**This is a sequel in a gorgeous medieval/renaissance YA fantasy duology; POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING!!** If I could, I would make every star Cartier wove to form the Aviana Constellation in Brienna Allenach’s passion cloak do a dance around Rebecca Ross and her fierce novel, The Queen’s Resistance, the thrilling sequel to her epic YA fantasy debut novel, The Queen’s Rising. Rebecca Ross threads the wounds of a country—a people—so broken from years of torment and violence under the rule of an evil, power hungry king and his family with no right to the Maevan throne and weaves a tale of hope, valor, and revenge of the most heart wrenching kind. The Queen’s Rising duology is unlike any other YA fantasy novel I’ve read and has been a story my heart had no idea it desperately needed to read. In The Queen’s Rising, readers studied alongside Brienna through her journey to master a passion in the magnificent Magnalia House in Valenia. Unable to determine which passion she would be good at, Brienna dabbled in them all: art, dramatics, wit, and music. Then our beloved main character finally chose to study the passion of knowledge under the watchful eye of Master Cartier. On the night of the summer solstice, Brienna doesn’t reach her passion like her other arden-sisters so she is confined to Magnalia House, alone and dejected, with only the strange memories of a great-great-great ancestor long dead to keep her company. When the headmistress at Magnalia House recognizes the amulet Brienna describes from her memories, she connects the image with the stories about the infamous magical Stone of Eventide that disappeared long ago. Brienna holds valuable knowledge of where her ancestor hid the stone which could potentially turn the tides of a rebellion that has been brewing for decades since a Lannon crowned himself as a Maevan king. It is stated on a large stone slab (also mysteriously missing) that only a Kavanaugh woman is allowed to rule Maevana. The Lannon family and their supporters are a nasty bunch of people who have inflicted nothing but pain and cruelty on the Maevan people. So we painted on some imaginary woad war paint and set off with Brienna on an incredible journey of self-discovery, a slow-burn romance, and a crusade to put an end to the Lanonn’s tyrannical reign. She must retrieve both the lawful stone slab and the Stone of Eventide and give both to her friend Isolde Kavanaugh, the rightful queen of Maevana, to successfully win their revolution. The Queen’s Resistance opens with Brienna and Cartier waking into Castle Fionn, Lord MacQuinn’s territory, to a celebratory feast. The lords of three Houses of Maevana (Kavanaugh, MacQuinn, and Morgane) are back in their rightful homes, trying to mend what has been broken. Brienna has chosen her place with her adoptive father Jourdain, also known as Lord MacQuinn, and sets her mind to immersing herself in the MacQuinn customs. She is tasked with writing down her people’s grievances but the MacQuinns are hesitant to accept her since she is the biological daughter of Brian Allenach—their enemy now dead. Told from dual perspectives, Rebecca Ross not only continues Brienna’s story but also introduces Cartier’s point of view as he returns to Castle Brígh to take over his rightful lordship as Aodhan Morgane. The Lannons have been captured and thrown in the dungeons where they await their individual trials. However, not everything is black and white, especially when it comes to Declan Lannon’s children who are also victims of their father's cruelty. Brienna and Cartier along with Queen Isolde must try to unite the Maevan people in love rather than fear, so when Declan Lannon escapes the dungeons and his death sentence, taking his daughter and son hostage, they try to flush out all the Lannon sympathizers to try and find his safe houses, retrieve the children Cartier and Brienna have sworn to protect, and be rid of Declan Lannon once and for all. Nothing goes as planned so brace yourselves for incredible plot twists, tears of the sweetest kind, and anger that will ignite a passion within yourself you didn’t fathom could even happen with fictional characters. It is beautiful and heart wrenching when you read about the grievances of the Maevan people and you will sincerely hope they rebuild and find peace after the horrors they endured. The Queen’s Resistance is a permanent golden ribbon Rebecca Ross wove in the wefts of a MacQuinn tapestry and it has wrapped itself tightly around my heart. You will know what I mean by this when you finish this stunning and beautifully written novel. About the AuthorRebecca Ross was born and raised in Georgia, where she continues to reside with her husband, her lively Australian Shepherd, and her endless piles of books. She loves coffee, the night sky, chalk art, maps, the mountains, and growing wildflowers in her yard. And a good story, of course. She was a girl of words and stars and iron… Visit Rebecca Ross on Instagram (@beccajross) and stay up to date on her third novel, Sisters of Sword and Song, set to release June 23, 2020!!
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Do you ever read a book and sit there feeling as though the author wrote this beautiful piece for you, and you alone? Within the beautiful lines on every page of Erin A. Craig's debut YA novel House of Salt and Sorrows, I drifted further out into the deep blue sea of Salten and lost myself in this tale of heartache and loss, revenge and its deadly consequences, and the ultimate endurance to protect the ones you love.
Annaleigh has spent most of her life mourning the loss of her mother and her four older sisters. Her sister Eulalie took a deadly plunge off the cliffs of Salten and after returning another sister to the Salt, Annaleigh cannot help but wonder if the Thaumas family is really cursed like the town believes them to be. Now, there are only eight Thaumas daughters left and they no longer want to spend their lives in mourning so they decide to shed the black attire in exchange for colorful ballgowns and glittery fairy shoes for dancing! The girls stumble across a portal that legend claims the gods use to travel quickly around the world. With a thought, the portal leads the girls to all the other provinces in Arcannia to elegant palaces where they can dance the night away at balls with handsome men. Annaleigh knows something is terribly wrong with these nights of dancing. Just like she knows that Eulalie wouldn't end her life. Something sinister is at play and it seems like Annaleigh and her youngest sister, Verity, are the only two who see the terror lurking around every corner in Highmoor Manor that is until Annaleigh meets Cassius, the mysterious son of a Captain that she is hopelessly drawn to who believes her when she tells him she is seeing the ghosts of her dead sisters. Erin A. Craig is a master storyteller with an uncanny ability to write a horrifying ghost story that is beautifully haunting. I appreciated the time Erin took to slowly describe in full glorious detail Highmoor Manor (can I please live in a gorgeously ocean-themed estate by the sea?); the way she developed each sister's unique personality; the way her immense knowledge of Greek mythology was on full display as she created a half god named Kosamaras inspired by a medical term called kosmaras which actually means nightmares; and the way she selfishly kept details of Cassius to herself for a good majority of the book (but it was so satisfying when his character grew more evolved and...dreamy). At one point as I neared the end of House of Salt and Sorrows, my boyfriend, Jacob, put his hand on my back and I nearly jumped out of my skin and laughed at myself as he asked, "Taylor, are you ok? Breathe. You were all stiff and tense. I didn't even see your back moving to show you breathing." And it was then that I realized I had been holding my breath! Book loves, remember to breathe upon reading House of Salt and Sorrows or at the very least have your own Cassius next to you while reading to remind you to breathe! This was an insanely gorgeous and spooky tale that stole the breath from my lungs. LITERALLY. I give five shining stars of pure Salt and wishing lanterns from the People of Stars to Erin A. Craig and her brilliant debut YA fantasy novel, House of Salt and Sorrows!! Be sure to find and connect with Erin on social media for updates on HoSaS! She is on Instagram and Twitter as @penchant4words. You know that moment when you let down your walls and allow yourself to fall in love with someone? That is the exact feeling I had near the end of Air Awakens by USA Today Best Selling author Elise Kova! I had never read one of her books before so my connection with Elise’s writing style and plot started off slow. I didn’t exactly know what I was feeling but something kept my eyes reading line after line and in an instant I was hopelessly in love with the story and characters.
Vhalla Yarl is a librarian’s apprentice and her character development is extraordinary! The story begins with a Solaris prince returning home from war almost in death’s clutches. Vhalla mistakenly thinks it is the youngest son, Prince Baldair, so she furiously reads and writes down notes and potential cures hoping to save his life. Her notes indeed save the prince’s life, but it turns out she saved the Crown Prince Aldrik’s life instead. Because of this Vhalla’s normal “commons” existence crumbles and she now has the Dark Prince’s attention along with the attention of sorcerers who live and study their elemental magic in The Tower. Vhalla has no business fraternizing with the future emperor of the Solaris Empire but it doesn’t stop her from sharing notes with the prince and spending more time with him in his mother’s rose garden. She begins a friendship with Aldrik—her moody, hot-tempered, gorgeously handsome prince—and later they both realize that when Vhalla saved his life it resulted in a magical soul-linking bond between them. Be prepared to sit on the edge of your seat as Vhalla awaits her trial against the Empire at the end of the book. Everyone seems to think she attempted to murder Prince Aldrik during an attack on the Empire during an annual celebration. You’ve got to read the book to watch how Vhalla’s fate unfolds before your eyes! This was an eventful, heart-wrenching introduction to a series I have no doubt will ruin me in the months to come! A brilliant five stars and the shining sun of Solaris to Elise Kova!! Check out Elise Kova's Instagram Page (@elise.kova) and give her a follow! If I could, I’d paint five golden stars on a Savient aeroplane and ask Athan Dakar to put on a spectacular air show for Joanna Hathaway and her stunning YA fantasy novel debut, Dark of the West! This glorious novel of political intrigue, schemes, romance, war, the consequences of our choices, and family tensions will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, possibly biting off all your fingernails, with anticipation of what will come next. Narrated from dual perspectives, we follow the lives of Aurelia Isendare and Athan Dakar—a strong and beautiful princess in a northern kingdom of Hathene, Etania and a Savien pilot who is the youngest son of a brutal General with a violent agenda. The two meet and become instant friends with a hint of something more that will leave your stomach fluttering with butterflies. Athan Dakar is one of the greatest pilots in his class and makes Top Flight with the best scores. He is torn between wanting more than a soldier’s life and repeatedly has his sights set on the Western Mountains, far away from an impending war that doesn’t make any sense to him to fight. Athan spends the novel trying to figure out why he blindly follows a path and a cause he doesn’t believe in. With intense expectations from his father and two older brothers, and this immense fear that he will lose his best friend Cyar if he does not obey his father’s every order, Athan continues to be a pawn in his father’s war. Princess Aurelia Isendare is stuck in a royal court with feelings of utter helplessness. Her mother is queen and her brother, Reni, is next in line for the throne and they both leave her completely out of the politics in their world. With Ambassador Havis, her betrothed, leering at her around every corner, Aurelia desperately seeks a purpose in life. She wants to attend her father’s university and prolong her impending loveless marriage to a man who can be bought for the highest bid. But when she meets Cyar and Athan, they open her mind to the issues in the South—more specifically Resya, which also happens to be where her mother was born before she married Aurelia’s father. The only crushing factor in this beautifully crafted novel is that Athan goes by the alias of Athan Erelis so Aurelia has no idea he is a Dakar. The overall pressing issue is that the north and south are on the brink of war with people called the Nahir who follow a man named Seath in the Kingdom of Resya. Though we only hear the name in passing and have a brief glimpse of him in the prologue, Seath is an enigma that the reader has yet to meet. We don’t fully know exactly where his loyalties lie, only that he is an important symbol in this war with Resya, and to General Dakar’s agenda as he tries to overthrow King Rahian and claim the south for himself. Upon meeting a long-lost cousin from Resya, Aurelia and Lark discuss politics and he teaches her that not everything is black and white. That maybe a great peace can come out of a sit-down between Etania and the Nahir if only someone would listen. Aurelia listens. She listens since her mother and brother refuse to and she stumbles across great war crimes that Arrin Dakar, Athan’s older brother, may have committed in the General’s blood thirsty agenda to control the South. Set in a fantasy world with modern technology like airplanes, automobiles and firearms, and extremely valuable natural resources like oil and its extraction, Dark of the West enthralled me. I had never read a fantasy novel that included such entities that I am accustomed to in my everyday life until now, and it was thrilling! It captivated my dreams when I set the book down and claimed my waking thoughts. I’m immensely grateful to Joanna Hathaway for taking me on one of the best flights of my imagination. I also managed to get my hands on Storm from the East, the highly anticipated sequel to Dark of the West, which will be released on Feb. 11, 2020! Review to come! Visit Joanna's Instagram page (@spitfirewriter) and say hello! |
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