This Ends in Embers by Kamilah Cole

 

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

3/5 stars

The First Empyrean Iya is now holding Reeve's body hostage and Faron has chosen to go with him to try and save Reeve and find out what his plan is. Elara is trying to come up with ideas to get her sister back.

I'm sorry to say I didn't enjoy one as much as the first. It felt very repetitive in places with the constant training, mind control, pass out/become injured etc. Also Faron's constant "I caused this, I'm a terrible person" monologues got a little wearing.

The last quarter and particularly the ending felt very rushed. The last battle was written in a very manic way and needed a bit of clarity and room to breathe. I did appreciate that it didn't shy away from the realities of war and the fact that even when it's over it might not be over.

Also for a duology I've seen on multiple lists for sapphic books the relationship very much takes a back seat and I did want more. Also some clear asexual/demisexual rep but it would have been nice for there to have been more of a conversation about it.

Steff Out x

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

 

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

4/5 stars

San Irie is currently at peace following war with Langley. Faron is the Childe Empyrean, someone who can channel the powers of the Gods. San Irie's success in the war was down to her. She and her sister Elara were also responsible for finding the rightful Queen.

Now several years later tensions are rising. People don't trust such a young Queen, Faron is fed up with the pressure of being the Childe Empyrean, Elara wants to become a Drake Pilot and their friend Reeve is constantly being judged for being a traitor to his own people - his father is the Langlish ruler - and not fitting in with his white skin.

This was slow starting and I did want more history on the war, the land etc. It could almost have done with being a trilogy with book 1 covering the first war and then a time jump to the events of this book. I was into it by about a quarter of the way through.

I liked how it was dual narration between Faron and Elara, getting their different perspectives on things, especially when they were in different places. I liked that they were a lot different in personality as well.

I was definitely intrigued by the plot and I could feel the impending sense of doom throughout which I appreciated and I look forward to seeing how it all pans out.

Steff Out x

Contracts and Cats by Toni Binns

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

5/5 stars

Sable is applying for what looks like her dream job. A live-in job at a local bookshop where she must also take care of The Cat. After a successful interview with the current caretaker Sable accepts the job, once she does the reality of the role becomes more obvious... For the next year she cannot leave the premises at all.

It turns out that there is plenty to keep her busy though since this is actually a magical bookshop and it... Travels to best meet it's customers needs. One of these customers leaves something behind, something he shouldn't have had in the first place. A baby dragon!

I love this book! It was long (526 pages according to StoryGraph) but it didn't feel it. I flew through it. I loved the characters and their diversity and the fact that we got passages from the point of view of The Cat. The writing flowed and the plot was engaging and easy to read and everything felt seamless. I even enjoyed the mundane day to day life bits of breakfast and coffee. I'm really looking forward to the next book!

Steff Out x

A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart

 

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

3/5 stars

Past and present collide as Nadine organises her mother's 60th birthday party. It's also the 30th anniversary of her discovering her 15-year-old aunt Colleen's dead body at a previous birthday party.

Nadine has recently recovered from a broken hip and subsequent infection, she also has to cope with her ex-fling - and her husband's best friend - coming to the party with his new wife who has recently had a baby, her daughter's best friend is in a coma in hospital following an overdose and a journalist keeps sniffing around her famous author mother.

This was an interesting concept, told over the course of one day with a variety of characters although we lacked the time to get to know all of them effectively. Certain plot threads were mentioned and then discarded, there was indication that Nadine's own accident wasn't an accident but then that was abandoned. There wasn't really enough time to cover everything and then the ending was very abrupt with no resolution.

Steff Out x

Thick Witch Travels by Lizzy Ives

 

Ebook with great thanks to Sword and Rose press and the author.

5/5 stars

You may recall last year I read book 1 of this series? Trilogy? I think it's a trilogy... Fat Witch Summer which I loved.

Book 2 picks up a year later, the Gift system has been dismantled thanks to Thrash and her coven but familiars keep approaching Thrash, everyone's unsettled and they just need a break.

Now Thrash, Cresca, Em and Saki are heading out on a gap year to travel Europa finished off with an apprenticeship Thrash arranged at Wainwood Academy under famed architect Fernicus Wainwood. Right from the start the four all seem to have different ideas about the trip and Thrash worried they might be growing apart but then a familiar asks for their help...

I LOVE these books, the characters are so well-written and 3D. They all have distinct voices and personalities. As a fat person I relate to Thrash's struggles to buy off the rack, especially when thrifting or at boutiques (that adjustment wand sounds amazing though!). I loved the ace rep.

The story is complex and layered but still easy to follow and the danger towards the characters feels real. I loved the expansion of the world and the magic system, everything is so well thought out and I'm really looking forward to the future and seeing where these characters end up.

Steff Out x

The Dog Share by Fiona Gibson

 

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

4/5 stars

Suzy's partner Paul decides on a whim to buy a Whiskey distillery that they visited on holiday on a small Scottish island. 2 years later Paul has vanished and the distillery is close to going bust. Suzy equally on a whim but for the right reasons decides to go it alone and try to save it.

On a visit to the island Suzy comes across a lost terrier that she names Scout. Trying to find his origins she connects with local Cara who has just had to put her own dog to sleep. Suzy eventually decides to keep Scout, a new mascot for a new life.

Ricky's dad was the former head distiller and Ricky and his son Arthur are visiting for Easter to try and cheer up grandad following the loss of his dog not so long ago. Suzy tries to get Harry re-involved with the distillery but he's reluctant until Ricky and Arthur have a chance meeting with Scout on the beach.

This was super cute, I loved the variety of characters and the way everyone's paths crossed and how one dog can affect so many people.

The writing style was easy and engaging but there were frequent time jumps (two weeks later, two months later etc) which were a little annoying. There were a couple of plot threads that felt incomplete by the end which was a little bit frustrating but I still really enjoyed it.

Steff Out x

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

 

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

3/5 stars

Grady Green is an author. He has just phoned his wife, Abby, with news of being a New York Times bestseller when she stops the car saying she sees someone in the road. The call goes silent and when Grady goes to investigate Abby has vanished!

A year later Grady is a broken man living in a cheap hotel and with a writing advance needing to be paid back (he only wrote one book of a two book deal) his debts are accumulating. But then his agent Kitty - Abby's godmother - phones. She needs him to write a new book and she's got just the place he can use, the cabin used by a now deceased author on the isolated island of Amberley off the coast of Scotland.

The island when Grady arrives is a very strange place. A tiny community of 25, phones that don't work, or do they? No consistent schedule to be able to leave the island. Odd looks and comments and for Grady the delivery of some of Abby's old newspaper articles possibly referencing people on the island.

This started off interestingly but it took a lot of time to get anywhere. The pacing struggled. There's only so many paranoid hallucinations someone can take before thinking just get on with the plot! The last quarter where we get all the reveals felt crowded and muddy. There were moments one character mentioned that earlier in the book seemed to belong to another character. Some stuff seemed a bit out of the blue and unbelievable. And then that ending!?!? What was that??? I hated the lack of clarity there.

Steff Out x