Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

"Can’t-Wait Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Wishful Endings, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

Jamie Pacton

Publication Date: May 5, 2020

Hardcover, 384 pages, Page Street Kids

Genres: YA, Contemporary

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Moxie meets A Knight’s Tale as Kit Sweetly slays sexism, bad bosses, and bad luck to become a knight at a medieval-themed restaurant.

Working as a wench―i.e. waitress―at a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant in the Chicago suburbs, Kit Sweetly dreams of being a knight like her brother. She has the moves, is capable on a horse, and desperately needs the raise that comes with knighthood, so she can help her mom pay the mortgage and hold a spot at her dream college.

Company policy allows only guys to be knights. So when Kit takes her brother’s place and reveals her identity at the end of the show, she rockets into internet fame and a whole lot of trouble with the management. But the Girl Knight won’t go down without a fight. As other wenches join her quest, a protest forms. In a joust before Castle executives, they’ll prove that gender restrictions should stay medieval―if they don’t get fired first.

My Thoughts

I just recently heard about this one, and I’ve been intrigued ever since. I’ve actually never been to a Renaissance Fair or any of the medieval-themed restaurants that are in larger cities. I want to go, but I just don’t have any in my immediate area. This sounds like a fun romp to meet my curiosity. It also sounds like it could put off some Fangirl vibes. Contemporary mixed with fantasy. I really hope it is similar. I’ve been thinking about giving up on YA contemporary lately, so maybe this one will change my mind?

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Review: The Burning Shadow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Burning Shadow

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(Origin #2)

Publication Date: October 8, 2019

Hardcover, 432 pages, Tor Teen

Genres: YA, Paranormal, Sci-Fi

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When Evelyn Dasher crossed paths with Luc, she was thrown headfirst into the world of the Lux—only to discover that she was already far more involved in their world than she ever suspected.

Because the Luxen aren’t the only ones with a hidden past. There’s a gap in Evie’s memory, lost months of her life and a lingering sense that something happened, something she can’t remember and nobody is willing to tell her. She needs to find out the truth about who she is—and who she was. But every answer she finds only brings up more questions.

Her search for the truth brings her ever closer to Luc, the Origin at the center of it all. He’s powerful, arrogant, inhumanly beautiful, extremely dangerous…and possibly in love with her. But even as Evie falls for him, she can’t help but wonder if his attraction is to her, or to the memory of a girl who no longer exists.

And all the while, a new threat looms: reports of a flu-like, fatal virus that the government insists is being spread by Luxen. A horrifying illness that changes whoever it touches, spreading panic across a country already at its breaking point.

My Review

Oh man. This review is such a mix of emotions. There’s good and there’s bad. It’s one of my least favorite JLA books, even though I still enjoyed most of the story. There’s just one character I. Do. Not. Like.

The Burning Shadow picks up pretty close to where The Darkest Star left off. More Evie questioning her life and more Luc being a manipulative, abusive, obnoxious a$$. I have never not liked a Jennifer L. Armentrout male love interest. Never. So this series is tough for me, especially since JLA’s books are 80% romance, 20% plot. I have to be honest though, I didn’t like Luc in the original Lux series either. He’s so controlling and overprotective. He’s also ridiculously overpowered, which frustrates me considering this makes characters like Daemon and Dawson look pathetic. I LOVE the characters in the original series, and it seems like Luc is being favored over the others. Strongly dislike. And Luc postures like a peacock whenever his masculinity or Evie is threatened. It’s annoying and his fragile ego takes up way too much time. 

Alright, I got that rant off my chest. Whew! Despite how much I dislike Luc, he did have a few cute moments. There was a pet rock and a Halloween candy story that made me smile. Luc quickly made those fun feelings disappear with his nonsense, though. BUT, as much as I dislike Luc, every other character in this series is awesome! Evie’s friends, Zoe, Heidi, and James, are so cute! They’re such a fun little pack of friends, and I wish we’d had more time with them during this sequel. I hope we see more of them in book three. They talk about issues beyond the main romance, so those friend dynamics always make me happy in YA literature.

As for the plot of the book, I have to be honest again, I’m reading this trilogy primarily for Daemon and Katy content. (I heard there’s going to be a baby story for a pre-order incentive with book three. YASSS!) However, I actually enjoyed this book’s plot more than The Darkest Star’s. The human-alien rights issues were relevant, and it was great to see Evie stand up to her friends. Evie’s missing memory dilemma was a little boring for a while, but it picked up about halfway through, and JLA managed to spin it well. Oh, and there was also one of the best car chase scenes I’ve ever read in any story ever. It was so much fun!

Thankfully, the plot turned into a good action/adventure towards the last half instead of the angsty teen drama it started off as, which definitely helped bump up the star rating for me. I was getting tired of the Evie-Luc relationship, but JLA really knows how to write her plots. Though, I will say the ending was abrupt and a tad underwhelming. Additionally, the plot can be somewhat confusing at times if you’re not refreshed on the Lux world.

All in all, if Luc wasn’t the male love interest of this book, I think it’d be a solid four stars. But with him, The Burning Shadow suffers from having a manipulative love interest taking over the story.

My 2020 Reading Goals

It’s April, but I haven’t done a reading goals post for the year. Now that I’m back into reading, I have to remedy that.

I originally set my Goodreads 2020 Reading Challenge at 10 books. Now, that might not seem like a lot to some of you, but last year was a disaster for me reading-wise. I actually only read 10 books for the entire year, and most of them were just “meh” books. My reading slump was insane.

To be fair, I had a lot of things going on. I moved back to Missouri from NYC. I quit my job and was stressed out looking for a new one and feeling like a loser for doing so. And, while I was living in NYC, I hated living there because of my loud neighbors who wouldn’t give me the peace I needed to read and sleep during the weekends. I was a mess. But I’ve finally hit a place in my life where I’m comfortable reading again. Plus, I’m stuck inside a lot more than usual with everything going on, so why not work my way through my TBR?

I set my 2020 Goodreads Challenge to 10 books at the start of the year. I reached that goal earlier this month, so I changed my goal to 30 books. I’m really hoping to reach 50, but 30 puts less pressure on me.

Other than my Goodreads Challenge, I have a few other personal reading goals that mostly consist of finishing specific books and series.

#1. Read 15 books I already owned physical copies of prior to 2020. So far, I’ve read three.

#2. Finish A Game of Thrones. I’ve been reading this one for a while. I started after the final season of GoT disappointed me for so many reasons, and I want to finish it before the end of 2020. I’m 42% through. I also think it’d be cool to read one A Song of Ice and Fire book per year until I catch up or the next book is released. (Ha ha.)

#3. Finish the Violet Eden series. I just finished Entice, and there are three more books. I’m going to try to finish one every few months. These books have been on my shelf for so very long, and they’re so beautiful. I’ll never get rid of them, just because of their gorgeous covers. I don’t like unread books being on my pretty shelves, though, so I HAVE to finish them.

#4. Finish last books. I have a lot of last books in series that I just need to read. United and Starfall by Melissa Landers, Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, Allied by Amy Tintera, and Let the Wind Rise by Shannon Messenger are the primary culprits.

***

Well, those are my 2020 reading goals. What are your reading goals for the year? Have you met any of them yet? Let me know in the comments below!

Stacking the Shelves: The Crescent City Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

I wasn’t supposed to buy books this week/month/season, but here we are.

House of Blood and Earth by Sarah J. Maas

From Blood and Ash swag

So, yeah. I spent money on books this week. Well, a book. Singular. I shouldn’t have, but I keep seeing reviews and fanart for House of Blood and Earth and I don’t want to be spoiled, so I bought it. Now, I must read it. After I read a couple of other things.

Question: How many other people out there call this book Crescent City? I do it all the time. Why did the cover designer make the series title font so large?!? It’s annoying.

I also received my From Blood and Ash book-order swag. (Not a pre-order incentive since the book was already out when the swag giveaway happened.)

What books have you bought/received lately?

Review: Brave by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Brave

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(A Wicked Trilogy #3)

Publication Date: December 11, 2017

Paperback, 364 pages

Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

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Ivy Morgan hasn't been feeling like herself lately. Not like anyone can blame her. After all, being held captive by a psychotic fae prince hell-bent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld is bound to leave some mental scars.

It’s more than that, though. Something dark and insidious is spreading throughout Ivy, more powerful than she could ever imagine... and it’s coming between her and the man she’s fallen deeply in love with, elite Order member Ren Owens.

Ren would do anything to keep Ivy safe. Anything. But when he makes a life altering choice for her, the fallout of his act has far reaching consequences that threaten to tear their lives apart.

If Ivy is going to have any hope of surviving this, she must put aside the hurt and betrayal she feels, and work with not only those she loves, but with an enemy she would rather kill than ever trust. War is coming, and it soon becomes clear that what Ivy and Ren thought they knew about the Order, themselves, and even their enemies, has been nothing but a cluster of dangerous, deadly lies.

Ivy knows she must be more than just brave to save those she loves--and, ultimately, to save herself.

Because behind every evil fae Prince, there’s a Queen….

My Review

The final book in JLA’s Wicked Trilogy picks up pretty close to where Torn left off. Ivy’s reeling from all that’s happened, and her friends are just as worried as she is. There’s so much angst. Something I feel like JLA does a very good job creating.

For a finale, Brave had it all: action, kissing, death, betrayal, and more. I do wish, however, that it had been another 100 pages longer. I think it could have done with being slowed down towards the end. Though I’ve noticed JLA’s final books for her series always tend to really amp up the speed. It didn’t necessarily detract from the story as I was reading, but reflecting on the ending later on, I think more pages would have prevented some rushed scenes.

One thing I LOVED about this ending, however, was Ivy’s growth. I’m not going to spoil it, but let’s just say the end of book two and the beginning of book three left her in a bad place. Her metamorphosis was so cool though. It’s what made me love this installment more than book two, and Ren’s reaction to Ivy’s change gave me all the heart flutters. He’s less alpha-male possessive-macho-man than JLA’s previous love interests. That’s not to say he doesn’t have some of those qualities, but he does trust Ivy to take care of herself.

As for the side characters, Tink had some very funny scenes. I’m still not sure exactly how I feel about his “growth.” I liked him a little better the way he was in the first book. I kind of felt the same about the villain of the story. He was more ominous in books one and two, and the twist in this ending left me unsure. Plus, I was a little shocked by how JLA chose to write the ending. It was so different from her other series.

All in all, I’m sad the trilogy is complete. I want more Ren. More Ivy. And more Tink. I think I’m entitled to another three books, right? Well, at least there might be a TV adaptation to get me through my book hangover....

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar

"Can’t-Wait Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Wishful Endings, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

By Force Alone

Lavie Tidhar

Publication Date: June 16, 2020

Hardcover, 416 pages, Tor Books

Genres: Adult, Historical Fiction, Retelling

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A retelling of Arthurian myth for the age of Brexit and Trump, from World Fantasy Award-winner Lavie Tidhar, By Force Alone.

Everyone thinks they know the story of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

The fact is they don't know sh*t.

Arthur? An over-promoted gangster.

Merlin? An eldritch parasite.

Excalibur? A shady deal with a watery arms dealer.

Britain? A clogged sewer that Rome abandoned just as soon as it could.

A savage and cutting epic fantasy, equally poetic and profane, By Force Alone is at once a timely political satire, a magical adventure, and a subversive masterwork.

My Thoughts

I’ve heard really good things about this book, which is great, because I need a good Arthurian retelling in my life. I miss Merlin, Arthur, and the gang. I’ve even thought about re-watching the Merlin TV show, even though I know the ending just makes me sad. Plus, By Force Alone is supposed to make the story gritty and dark. And I just want it ASAP.

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Review: Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Torn

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(A Wicked Trilogy #2)

Publication Date: July 19, 2016

Paperback, 360 pages

Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

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Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.

Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she’s left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they’ll kill her.

Then there’s Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy’s bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him?

But as the Fae Prince begins to close in, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust—and fast—it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.

My Review

I put off reading this book for so very long, and I truly don’t know why. JLA knows how to write urban fantasy, whether new adult or young adult. The worlds she creates are always unique, and the romances are always fascinating. Also, this review contains MINOR SPOILERS, so read at your own risk.

For this series in particular, I read the first book when it was released, but the sequels got lost in the kerfuffle of all the book releases. I can’t believe I forgot how much I adored Ren, Tink, and Ivy, though. They’re such a fun bunch. However, in this addition to the trilogy, things are a little more serious. The Fae Prince is on the loose, and Ivy has secrets to uncover.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t my favorite of the trilogy. Torn had that trope of the female protagonist being captured, which has become a “thing” for YA and semi-new adult books like Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass as well as Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series. It’s just kind of slow and sloggy during those scenes, when you’d rather have some action, or, in my case, more Ivy + Ren scenes.

JLA did a great job of creating a world where you aren’t sure which side is good and which is bad, and you can definitely feel Ivy’s pain when it comes to figuring out what the heck is going on. And even though this middle book wasn’t my favorite in the trilogy, it was still the one I devoured the fastest. I just had to know what was going to happen next.

All in all, JLA does it once again. She’s given us a paranormal series that has it all: good romance, a conflicted heroine, tiny creatures, and attractive bad guys. A definite must-read if any of those things interest you.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Review: Storm & Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Storm & Fury

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(The Harbinger #1)

Publication Date: June 11, 2019

Hardcover, 512 pages, Inkyard Press

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

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Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.

When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…

My Review

Thank you JLA for getting me out of the Great Reading Slump of 2019! This book was my first read of 2020, and so far, it’s my favorite read of the year. It also started my catch-up on all of the JLA books I’ve been stupidly putting off for way too long.

With this book, we’re back in the world of Wardens and demons, and I am HERE. FOR. IT. Honestly, it’s such a joy to immerse myself in this JLA creation. The aesthetic of this world is so fascinating. It’s a mix of the Disney cartoon Gargoyles with the sexiness of early Supernatural.

As always, JLA’s writing is so easy to follow and her characters are amazing. I don’t know how she manages to make all of her characters unique when she writes so many books, but somehow she does it. It’s mind-boggling. Our female main character, Trinity is actually in a pretty similar situation as most of JLA’s main characters—in that she’s a special girl who is kept secret for reasons—but unlike Alex from the Covenant series or Evie from the Origin trilogy, Trinity knows that she’s special. I think this, along with her limited eyesight and general badassery, makes for a pretty cool MC.

Now, I have to admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Zayne in The Dark Elements trilogy. Unfortunately for him, he just got in the way of one of my favorite ships. (Roth + Layla 4eva!) In this book, though, he was great. I think he complemented Trinity well. Selfishly, I do have to take away half a star because I wanted more Roth and Layla scenes, and just Roth being a badass in general. However, he was fantastic in the scenes he did appear in, and I am unbelievably excited to potentially see more of him in book two.

All in all, Storm & Fury is a quick, action-packed paranormal read with a surprise ending and a great romance. I was super excited to dive back into this gargoyle world, and I can’t wait for the sequel!

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.