🧐 OUR WEEK IN REVIEWS ➜ Book reviews

OUR PICKS THIS WEEK
👑 Hidden by Gemma Weir
🐉 Aether Magic by Isobelle Carmichael
👹 Playing with Monsters by Amelia Hutchins
🦢 Hidden Wings by Ana Raine
🔥 Madman's Method by V.F. Mason
🌀 Mesmer by Cari Silverwood & Jennifer Bene

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Hidden by Gemma Weir

Shredded!
I recommend reading where you can openly cry and have copious amounts of tissues and possibly a defibrillator handy - I can't tell you how many times I felt my chest constrict or my breath catch as I carefully turned the page frightened of what I would find
From the moment Nova's inner turmoil took center stage I was lost. I could feel her pain and emptiness. It radiated so strongly from the pages -
Everything in me wanted to hold her to protect her.
Tell her it would be okay.
Even if I wasn't so sure myself.
Valentine is pure evil and one he ll of a professional manipulator. We aren't given much about his past or him - except I believe he is the devil incarnate!
I do so hope we get a glimpse of what triggered his anger his absolute loathing for Nova.
This ends by ripping out the reader's heart and just leaving it to bleed out upon the pages (that means it ends on a bit of a cliffy)
Young Adult done right -
If you are looking for Angst ✔️
Subtle power plays ✔️
Momentary feeling of hopelessness ✔️
Dark and broody alphas ✔️
Without all the immaturity ✔️
Then may I recommend The Scions
(This Duet is now complete)
Amazon

Aether Magic by Isobelle Carmichael

Up is down and out is in and off to the under realm we go...
And I thought things were a mess before the blood moon ceremony!
This is book two in the series and it picks up right where book one ended.  This starts out fairly strong. We take a turn with each cast member revisiting the events that night through their perspective. For me, this is one of the things I truly enjoy about Carmichael's writing style. It can take a bit to get accustomed to but for me, it allows me to get a bit more lost in the story. Abby is suffering some side effects that no one foresaw - I get that I do -but she was grating on my nerves for most of the storyline. It does get better I swear just hang in there lol.
Marcus seemed to call to me more in this second episode than he did in book one. It could be the shift in his personality? I am not sure. But I'm claiming him.
We spend a bit more time with the elders as well as with Abbey's dad and mom. I liked him in book one despite what he was and I liked him even more here. I knew there was more to his story.
As in the first episode, there is a lot is going on. The main storyline is easy to follow and the subplots are enticing if not at times almost more intriguing. Here is where I will admit I had some problems. A couple times the jump in scenes and plot lines felt forced()? within the storyline.
Some editing issues brought me out of the story line a couple of times. Not enough to have me closing the pages but enough to make me notice.
And believe it or not, I felt the excessive sex devalued not only the storyline but the bond between the cast ( I never thought I would hear me say that either).
Be prepared for a lot of "oh he ll no!" moments at around halfway through things become a bit twisted. Friendships become questionable, bonds are tested and it looks like darkness may gain the upper hand ... for now.
This ends on a bit of a cliffy - but being a series you probably already knew that.
Amazon

Playing with Monsters by Amelia Hutchins

I am truly kicking myself at how long it took me to get to this series!
When I first stumbled upon the Fae Chronicles I devoured them - seriously I read them back to back - I was in love with Ryder.
Then I purchased this series but somehow got sidetracked...
I am here now and I am happy to see everyone again!
Lucian is darkness defined. Uncaring and cruel. The fact he chooses to play nice and be something he's not this time around definitely threw me. But I get it. He is tired of the game with Katherine and he is looking to end this once and for all.
Except there seems to be a witch of a problem throwing off his game plan.
“Distress is a state of mind, and my mind is strong enough to make it through this. I just need time to figure out how.” -Magdalena
Loved her! Leni is so emotionally scarred. She knows she isn't properly dealing with all of the lifes "oops did I run you over, let me back up and help you out" moments. Heck, she is just stuffing that chit in a dark corner of her mind and moving on.
She once loved. Had her heart shattered. Been lied to. Lost. Humiliated. Degraded.
ENOUGH... She turned off. Shoved it all into a box and moved on. The only problem is you can only cram so much in before it starts leaking through the seams.
These two are cataclysmic together! Right from the moment, they make contact with each other they are at odds.
It seems to be a war of duty over desire. Which will be stronger?
There is a lot more happening behind the scenes than Leni realizes. She knows something is off not only with her Coven but with the Lucian and his men as well.
I devoured this in one sitting - my wrist monitor actually marked it as a two-hour siesta (I'm serious) - Each page providing another piece of the puzzle while at the same twisted the facts enough I wasn't sure I was even crafting the same picture anymore.
I will admit I was a bit unhappy with the closing scene and have so many questions! Obviously, they will be answered as the series moves forward but I want my answers now!
And mom what's up with you and the warlock?
There was also a couple of scenes that ripped a tear or two from my eyes and a few others that had me melting where I sat.
I am off to find out what happens next -
Oh and Helen I hope you and are meeting up with the Karma bus.
Amazon  Kobo  Nook

Hidden Wings by Ana Raine

What a tangled web you have woven Kanji -
I devoured this in one sitting only to be left dangling on one heartbreaking cliff hanger.
This was such a fabulous twist to the usual fantasy/ paranormal universes. Raine did a marvelous job of crafting her characters.
I found each one endearing in some way, even the ones I disliked. The universe was vivid in its description easily transporting me into the pages. I could see the ramshackle homes, the forest, and the glistening waters that called to the heart of the swans.  The author did limit us in this first book to just the castle and the surrounding area. I am excited to see if we get to go through the veil or not.
The swan shifters are enslaved to the Dryma courtesy of the Sidhe.
Kanji is trying to find a way to free his, people, they are slowly dying and he is running out of time as well as ideas. But he is just as powerless as they are or so he thought. A proposition is presented to him that will allow the return of his peoples' wings. The price - His freedom.
Can he trust the deal maker? Can he risk not taking the chance?
Christophe is the Dryma general and IMO a bit off his rocker.
He doesn't care that the swans are dying. He does, however, care what happens to Kanji. It seems he carries a fire for him and he intends to have him despite the fact the feelings not reciprocated.
He also has a few secrets of his own that could destroy the Swans completely.
Tristan *sigh* he just gives off the sweetest vibes.
The overall story is engaging. There is an ongoing storyline that runs in the background leading me to hope this series will have a few episodes.
I enjoyed the cast and would enjoy reading their individual stories.
This episode focuses on Kanji and his relationship with Tristan. These two were made for each other.
Each chapter was packed with mystery and suspense.
Keeping me engaged and on edge- It was a battle not to peek ahead - you know make sure everything was okay.
Some betrayals I didn't see coming- one of which was just plain selfish
Moving on to the next in series - The copy I read was comp.
Amazon  Kobo  Nook  Google

Madman's Method by V.F. Mason

Holy 😱 mind games - breathe in - breathe out
"If your heart rules your head, you are set for failure. The path of revenge should be devoid of any emotion." - Lachlan
If only Cassandra had heeded that warning
But vengeance can blind even the most stoic sinner or saint for that matter.
I felt lost during so much of this story. Not lost in the general sense more like ... I guess like Arianna and Cassandra - I was getting only parts of the whole I knew there was more but it kept eluding me.
We get flashbacks to Arianna's story which is the motive behind Cassandra's actions. She is such a kick-arse heroine! I loved her wit and her duck it attitude!
I want to toss in here real quick... So many of my favorites make cameos in this story!! Now back to Madman and Cassandra.
Madman * sigh* I always question at what point I connect (definition- I want to keep them) with the anti-hero for Madman it was the cabin - after that, it was all downhill with regards to his personality - but in that one moment I saw him- I believed I could save him...and it stuck.
There are so many little clues that I did not put together until it was too late. A few heart-stopping OMG moments that had me holding my breath, as well as a few that would have tugged at my heartstrings possibly causing me to shed a tear but I have to agree with Cassandra here - it wasn't like you didn't have it coming to you. Someone had to drive the Karma bus and in this instance, it just happens to be Cassandra... Maybe... Maybe not?
I am a Mason junkie - I won't even try to deny it. The way she twists the facts. The subtle nuances of her characters. How every story manages to have me questioning my own moral lines.
I love her work.
This ends on a cliffhanger... It's a duet folks
It has lots of triggers - Really callous characters - and violence
That being said - I need the conclusion now...please
Amazon

Mesmer by Cari Silverwood

I'm going to need so much therapy!
Bene and Silverwood -
Individually they write some of the most mind-bending twisted literature...
Both top my must-read lists.
Together?
I actually had to step back a couple of times - take a deep breath and remind myself this is fiction.
Mesmer is one of the darkest pools of depravity I have ever dipped my toes in.
I could still feel the darkness creeping and crawling through my imagination long after I closed the final page.
My lifeline through this story - Greta
" The need to do evil to others just to watch them writhe." - Tomik
"The smell of my fresh-spilled blood and my pain" - Hannah
You get no spoilers from me.
Warnings- Absolutely!
Do NOT eat before reading
Do NOT read without a vice (this could be a pillow to scream into, a stuffed animal to white knuckle, a defibrillator to restart your heart)
Do NOT - and I can't stress this enough! - go into this without heeding every warning given!
This WILL push boundaries for even the strongest of dark readers
And finally ... may you survive intact
And P.S. ladies I would love more - I know you two are cooking up something delicious
Amazon

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