Synopsis:

Aurelia has always valued love and happiness over titles and power. Though her kind-hearted father has allowed her to turn away suitor after suitor in pursuit of a love she cannot yet define, when he dies her choices die with him. Knowing that marrying the elderly governor of a neighboring province can secure her mentally challenged brother’s safety, she gives up on her dream of finding love in return for his protection. Cassius is the ill-fated captain of the governor’s guard tasked with escorting the Lady Aurelia and her unpleasant aunt to the governor’s estate. Since the soothsayer Tullia foretold an early death for him, Cassius wants nothing more than to keep his hands busy with labor and his heart free from any connections to the world he believes he will be leaving soon. As they work through a series of misfortunes on the road to the governor’s province, the words of the soothsayer start to make sense, and together they find the courage to allow their true destiny to unfold.

Favorite Lines:

“But that is the way with great love—there is great sadness when it is gone.”

“I wonder if sometimes our understanding of a thing is based on our own notion of what that thing should mean, rather than what it truly does mean.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Soothsayer follows Aurelia, a woman of a relatively high position who was never forced into marriage by her father and was allowed to wait for love. That is, until her father dies, and it is up to her to keep her brother with special-needs safe. Aurelia agrees to a marriage with the governor of a neighboring province who is 40-something years her senior to protect her brother. Aurelia realizes she will be in a marriage with someone she doesn’t love and all her time waiting was for nothing…until she meets Cassius. Cassius is the captain of the governor’s guard and while he and Aurelia are first at odds with each other, they soon develop a bond and feelings that inspires them to fight for their love.

I haven’t read a historical romance novel in ages, and I have never read one that was set in ancient Rome.  The story was actually very cute, and I found myself staying up until 3am to finish it in one sitting. I was flipping through page after page just waiting for more of Cassius with Aurelia. This story was so unique and utterly its own, I really commend Amurra for being able to create a refreshing novel and to really be able to showcase her voice through her writing.

We get PoV changes right off the bat, which I loved. That being said, I don’t know if it was the formatting of my .mobi file or not but the PoV changes weren’t announced and happened in the middle of the chapters for me so sometimes I had to figure out who’s mind I was suddenly seeing events from.

Summary:

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am so grateful to Amurra for allowing me to read and review it for her. If you love historical romances, action, and adventure then this book is for you.

 

Soothsayer

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Synopsis:

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally―as the bait.

Favorite Lines:

“When exactly did I become the heroine in some YA romance? The new girl swooning over the hottest, most unattainable boy in school? Gross. And so not happening.”

“I want him to look at me like it physically hurts him not to be touching me.”

“You and Mekhi are trying to convince me that I’m living in the middle of a less bloody version of Game of Thrones. And winter is already here.”

My Opinion:

My bought this book on a whim. I saw it in a suggested list on my Nook and loved the cover. Its aesthetic reminded me of Twilight. But can you blame me? Twilight was aesthetic AF.

The story follows Grace. Her parents were killed in an accident and she has to move to a boarding school in remote Alaska to live with her uncle and cousin. Little does Grace know that she has moved to a school for the supernatural…and she is the only human.  This book is full of mystery and romance as Grace tries to navigate her new life and all the dangers that come with it.

The characters were too intimate the first time they ever met. Jaxon let’s Grace touch his cheek in the first five minutes. I don’t know about you, but no one is touching me in the first five minutes after meeting me.

Wolff also describes settings very well… almost too well. There is so much description given to the surroundings. I almost wonder if she could have spent more time elsewhere.

There were a lot of good pop culture references which if you have read any of my other reviews, you know I am a sucker for.

Summary:

Overall, I wasn’t too sure of this book at first but I decided that I liked it and I enjoyed the romance in it. I am excited to see where Wolff takes us next. Especially because she left us off at a plot twist that I didn’t see coming. Hopefully there will be more PoV switches for my greedy self. Until next time, happy reading.

 

Crave

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Synopsis:

After being pronounced Queen of Faerie and then abruptly exiled by the Wicked King Cardan, Jude finds herself unmoored, the queen of nothing. She spends her time with Vivi and Oak, watches her fair share of reality television, and does the odd job or two, including trying to convince a cannibalistic faerie from hunting her own in the mortal world. When her twin sister Taryn shows up asking of a favor, Jude jumps at the chance to return to the Faerie world, even if it means facing Cardan. When a dark curse is unveiled, Jude must become the first mortal Queen of Faerie and uncover how to break the curse, or risk upsetting the balance of the whole Faerie world.

Favorite Lines:

“‘Mock me all you like. Whatever I imagined then, now it is I who would beg and grovel for a kind word from your lips.’ His eyes are black with desire. ‘By you, I am forever undone.'”

“‘It’s you I love,’ he says. ‘I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn’t have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous thing. But it is yours.’ He walks to the door to the royal chambers, as though to end the conversation. ‘You probably guessed as much,’ he says. ‘But just in case you didn’t.'”

“And yet my heart is buried with you in the strange soil of the mortal world, as it was drowned with you in the cold waters of the undersea. It was yours before I could ever admit it, and yours it shall ever remain.”

“I feel like a constellation of wounds, held together with string and stubbornness.”

My Opinion:

This book is the final book in the Folk of the Air series. It follows Jude as she tries to adjust to her exile in the human world. Of course, Jude won’t stay away for long and we get to see her back with Carden trying to come to terms with her feelings for him. If you have been keeping up with the series so far than you know all about the main characters but if you haven’t been then I’ll give you a quick rundown.

Jude isn’t your typical female lead; she’s been training to fight her whole life and constantly looking to remain in control. Meanwhile, Carden is a prince turned king who had no interest in becoming king yet finds himself on the throne and being manipulated by Jude behind the scenes. All the while, the two of them aren’t sure if they love or hate each other which makes for a tense romance.

I won’t give any spoilers away with how this book ends up in terms of the ship or just the plot overall, but I do have to say I wish that the book (and the whole series) lasted longer. I wasn’t too sure when the series started if I was going to enjoy it but I’m really glad I stuck with it. I am also happy with how it ended, despite ending too soon.

Summary:

Overall, if you love fiction, fantasy, and romance, this series is for you. Black did an amazing job at creating a world that is totally unique and twisting a tale that will leave you constantly wanting more.

 

The Queen of Nothing

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