My Review for Shaedes of Fire by Jenny Grimes

'A dragon will always catch you when you fall.'

This is such an incredible sequel to the first book, and if it was possible, I adored it even more. Opal, Farris and Edmym - I did not see that coming! 🌶️ But they handled the whole situation with maturity and even a little bit of humour!

As our adventurers are tasked with their missions, the amazing Jenny Grimes does an awesome job of taking us along for the ride - quite literally in some cases! Who doesn't want to be able to pop into a hole and transport to another realm, or even just get somewhere that little bit faster - it definitely beats catching the bus!

I loved Nell and that's all I'm going to say about her, you need to read this for yourself and continue along with Nell on the High Shaedes journey, as they encounter wizards, sarcastic dragons, and make some difficult decisions. 

If you haven't read Shaedes of Power, then read that first. If you love Fourth Wing and ACOTAR then I guarantee you will love this too. Now I'm off to make myself some 'honey cakes and daphweed tea' whilst I find my next read!

Thank you so much to Jenny Grimes for including me on her ARC team for Shaedes of Fire. How long do I have to wait for the next book??!!

About the Book

“Lesson A dragon will always catch you when you fall.”

Months have passed since Opal returned to the Shaede Court after defeating the Night Prince and experiencing the epic loss of her family. While so many things seem like they are falling into place for the High Shaedes, Opal must now navigate the dueling affections of her charming faerie lover, Farris, and Edmyn, the handsome and relentless Moon King.

In addition to dealing with all the complications that are revealed about her magical bond, dragons have come out of isolation and attacked the Night Court for no known reason, leaving the faerie realm both puzzled and crippled with fear. Add some drama with the faerie-worshipping wizards in the south and some unusual nightmares plaguing her best friend, and the hard-won peace that Opal and her friends thought they’d achieved begins to quickly unravel, leading them to places they have never been before.

What begins as a journey to discover the truth in Opal’s heart, quickly transforms into a high stakes quest, which involves a magical rock hunt, dragons with bad attitudes, wizards who become family, and a spicy love triangle that wants to be so much more. Welcome back to the Seam, where magic abounds, dysfunction festers, and love grows.

About Jenny

Jenny Grimes writes fantasy romance novels that focus on the blurred lines between worlds, the darkness you’ll find in all of them, and the love that resides there too. She creates her characters and spins her stories from her home in the human realm, where she raises her three little book dragons with her husband, and spends a healthy amount of time reading, travelling, and creating art.

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My Review for Shaedes of Power by Jenny Grimes

I NEED BOOK TWO - NOW PLEASE!

I don't even know where to begin this review. Shaedes of Power is easily the best book I have read so far this year - and yes - I read Onyx Storm! All of it, from the world-building, to the sassy friends that are Opal, Dru and Leyanna. The magic, Farris, Edmyn and even the Shadowlands just blew me away. It picked me up, threw me across The Gaylenswood and brought me down somewhere back in the human realm, and I'm still catching my breath!

There's love, there's hate, there's death and there's magic. Lots and lots of magic. You can't always control who you fall in love with, even if that means you'll never see the sunlight again (let's be honest, I can't remember the last time I saw it anyway)!

The love triangle had me intrigued, and I had no idea it was coming because hey, I don't check out what I'm reading before I read it! Sometimes that's the best way, right? I can't wait to find out how this pans out in future books, but I guess my curiosity will have to wait.

Oh and I want to be a yellow shaede!

Thank you so much to Jenny Grimes for including me on her ARC team for Shaedes of Power, and I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next instalment!

About the Book

How many pieces of your soul can you give away… before you break?

In a faerie hierarchy built upon one’s ability to produce specific, color-driven magic, Opal is an outcast, and on the cusp of giving up on her future at court.

While visiting the human realm, she witnesses a dark magic shadow beast attack a human—a beast which should have been forever imprisoned in the Shadowlands. Upon her return home to the faerie realm, she finds the Shaede Palace in chaos, the vampiric Dark Princes ready to start a war over old wounds and court prejudices, and a revolving door of impossible choices.

Join Opal on her path to self-discovery and a quest to save her realm, all while she navigates a passionate romance with the charming human she manages to save from the shadow beast, and the seductive Dark Prince who captures her and wants to show her a whole new world in the shadows.

It will take everything Opal has to find her way through the darkness, but with the help of her friends and the histories of her people, she might just discover spells that can change the world.

About Jenny

Jenny Grimes writes fantasy romance novels that focus on the blurred lines between worlds, the darkness you’ll find in all of them, and the love that resides there too. She creates her characters and spins her stories from her home in the human realm, where she raises her three little book dragons with her husband, and spends a healthy amount of time reading, travelling, and creating art.

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My Review for Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Death is hot - and I don't mean the temperature of hell!

Wow - I didn't see any of that coming! Fantasy, romance, and mystery, and a whole host of other stuff all rolled into one book. I honestly didn't know what to expect when Belladonna was chosen as October's read for #bookstabritsbookclub (yes, I know I'm behind with my reviews)!!! I loved it. The mystery and suspense of finding out who the killer was, was addictive, and Signa and Death's relationship was awesome - you'll soon forget that he's not a real person, as they begin to work together to solve the mystery.

Parts of this reminded me of The Secret Garden, I think because Blythe is ill in bed, and she reminds me of Colin Craven, weak and not wanting to help themselves! It was also reminiscent of another book that I can't recall, with Thaddeus Kipling - the library ghost, who quite frankly was an awesome dude! He should have a book written all about him!

Published as a Young Adult novel, I would say it's bordering on New Adult, so just be aware if younger teenagers are reading it. 

I've just realised the next one isn't on my TBR, so I'm off to add it now.

About the Book

Nineteen-year-old Signa Farrow, orphaned as a baby, has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her last remaining relatives are the Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at the glittering and gloomy estate of Thorn Grove. Thorn Grove’s patriarch, Elijah, mourns his late wife, Lillian, through wild parties and drink, while eldest son Percy grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and daughter Blythe suffers from the same mysterious illness that killed her mother. And when Lillian’s spirit confronts Signa and claims she was poisoned, Signa realizes that Blythe could be next to die.

Signa’s best chance of uncovering the culprit and solving Lillian’s murder is an alliance with Death himself—the very man she hates most. And Death, that fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side, shows her that their connection may be more powerful than she ever dared imagine.

About Adalyn

Adalyn Grace is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, IndieBound, and International bestselling author of the Belladonna series and the All the Stars and Teeth duology.

Prior to becoming an author, Adalyn spent four years working in live theatre and studied storytelling as an intern on Nickelodeon Animation’s popular series The Legend of Korra. 

Local to San Diego, Adalyn spends her non-writing days by watching too much anime, and by playing video games with her two dorky dogs.

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My Review for Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, read by Rebecca Soler, Teddy Hamilton, Jasmin Walker and Justis Bolding

I loved Onyx Storm! There has already been such a lot written about it, and people have differing views, but for me, it was a great continuation of the Empyrean series. In my opinion, it's written differently to Fourth Wing or Iron Flame. There is a lot more world-building in this book. We learn more about the history of what is known as the Continent, as well as the isles and the people who inhabit them, and I was so invested in this and discovering lots of new things.

Violet grows massively in Onyx Storm, she's maturing both emotionally and physically and rather than her being a bit whiny and stroppy, she is now centred and assured. She has her head screwed on and makes some really great decisions.

The dragons continue to be sassy and sarcastic and honestly, in my opinion, they make the books what they are. Tairn and Andarna are the ones that have me laughing out loud as I spit my coffee out! One of my favourite quotes from this book is this...

Violet....talking about carrying Xaden out of a battle... "Take us both"

Tairn "I am not a horse"

I listened to the audiobook and Rebecca Soler in particular, was brilliant. She has some great character voices and made it all the more enjoyable for me. I am going to go back and read the actual books for each of the three, though and see if I get anything different from them, than I did the audiobook.

Theories after theories are coming in, as to what's going to happen next, and I'm sure there will be more as the months (and years) pass before we get the next book. Roll on 2027....!

About the Book

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty.

Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.

But a storm is coming … and not everyone can survive its wrath.

About Rebecca

Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novels including Fourth Wing and In the Likely Event, with multiple starred Publishers Weekly reviews and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. 

She’s the mother of six children, and is currently surviving the teenage years with two of her four hockey-playing sons. When she’s not writing, you can find her at the hockey rink or sneaking in some guitar time while guzzling coffee. She and her family live in Colorado with their stubborn English bulldogs, two feisty chinchillas, and a Maine Coon cat named Artemis, who rules them all.

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My Review for Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, read by Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton

After a second listen, in anticipation of the release of Onyx Storm, I have finally got around to writing my review for Iron Flame. Violet and her 'classmates' are like old friends now. I know who their dragons are, I know what signets they've manifested, and I know their strengths and weaknesses.  'It is therefore only natural, that the more powerful the dragon, the more powerful the signet its rider manifests'.

Some people have said that the first part drags, but I didn't find that. For me, Rebecca Yarros just continued to build the world in which Violet lives, and each and every single chapter was written for a reason. Once again I thoroughly enjoyed Iron Flame, the second in the Empyrean series. 

Rebecca Soler, as the narrator, throws herself wholeheartedly into reading this. In particular the battle scenes are hectic, tense and buzzing, I'm exhausted at the end of each one and all I've done is listen!

In Iron Flame, we discover a world outside of Basgiath and what graduates of the war college are participating in during a normal day. Xaden isn't around on a daily basis this year for Violet, but she grows in confidence and skills as the year progresses. 

If I've persuaded you to read Fourth Wing, then I hope you enjoyed it enough to read this one. Iron Flame, the next in the series. 

About the Book

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College, Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College, and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

About Rebecca

Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novels including Fourth Wing and In the Likely Event, with multiple starred Publishers Weekly reviews and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. 

She’s the mother of six children, and is currently surviving the teenage years with two of her four hockey-playing sons. When she’s not writing, you can find her at the hockey rink or sneaking in some guitar time while guzzling coffee. She and her family live in Colorado with their stubborn English bulldogs, two feisty chinchillas, and a Maine Coon cat named Artemis, who rules them all.

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My Review for Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, read by Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton

In September 2023 I listened to Fourth Wing for the first time, mainly because I'm a sheep and I follow the flock, but so began my love of all things dragon, and I was well and truly hooked. 

In November 2023 I listened to Iron Flame and in May 2024 I ordered Onyx Storm. As the publication of Onyx Storm approached I felt that re-listens were essential and as I never got around to reviewing the first two books, here are my thoughts now.

If you're a fan, then there isn't a lot I can say, so my review is for those who haven't ventured into Navarre and Basgiath War College but feel that they might like too.

Fourth Wing is the first in a five part series, primarily with Violet Sorrengail as our female main character. She's a badass twenty-year-old who is going down a path rather different to the one she envisaged for herself. Think a mismatch of Harry Potter and Hunger Games, but way, way better and with a huge dollop of s*x, oh and dragons, lots and lots of dragons. Some scary, some sassy, some with a hilarious and very dry sense of humour and some just plain evil. One thing is for sure, once they belong to a rider, they're never going to let them down. 'A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead'.

I loved Violet's feisty character and strong sense of friendship. Unless someone does something terrible to annoy her, Violet will be a friend for life. She's a little immature at times, but she is only twenty. There aren't many twenty-year-olds who have their head screwed on, especially when it comes to emotions and relationships.

Does this sound like your kind of book? If you enjoy fantasy, dragons, battles and comradeship then try it, see what you think and let me know.

About the Book

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

About Rebecca

Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novels including Fourth Wing and In the Likely Event, with multiple starred Publishers Weekly reviews and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. 

She’s the mother of six children, and is currently surviving the teenage years with two of her four hockey-playing sons. When she’s not writing, you can find her at the hockey rink or sneaking in some guitar time while guzzling coffee. She and her family live in Colorado with their stubborn English bulldogs, two feisty chinchillas, and a Maine Coon cat named Artemis, who rules them all.

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My Review for Transcended by Ingrid J. Adams

OMG, this was amazing! I loved Descended, which was the first book in this series and I loved Transcended even more. I love how when you begin to read the book; it seems as though it is all about normal people, living normal, everyday lives. Then you realise that many of the characters have some sort of power, whether telepathy, empath or healing powers. Then, of course, there are the covens and the warlocks! I cannot begin to explain how invested I am in Cordelia, Indigo, and Robbie’s lives. 

Transcended is set in the 90s, on the northern beaches of Australia, and despite some devastating events, the sun always seems to be shining and the whole book is full of positivity and vibrance.

I am so happy that Ingrid reached out to me over a year ago to read her debut novel. She has fast become one of my favourite authors. 

If you enjoy a fantasy novel that isn’t too ‘out there’, then I urge you to read Descended and then Transcended. They are both amazing and I am so glad I spent the last week in the company of these wonderful characters in Ingrid’s latest release. I hope she’s writing quickly because I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series. 

Thank you to Ingrid J. Adams for the opportunity to read and review Transcended.

About the Book

Deeply moving, raw and thought-provoking, transcended, is the much-anticipated sequel to the award-nominated debut, descended. Welcome back to Sydney’s Northern beaches in the 1990s.

Indigo loves Cordelia.

But Cordelia loves Drew… Or does she?

Worst of all, Reinenoir loves Indigo. In fact, she loves him to death.

With Reinenoir’s true identity revealed, it’s become clear her obsession with Indigo is personal. She wants him; him and his power.

But all Indigo wants is Cordelia. She’s the love of his life but she’s just shattered his heart. In every fibre of his being he knows they’re meant to be, that they have been, time after time, life after life. Indigo is torn: should he fight for her, or wait for her to realise their souls are irrevocably tied only to one another’s?

When they’re hit with an unimaginable tragedy, Indigo is forced to question the power of predestination and the true meaning of life, love and death. Will it bring him and Cordelia together, or tear them further apart?

And all the while Reinenoir is out there. Watching. Flexing her growing power. Waiting to see if Indigo will switch sides and join her coven. She’s kept her end of the bargain after all, allowing him time to decide, but her threat was clear: if he denies her again, she’ll turn the full brunt of her powers against him.

And now, Indigo’s time is up… and Reinenoir knows exactly who to hurt to break him…

About Ingrid

Ingrid J. Adams is the author of the descended series, an epic coming-of-age love story steeped in fantasy and magical realism.

It took her a long time to realise her unattainably crazy dream of being a writer was in fact both attainable and sane; but between then and now, she's earnt degrees in business tourism, journalism, kinesiology and nutrition, studied psychotherapy, and worked in media then as a therapist. 

She also had a couple years off to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling after being diagnosed with an incurable disease – an incurable disease she managed to cure herself of by going way outside the box, a disease she probably learnt more from than all her degrees put together. 

Today she lives in chaos by the beach in Manly in Australia with her four beautiful boys (five if you count her husband), and her cavoodle pup. She's a massive fan of travel, yoga, meditation, farmer's markets, cooking (and eating), ocean-swimming, and escaping into fictional worlds of her own and others' creation.

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My Review for Descended by Ingrid J. Adams

Descended is so beautifully written, I couldn’t get enough! Indigo knows he is a little different from his peers. He’s way more in tune with his feelings and surroundings than any of his other friends, and it feels like most of them just don’t ‘get him’. Everything about his story touched my heart, his rapport with Cordelia and the loving way he was accepted into hers and Robbie’s family.

I guess Descended is a coming-of-age story, nothing is trivialised or made to appear worse than it is. It is just all about growing up and the issues that come along with all that and Ingrid J. Adams masters the whole thing brilliantly.

The story is set in the early 90s, and at that time I was in the latter half of my teens. Many of the references that the author makes in relation to music and whatever else was happening at the time melted my heart a little as I remembered what I was doing, who my friends were and the fun times I was having.

Descended is the first in the series and I absolutely cannot wait to find out what is in store for Indigo, Cordelia and Robbie.

Thank you to the author, Ingrid J. Adams, for the opportunity to read and review Descended.

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My Review for Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My second Audiobook from Sarah J. Maas and the first in the Throne of Glass series. I considered reading a physical copy. However, I’m out and about in the garden so much these days, and I love Elizabeth Evans narrating. I thought I’d lose myself in a fantasy world for a few hours. It was so awesome; I loved everything about it....but Mum, if you’re reading this, don’t bother, it’s not for you! However, if you love fantasy, fae, witches, paranormal, and anything other-worldly, then prepare to lose yourselves in the life of Celaena Sardothien.

Celaena is a bad-ass assassin who is experiencing a reprieve from the salt mines of Endovier where she has been sentenced to hard labour. The Crown Prince is offering her, her freedom in a competition to find the King’s next assassin. If she wins, she will work for the King for a few years, before she gains her freedom. If she loses, she will be back in the salt mines.

As with the previous Sarah J. Maas book I listened to, the beginning is quite laborious while she sets the scene and brings in the characters, but once you work out who everyone is and their role; I defy you not to get entangled in another world. Be warned though, although the story of the competition bears a resemblance to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it is a lot more difficult to get into and certainly not written for children.

Celaena loves books and reading and when she gets to the castle, one of the first things she does is ask if she can borrow books from the library. You’ve got to love an author who creates characters who enjoy a good book!

Too many people write reviews with spoilers in them, so I’m going to leave mine there. Read it and let me know what you think.

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My Review for House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  OMG, this is awesome! I urge everyone who loves anything paranormal to read this. I have heard of Sarah J. Maas, an enormous amount in all the Facebook groups I am in, but I’ve read none of her books! Why not? I need more of her in my life! I actually listened to House of Earth and Blood as an Audiobook (narrated by Elizabeth Evans), and was transported into Crescent City as I walked my dog!

Bryce Quinlan is half-fae and half-human, working for a barely legal antiquities dealer in the City. She lives and parties with her best friend Danika Fendyr until a tragic event occurs, which changes Bryce’s life forever. 

I never like to give too much away in my brief synopsis of books (in fact I never read them before I read a book, as long as I know the genre then that’s enough for me), as I don’t like to include too many spoilers for readers.

The first part of House of Earth and Blood is really slow, as Maas sets the scene and explains the politics and hierarchy of Crescent City but as long as you can get through that part then I’m sure you’ll love the story as much as I did.

There are fae, sprites, angels, demons, and shifters in Crescent City with a lot of violence from the outset. The author is outstanding as she creates her characters. Some you will love and some you will wish dead, but they all have a part to play and the story is addictive. Bryce is a tough cookie on the outside, but underneath, she has had a difficult beginning in her life and you can see the vulnerability as the story progresses.

House of Earth and Blood is New Adult fiction, a developing genre with 18-30-year-old protagonists, and something I hadn’t heard of until today. Think Young Adult but with more ‘racy’ content! Go get it today, you won’t be disappointed.

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