Number of Re-Reads: 0
Number of DNFs: 1

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Swallow the Sun by Matti Riekki

It’s been really quiet here also this year. I’m still doing my master’s degree, and that has taken a lot of my time. All of my reading for fun pretty much happens on the train. So yeah… let’s see if I actually post more this year…

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Number of Re-Reads: 1
Number of DNFs: 2

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

It’s been really quiet here this past year. Or even quieter than before… I started university in 2023 to get a master’s degree, which has taken a lot of my time. All of my reading for fun pretty much happens on the train. Hopefully, I have time (and motivation) to do some reviews here during 2024!

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Paris, 1942. Suzanne Belperron is known as one of the most innovative jewelers of her time. Elsa Schiaparelli and the Duchess of Windsor are just two of her many illustrious clients. What no one knows is that Suzanne and her dear friend, American socialite Dixie Osgood, have been helping transport hundreds of Jewish families out of France since the war began. But now, the war has come to Suzanne’s front door—the Nazis have arrested her business partner and longtime lover, Bernard Herz.

New York, 1986. Violine Duplessi, an appraiser for a boutique auction house, is summoned to visit the home of Paul Osgood, a scholarly lawyer and political candidate who aspires to take over the Senate seat of his recently deceased father. Paul has inherited everything inside Osgood Manor, from the eighteenth-century furniture to the nineteenth-century Limoges china. But a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk is what calls to Violine, with the surprising but undeniable thrum of energy that can only be one thing: the gift passed down to her by La Lune, the sixteenth-century courtesan. Since childhood, Violine has been able to read an object’s history and learn the secrets of its owners by merely touching it, but she silenced her psychometry when it destroyed her last relationship.

So begins a search that takes Violine to Paris to work with the Midas Society, a covert international organization whose mission is to return lost and stolen antiques, jewels, and artwork to their original owners. (Goodreads)

The book follows two storylines: one in 1986 and the second in 1942 in occupied France. Suzanne Belperron was a jewelry designer in Paris during WWII. Violine Duplessi works for an auction house and has a job to appraise an old trunk, which has some secrets. Suzanne and Violine’s lives are intertwined when Violine tries to solve the mystery regarding the old trunk.

I hadn’t realized this was part of a Daughters of La Lune series before I started reading, But I love the series, so that was a good thing. I loved both timelines but didn’t really care for the romance in the 80s timeline. I would have wanted to learn more about Violine’s gift and what she could learn about objects with it. In Violine’s family, the women have some kind of gift, and in Violine’s case, it’s understanding the secrets of the object’s owner.

3,5 stars

Published: Blue Box Press (February 7, 2023)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

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Lore has been living by her wits since she was a child, running poisons for the cartel that took her in, avoiding the attention of the law, and keeping her illicit affinity for death magic a secret.

When a job goes wrong and Lore is captured by the Sainted King’s warrior-monks, she expects death. But King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening – or face the pyre.

Thrust into a lavish court where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted, Lore must navigate an intricate web of politics, religion, and forbidden romance and solve the King’s mystery. A mystery more dangerous and twisted than Lore can even imagine. (publisher)

Lore is a poison runner and a spy for her adoptive parents in Dellaire. Magic is a rare thing in the world these days, and some people have noted Lore’s powers. Lore can use Mortem, a kind of death magic. After a poison running drop goes wrong, she is brought to the palace and now must spy for the king. Entire villages are being wiped out, and the king suspects that his son Bastian knows something about it. Lore’s mission is to spy on Bastian and act as a cousin to Gabriel, an aristocrat who is now a monk.

I liked Lore, but as someone who’s been a spy for some time, she’s not a very good one. Like, someone has been spying on her since she was a child. And the two people she spies on in the book know about the spying…

I didn’t really mind the love triangle, but oh well. Too many YA vibes for me. I liked all 3 people but not as a love triangle. And I did like the concept of Mortem and the whole death magic thing and all the court intrigue.

I enjoyed the author’s previous books and was looking forward to this new series. And while it had its flaws, I just wanted to keep on reading and wanted to know what happened next. And I definitely want to know how the story continues.

3/5

Published: Orbit (March 9, 2023)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

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Number of Re-Reads: 0
Number of DNFs: 5

Elizabeth I by Margaret George
The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley
The Hunger of the Gods (Bloodsworn Saga #2) by John Gwynne
The Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick

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Demir Grappo is an outcast—he fled a life of wealth and power, abandoning his responsibilities as a general, a governor, and a son. Now he will live out his days as a grifter, rootless, and alone. But when his mother is brutally murdered, Demir must return from exile to claim his seat at the head of the family and uncover the truth that got her killed: the very power that keeps civilization turning, godglass, is running out.

Now, Demir must find allies, old friends and rivals alike, confront the powerful guild-families who are only interested in making the most of the scraps left at the table and uncover the invisible hand that threatens the Empire. A war is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group of outcasts are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it. (publisher)

This was my first book from the author even though I’ve heard good things about his books over the years. The book started a little slowly for me but picked up after a while. At first, I was a bit confused with the magic system and there are many characters so keeping track of them was difficult at first.

There are four pov’s: Demir, Kezzie, Thessa, and Idrian.
Demir is the main protagonist you could say. Demir is head of a minor guild family and returns home after his mother is murdered. He left nine years ago in a self-imposed exile after a war campaign in Holikan ends horrendously. Now he tries to solve who murdered his mother.
Kezzie is a disgraced bastard daughter and enforcer of a Vorcien guild family. She’s trying to get back into favour and is helping Demir to solve the murder.
Thessa is immune to the magic system of the world and can create godglass which is running out.
Idrian is a soldier and was part of the campaign in Holikan that ended badly. Has long ties with Demir and his family.

The magic system has godglass, glass that has different capabilities. Cureglass can heal, witglass makes you think clearly… But now sources are running out.

There are a lot of political machinations going on with all the ruling guild families, there’s a war going on, murder investigation. A lot of things going on. I have to say I wasn’t really a fan of the ending but I’m curious to see where this is heading. I enjoyed the book and I want to try his other series too.

3,5/5

Published: Tor Books (June 21, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

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THE FIRST DAUGHTER IS FOR THE THRONE
THE SECOND DAUGHTER IS FOR THE WOLF

Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Five Kings, but at a steep cost. Red’s beloved sister – Neve, the First Daughter – is lost in the Shadowlands. But Neve has an ally, even if it’s one she’d rather never speak to again – the rogue king Solmir. Together they must journey across a dangerous landscape to find the mysterious Heart Tree – and finally claim the gods’ dark, twisted powers for themselves. (publisher)

Neve has ended up in Shadowlands, mostly because of her actions in the previous book. And she’s stuck there with Solmir, who was the villain in book 1. They both try to stop the Five Kings from escaping the Shadowlands, but they have different ideas about how to do it. There are also some trust issues since Solmir impersonated Neve’s betrothed.

In the first book, we got a few chapters from Neve’s pov but I wasn’t really interested in those. I didn’t warm up to her at all. So, I was a bit apprehensive about this book before starting. But I really liked Neve in this book. Like Red, she makes rash, and bad, decisions but she’s more calculated and her intentions are darker. In this book, she must come to terms with some of her decisions in the previous book and think about her motivations for doing those.

With Red and Eammon I was rather indifferent at times. I liked them but didn’t love them. I did love Neve and Solmir though. Probably because I liked Solmir more than Eammon. In short, Red and Eammon were the boring pair and Neve and Solmir were the interesting pair.

I didn’t really warm up to Raffe’s chapters with the princess whose name I don’t remember. And I thought he believed her lies too easy. Well to be fair, they all did.

I liked Red and Neve’s relationship through the books and that it was the thing that carried through the books.

4/5

Published: Orbit (June 9, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

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There are many who believe they know what happened, but they do not know the whole of it. The rumours spread, and grow, and take their hold, and so to end them I have been persuaded now to take my pen in hand and tell the story as it should be told…

Autumn, 1707. Old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to carry the young exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh the streets are filled with discontent and danger.

Queen Anne’s commissioners, seeking to calm the situation, have begun settling the losses and wages owed to those Scots who took part in the disastrous Darien expedition eight years earlier.

When Lily, the young widow of a Darien sailor, comes forward to collect her husband’s wages, her claim is challenged, and one of the men who’s assigned to examine her has only days to decide if she’s honest, or if his own feelings are making him blind to the truth, and if he’s being used as a pawn in an even more treacherous game.

A story of intrigue, adventure, endurance, romance…and the courage to hope. (publisher)

I didn’t realize this was part of a series when I requested this, but it worked fine as a stand-alone. I’ve read one book, Mariana, from this author before but that was about 20 years ago. I remember liking it, but memories are a bit hazy though… So I was interested to see how this turns out.

Lily Graeme claims to be a widow of a Darien sailor and has come to collect her husband’s wages. However, people don’t believe that she was married to this guy. They were from very different stations of life for one matter. Adam Williamson finds himself entangled in the task of finding out if Lily speaks the truth.

We have a dual timeline with Adam’s pov in the present and Lily’s in the past. The story starts when Lily is a child so there are about 20 years in between. I didn’t know about the Darien scheme or that Scotland tried to establish a colony in Caledonia. So a lot of new stuff. The book is set during the Jacobite risings in Scotland (The Old Pretender).

I liked both Lily and Adam. My one problem was that in the present day, which is from Adam’s pov, there is very little about Lily. Mostly it’s Adam talking about Lily with someone.

I liked the Scotland setting and the writing. Some people have complained about the slowness, but I didn’t have that problem. I’m definitely reading more from the author. Hopefully sooner than in 20 years this time…

4/5

Published: Simon & Schuster UK (May 4, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

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The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this curse, and the fickle nature of men and gods.

Clytemnestra
The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon – her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them and determines to win, whatever the cost.

Cassandra
Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall.

Elektra
The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence? (publisher)

I haven’t read the author’s first book Ariadne, but I’ve heard so much good about it that I was very excited to read Elektra.

The story is told from 3 pov’s: Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon and sister of Helen, her daughter Elektra and Cassandra of Troy.

Cassandra was my fav of the three, liked Clytemnestra, but didn’t like Elektra or understand her. She definitely wasn’t sad about her sister and the jealousy of the slaves (Briseis and Cassandra) was just weird. I sort of wanted to yell that it could easily be you who’s the slave. Especially as the house of Atreus was such a peace-loving family… Mostly I was between wanting to shake or slap her.

I liked the writing, and I think that I would like Ariadne more. I’m less familiar with the tale and characters and don’t have such strong ideas about them. I felt like the book was much more Clytemnestra’s story than Elektra’s, who has such a small role, especially in the beginning. Elektra becomes more prominent in the end though.

3/5

Published: Wildfire (April 28, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

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THE DEAD GODS ARE RISING . . .

Lik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest.

As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own – and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance.

Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her.

Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god.

Their hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead . . . and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth. (publisher)

This was one of the most anticipated books of the year and it didn’t disappoint. And I absolutely loved the recap of the previous book. Wish more books had one.

The book starts where the last book ended. Orka is trying to find his son, Varg wants to find his sister and Elvar is looking for her own vengeance. Orka is still my favourite by far. I liked Varg’s chapters but mostly because the other members of the group are interesting. Elvar’s chapters were the least interesting, but they weren’t bad. It was great to see that she has grown and found herself. I liked seeing how the different storylines merged with each other.

My only minor issue is with the pacing. There’s a lot of travelling in the book and it slowed the pace a bit at times. But that was pretty much my only problem, and it wasn’t a huge one. But there are also a lot of battles so there is plenty of action too.

I can’t wait for the next book and what happens next! Because it was an evil way to end the book…

4,5/5

Published: Orbit (April 14, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

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