Reviews – Page 4 – wings and fables

Review: A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer [Spoilers!]

April 17, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables4 Comments

“yield to yourself. yield to forgiveness. yield to happiness. yield to this moment. it’s not hers. it’s yours. it’s mine. it’s ours.”
brigid kemmerer

Series: Cursebreakers #3

Release Date: January 26th, 2021

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | High Fantasy | Romance

Page Count: 408

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Face your fears, fight the battle. Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace. Fight the battle, save the kingdom. Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and a magical scraver by her side. As Grey’s deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs. As the two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and a dangerous enemy returns, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.

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Reviews

Double Review: Of the Blood & Of Fire and Water by Cameo Renae

April 14, 2021May 8, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables5 Comments

“when a wicked heart remains in the darkness too long, it begins to crave that darkness, until there is no light that can drive it out.”
of the blood, cameo renae

Series: Heir of Blood and Fire #1

Release Date: May 10th 2020

Publisher: Victory Editing

Genre: New Adult Fiction | Fantasy | Paranormal | Romance

Page Count: 432

Source: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Summary: Raised in a war-ravaged continent, temptation comes to Calla Caldwell in the form of a charming and mysterious stranger. Giving in to his intimate seduction, her world is forever changed by a single bite. Calla quickly learns the handsome stranger is vampire prince, Trystan Vladu. His bite was an attempt to claim and save her from a plot of vengeance generations in the making. However, the claws of that ancient vendetta are scraping ever closer. Thrust into a new nightmare by the Prince of the corrupt kingdom of Morbeth, Calla is captured, tortured, and starved in the dank confines of his dungeon. While in captivity, she takes part in a séance with a witch of light where she contacts a departed relative—a Princess of Incendia—who bequeaths a gift to Calla that will tip the scales of good and evil . . . if she can learn to harness it. With a dark tapestry of secrets, lies, and murder unraveling around her, Calla must learn to embrace the power roiling through her veins, or be snuffed out by the strangling fist of a malevolent darkness.

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Reviews

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

March 30, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables7 Comments

“the problem with wanting,” he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, “is that it makes us weak.”
leigh bardugo

Series: Shadow and Bone #1

Release Date: June 5th 2012

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | High Fantasy | Romance | Adventure

Page Count: 358

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, she is sure of only one thing: her best friend, Mal–and her inconvenient crush on him. Until the day their army regiment enters the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. When their convoy is attacked and Mal is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power not even she knew existed. Ripped from everything she knows, Alina is taken to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. With Alina’s extraordinary power in his arsenal, he believes they can finally destroy the Fold. Now Alina must find a way to master her untamed gift and somehow fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. As the threat to the kingdom mounts and her dangerous attraction to the Darkling grows, Alina will uncover a secret that could tear her heart–and her country–in two.

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Reviews

Review: A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

March 18, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables5 Comments

“choices are never easy. there are good and bad options, but the most dangerous is to not make any choice at all.”
brigid kemmerer

Series: Cursebreakers #2

Release Date: January 7th, 2020

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | High Fantasy | Romance

Page Count: 450

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Find the heir, win the crown. The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers. Win the crown, save the kingdom. Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

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Reviews

Review: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

March 11, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables7 Comments

“not all scars can be seen, my lady.”
brigid kemmerer

Series: Cursebreakers #1

Release Date: January 29th, 2019

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | High Fantasy | Romance | Fairy-Tale Retelling

Page Count: 484

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Fall in love, break the curse. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope. Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world. Break the curse, save the kingdom. Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

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Reviews

Review: The Shadows Between Us By Tricia Levenseller

March 5, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables3 Comments

they’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. and they never will.
tricia levenseller

Series: Standalone

Release Date: February 25th 2020

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | High Fantasy | Romance

Page Count: 326

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:

1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it. But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

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Discussions, Reviews

5 Things I Liked About The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black; And 5 Things I Didn’t

February 27, 2021April 10, 2026by wren @ wingsandfables1 Comment

once upon a time, there was a human girl stolen away by faeries, and because of that, she swore to destroy them.
the wicked king, holly black

I’ve finally rectified one series from my list of series I wanted to start! Unfortunately, I didn’t care for these books as much as others have and don’t have enough to say about each installment to warrant a full review of them. So instead I’m going to hit the highlights of things I liked about the series, and things I disliked. This list will contain spoilers! Let’s get started.

Things I Liked:

1. It stuck to fae legend.

Although the A Court of Thorns and Roses series owns a special chunk of my heart when it comes to both fantasy and faeries, I liked that this series held closer to the traditional legends of the Fae comparatively. The innate terrifying quality of the Fae was kept in this series along with the legends that they cannot lie, are incapable of breaking their promises, and are able to enchant a mortal into anything they want. It brought a unique depth to the series that I haven’t read in others yet.

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