book review

Review | Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 5 Comments

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Title: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Published: September 2, 2014

Average Goodreads rating: 4.52

My rating: 3

Format read: Audio

Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak―but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth . . . a truth about her heritage that could change her life―and her future―forever. Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed? Continue reading →

Review | An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 9 Comments

30969741Title: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Published: September 26th, 2017

Average Goodreads rating: 3.66

My rating: 4

Format read: Audio

A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts—even as she falls in love with a faerie prince—in this gorgeous debut novel.

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes—a weakness that could cost him his life. Continue reading →

Review | Heart of Iron (Heart of Iron #1) by Ashley Poston

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 2 Comments

35181314Title: Heart of Iron (Heart of Iron #1) by Ashley Poston

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Published: February 27, 2018

Average Goodreads rating: 3.93

My rating: 3.5

Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him. Continue reading →

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 5 Comments

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Title: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Publisher: Feiwel Friends

Published: March 6, 2018

Average Goodreads rating: 4.2

My rating: 2.5

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. Continue reading →

ARC Review | Legendary by Stephanie Garber

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 4 Comments

36329818Title: Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Garber

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Anticipated publication date: May 29, 2018

Average Goodreads rating: 4.53

My rating: 4.5

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister’s. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…the games have only just begun Continue reading →

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 9 Comments

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Title: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black

Published: January 2, 2018

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Average Goodreads rating: 4.29

Literary Weaponry rating: 3.5

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.  Continue reading →

Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 2 Comments

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Title: Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody

Published: April 10th 2018 by Harlequin Teen

Average Goodreads rating: 4.31

Literary Weaponry rating:  3/5

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…
and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn’t have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne’s offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi’s enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play. (Goodreads) Continue reading →

The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) by Tessa Dare

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 1 Comment

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Title: The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) by Tessa Dare

Published: August 2017 by Avon

Average Goodreads rating: 4.09

My rating: 4/5

When girl meets Duke, their marriage breaks all the rules… 

Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir—which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do.

His terms are simple:
– They will be husband and wife by night only.
– No lights, no kissing.
– No questions about his battle scars.
– Last, and most importantly… Once she’s pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again.

But Emma is no pushover. She has a few rules of her own:
– They will have dinner together every evening.
– With conversation.
– And unlimited teasing.
– Last, and most importantly… Once she’s seen the man beneath the scars, he can’t stop her from falling in love…

Continue reading →

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 4 Comments

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He snatched up the reins again, holding her tight. There was nothing affectionate or remotely romantic about the gesture; it was desperation, like a man clinging to a ledge.

I’m going to be straight up honest with you folks. I picked this book up as audio on Audible on a whim when I had a very long drive ahead of me and didn’t want to listen to kids music the whole trip with my daughter. I knew nothing about it or how many people were thrilled with it being a magnificent example of own voices Muslim fantasy. When the narrator started I genuinely had no idea what I was in for. Continue reading →