Beneath These Cursed Stars - Lexi Ryan

Princess Jasalyn has a secret. Armed with an enchanted ring that gives her death’s kiss, Jas has been sneaking away from the palace at night to assassinate her enemies.

Shape-shifter Felicity needs a miracle. Fated to kill her magical father, she’s been using her unique ability to evade a fatal prophecy.

When rumors of evil king Mordeus’s resurrection spread through the shadow court, Jasalyn decides to end him once and for all. Felicity agrees to take the form of the princess, allowing Jas to covertly hunt Mordeus—and starting Felicity on the path that could finally take her home.

While Jasalyn teams up with the charming and handsome Kendrick, Felicity sets out to get closer to the Wild Fae king, Misha. Kendrick helps Jasalyn feel something other than anger for the first time in three years, and Misha makes Felicity wish for a world where she’s free to be her true self. Soon, the girls’ missions are at risk right alongside their hearts.

The future of the human and fae realms hangs in the balance as fates intertwine. Between perilous tasks, grim secrets, and forbidden romances, Jasalyn and Felicity find that perhaps their stars are the most cursed of all.

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I was provided with an advance copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading this book and quickly got lost, wasn’t keen, and ultimately wasn’t sure what was going on. I went back and picked up the original duology, These Hollow Vows and These Twisted Bonds, and then revisited this book. That made such a difference and I would urge any other readers to do the same - I’ve seen this is considered a series that can be read independently of This Hollow Vows, but I think I would strongly disagree.

But then we had a new issue. I loved These Hollow Vows and Brie so much that I think I spent a lot of time wishing to go back.

Beneath These Cursed Stars is very enjoyable if you’ve enjoyed the world Lexi Ryan has created. It has the same style, the same energy, and a lot of the same characters. To me, it just didn’t fall in love with it quite as much. Still good, but not as great as These Hollow Vows in my personal opinions.


Rating: ✫✫✫✫

Long Live Evil - Sarah Rees Brennan

 

A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

Blurb  taken from Goodreads.

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I was gifted an advance copy of this book by the publisher. 

The blurb for Long Live Evil made me so excited to read it. It's the dream of every bookworm to be dropped right into their favourite fantasy world, and the possibilities for the plot are endless. 

Which is why I was a little disappointed when I finished this one and didn't love it. I think the difficulty lay in the fact that to make this work, the reader has to be prepared to come into a new fantasy world halfway through a story, and pick up the pieces and map them all together themselves. It was a bit of a stretch for me, so it wasn't one I ended up really connecting with. 

Rating: ✫✫✫

This Used To Be Us - Renee Carlino

There are two sides to every love story—and every breakup. Get ready for an emotional roller coaster of family, marriage, and divorce that will have you both laughing and crying, from the bestselling author of Before We Were Strangers.

After twenty-two years together, Danielle and Alex are getting a divorce. Once fiercely in love, they can barely stand the sound of each other’s voice. Instead of shuffling the kids between two broken homes, Alex and Danielle decide to share a nesting apartment while swapping days with their two teenage boys at the family home.

In the apartment, Dani and Alex, on their own, begin to reflect on the last two decades—why they fell in love, and why the marriage fell, spectacularly, apart. With the newfound space and time, they are given a chance to find their autonomous selves again. They both get back in the dating pool, Dani finds major success at work as a showrunner on her own TV project, while Alex faces the challenges of a new relationship.

Still, they find they just can’t stay away from each other, and somehow, the distance allows them to remember (for the first time in years) what they used to love about one another. When a family crisis draws them back into each other’s orbit, Danielle and Alex are, once again, put to the test, which leads to a dramatic conclusion that will have readers weeping. 

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I was provided with an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I've long been a fan of Renee Carlino, from the moment I read my first book of hers, Swear On This Life. It was an easy five star read for me, and was only added to by further five star reads Before We Were Strangers, Sweet Thing and Wish you Were Here. I hit a bit of a snag by then reading two Carlino books that I didn't enjoy nearly as much, and I started to wonder if maybe my luck with the author had run out.

Then came This Used To Be Us. I started reading apprehensively, worrying that this would be another to add to the pile of books I hadn't loved. 

I am so grateful that that did not happen. I loved this book. It broke my heart then made it full again, it made me laugh then sob. It was beautiful, and I adored it. 

Rating: ✫✫✫✫✫