Review: The Scapegracers

Title: The Scapegracers

Author: Hannah Abigail Clarke

Page Count: 400

Rating: 2.5/5 (DNF at 75%)

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in

her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process.

I received an earc via Edelweiss+ this in no way changes my opinion of the book.

Thoughts:

The first 20% of the novel was fast paced and very witchy. Then everything slowed

way down and I was just bored. I felt like this was a cheaper version of The Craft

and Mean Girls. Outcast invited to hang out with the cool girl group only to learn that

her magic becomes more powerful.

I did keep reading but by 75% I was finding myself wanting to pick up anything else

but my kindle to finish. Normally I would have forced myself to push on but I couldn`t.

I was not invested in Sideways or any other character. 

Just because this novel wasn't for me doesn't mean you won`t enjoy it. It has

representation that YA books need and if you haven't seen The Craft or even

AHS Coven then maybe you won't notice the similarities. 

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Empire of Dreams

Title: Empire of Dreams

Author: Rae Carson

Narrator: Kyla Garcia

Page Count:448

Audio Length: 13hr 42min

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Even though Red Sparkle Stone is a foundling orphan with an odd name and a

veiled past, she's about to be adopted into the royal family—by

Empress Elisa herself.

Sixteen-year-old Red can hardly believe her luck.

Then, in a stunning political masterstroke, the empress's greatest rival

blocks the adoption,

and Red is left with no family and no future.

Thoughts: 

Red`s story is one I remember wanting when she first appeared in the original trilogy.

I`m glad to finally get her story. Some of the chapters were flashbacks to Red`s

childhood prior to Elisa rescuing her. Those were hard to read even knowing it

was just a story.

Rosario plays a huge role in this book and it was so nice to see how far he has come

since The Bitter Kingdom. The fact that after seven years we get more of this amazing

world is just unthinkable. The moment I heard about this book deal I jumped with glee.

Red has her work cut out for her but she is worth so much more than she knows.

She is strong and fierce, all of her past grievances have taught her to keep her

head high and ears open.

I will always want more of this world and anything Rae Carson writes. 

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith

Title: The Vine Witch

Author: Luanne G. Smith

Narrator: Susannah Jones

Audio Length: 8hr 42min

Rating:4/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

A young witch emerges from a curse to find her world upended in this gripping

fantasy of betrayal, vengeance, and self-discovery set in turn-of-the-century France.

For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of

their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the

Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière

Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse.

Thoughts:

This has so much potential to have more books. I`ve never been interested in wine

making but this novel had me wanting to book a wine tour in Napa and try it all.

The narrator is incredible, lending a different voice to each character we meet.

My only complaint,which isn't a bad thing- is the length. Nine hours was barely

enough time to devour this book. I will say there are a couple twists some are

easier for the reader to figure out than others. 

I wouldn`t call this a fairytale but some reviews have. Yes there are witches,

curses and magic but this story has so much more. Family not by blood is strong

and there are some emotional attachments that form with certain characters.

I look forward to whatever Luanne is working on next. For now I will go on an

adventure and try some new wines and think about how maybe a vine witch

helped the grapes grow.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Five Dark Fates

Title: Five Dark Fates

Author: Kendare Blake

Narrator: Amy Landon

Audio Length: 11hr 30min

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis: 

In the final audiobook in the number one New York Times best-selling

Three Dark Crowns series, an all-out war is brewing - one that will

pit sister against sister and dead against undead.

Spoilers!!!!!!!!Spoilers!!!!!

What an ending, I was hoping for something but I'm not sure if this is what I wanted.

Kendare did an amazing job don't get me wrong. I felt like there was a perfect build

up. What fell flat was just the pacing for me. There is a huge battle scene that

you read from three or four perspectives and it just felt repetitive.

Five Dark Fates was flat for me and felt sort of out of place. I loved Three Dark Crowns

and One Dark Throne. The last two books seemed to veer of course and struggled

to get back on track. With all that said Arsinoe is still my favorite of the original sisters

and I love how much she grew throughout the entire series.

It's hard when you have so much attachment to a series and when it falls short you

start to lower your rating. I finished this book over 5 months ago and want to give it

a higher rating because it was a unique series that I actually wanted to commit to

and not stop. I listened to this one instead of reading it and I really enjoyed that

narrator and her pacing. This is a series worth finishing no matter who your favorite

sister queen is. 

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: To Kill a Kingdom

To Kill a Kingdom

Author: Alexandra Christo

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)

Published On: 3/6/18

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis: (Found on Goodreads)

Princess Lira is a siren that is not to be messed with. Nicknamed the Prince`s Bane

Lira is punished and turned human in order to steal the Prince of Midas`s heart.

I want to preface all of of this with I am not a huge mermaid book type fan.

I picked this up based on some reviews I saw over on Instagram. At first I thought

the book was going to be way to similar to The Little Mermaid. The Sea Queen is

an octopus type creature like Ursula, Lira is a fiery redhead. Prince Elian is a

handsome man with a sense of adventure. After getting about 20% into the book

I was hooked. Mermaids may not be my thing but Sirens for sure are.

Although there are similar things to TLM in this book I feel like the build up

and overall plot was a thousand times better. Lira has the option to serve her

mom faithfully as she has always been forced to do or serve the greater good

of not only her people of the great Sea of Diavolos but of the other hundred

kingdoms (especially Midas)

Lira and Elian`s hatred for each other is strong when she is a siren but

when she is punished by being human Elian does not know her true identity.

Their goals are common enough that they travel together but the rest of

Elian`s crew is untrusting of Lira, knowing there is something off about her.

Overall I enjoyed this novel. Prince Elian and his pirate crew paired with

Lira and her siren viciousness is a force to be reckoned with.

~Ashley