she is caught breaking the rules, still she constantly breaks rules, starts fights and acts selfish and childish. Her bitch-fights with another girl and her slut-shaming thoughts and remarks didn't really endear her to me either.

That being said: I was curious enough about the world, the story, and other characters that I kept reading. I also hoped Alex would shape up a bit. That last hope was too much it turned out, but I did enjoy the book overall enough to finish it.

As I don't think I'll ever really like Alex, and I suspect there will be a love triangle in future books, I don't think I'll continue this series, but I might give another book by Armentrout a try.

Why should you read it:
It's well written and has cool world building.


buy from bookdepository

Teaser Tuesdays - Heir to the Sky

I'm going to die here on this forsaken wasteland.
No one is coming for me.

(page 73, Heir to the Sky by Amanda Sun)


Buy from bookdepository

---------

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!

My Fair Concubine - Book Review

My Fair Concubine (Tang Dynasty #3)
by Jeannie Lin

What is it about:
The Nobleman Who Turned a Tea Girl Into a Princess...

Yan Ling tries hard to be servile—it's what's expected of a girl of her class. Being intelligent and strong-minded, she finds it a constant battle.

Proud Fei Long is unimpressed by her spirit—until he realizes she's the answer to his problems. He has to deliver the emperor a "princess." In two months can he train a tea girl to pass as a noblewoman?

Yet it's hard to teach good etiquette when all Fei Long wants to do is break it, by taking this tea girl for his own...

What did I think of it:
I love the original play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, and even the My Fair Lady musical version where they give it a happy end (It must be the songs that put me in a forgiving mood). So I couldn't resist giving this historical romance re-imagining a try. Voodoo Bride was happy to have a reading buddy for once.

And this is a fun romance. Fei Long is as stubborn as Higgins, but doesn't have his stick as far up his ass as Higgins has,luckily enough for Yan Ling. His sister was promised to a foreign chieftain as a bride, but she runs off. When Fei Long meets Yan Ling he comes up with a plan: train Yan Ling and let her take his sister's place as bride.

I loved Yan Ling from the start. She is down on her luck and goes along with Fei Long's crazy plan out of desperation. She tries her best to be the well controlled and graceful creature Fei Long is trying to turn her into, but her passionate nature keeps intruding.

I loved reading about this time period in China, and I loved the characters and the slow burn romance between Yan Ling and Fei Long. Although Pygmalion is the inspiration for this story Lin manages to make this a unique and enjoyable romance that is fun and satisfying.

All in all a very enjoyable read and I will read more by Lin if I can find the books, as several of the print versions are out of print.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun re-imagining of Pygmalion


buy from Amazon