Saturday, August 4, 2018

ARC Review Siren's Lure by Frosy Kay


Lifewas black and white for the pirate captain until an innocent ruins everything by blundering into her life. She should've let the handsome stranger drown, he'd seen too much. But something stays her hand and she reluctantly saves the human, risking the one thing she's protected all her life. 

A secret that could destroy an entire race.

When I requested this book from Netscape, I did not realize it was a part of a series. It is actually book 2.5 is the set. However, I was able to read it and follow the story without having read the other books in the series and enjoyed the short, but dark tale. It did not have the chronology and detail I would have liked, but again this is a novella and an in-between book in a series. It did detail an interesting story and develop characters very well. If you enjoy mermaid tales, magical storys, and/or just great story telling you would enjoy this story. It was good enough to make me want to read the rest of the series.

I give the Novella Sirens Lure 4 out of 5 stars

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.
Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.
Think you have read all the books and tired story lines there are out there when it comes to dragons. WRONG! This book does an excellent job of creating a new world, with new rules for dragons. It is amazing!! Dragons can take on human shape, and with that comes messy human emotions. Needless to say inter-species relationships with humans and dragons are forbidden, enter our protagonist. She has so many issues to juggle and she has to do it from her new post working at the palace. She has extraordinary gifts, but has to be wary or her origins may be discovered.
This YA Fantasy has it all Mystery, intrigue, magic, romance, and of course dragons!

I give Seraphina 5 out of 5 stars
I give the audio performance 5 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: Wing Walker by M. T. Finnberg


After the Alliance bombed Swooning Moon, only the megalopolis Capitol survived under its blue dome. In the backcountry, among thousands of broken-down amusement parks, awaits a harsh world: dragon poachers raiding the air while gangs of youth pace the marshlands looking for magical items to sell for a few coins.
This book was interesting and moved at a pace I enjoyed. There was constant action among the characters and very little down time. The heroine was determined and unlike the protagonist in many novels was not constantly second guessing herself. I did feel there was a point where her goal changed and although it was never stated, the original purpose of her exploits were forgotten or at least she came to terms with reality, and adopted a new goal.  The magical element in this book was rather unique, and I liked it. It did not seem to merely copy or build on previous magical worlds, but was a new and unique magical system. I would like to learn more about it though. There was not enough explanation of how the gift was passed, does everyone have some ability, and was the heroine more than a singer? I hope these questions were intentionally left open for another book to answer. I also felt the book ended abruptly. There was so much suspense building up to the end of the book and I was so excited to find out how things unfolded, but the ending was abrupt and almost too neat. The world building was excellent. It was the highlight of this book. The world was very detailed, characters had depth, and there was a history detailed in the reading. If you are looking for a fun read I do recommend this book. I think the author has talent and is still developing this series. I would read a sequel and hope to get that opportunity.