Tag: Reviews

Posted in 5 Star, new releases

Mysteries of Thorn Manor

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

Recap

If you’re like me you very much enjoyed Sorcery of Thorns, if you’re also like me you were sputtering at the cliffhanger to the ending of the book. Luckily author Margaret Rogerson decided to grace us with a novella. While I easily could have read another 300 plus pages about Elizabeth, Nathaniel and Silas this was a nice little bow to tie the ending off with along with being its own self contained set of mysteries for Elizabeth and Nathaniel to solve.

This new set of mysteries are are centered around Thorn manor’s ancient wards, magical protections that have been set by the estate’s owners for centuries. The wards while usually helpful to protect the manor have gone rouge, trapping Elisabeth Scrivener inside with Nathaniel Thorn as they are just settling into their new life together with their recently returned demon companion Silas. Nathaniel doesn’t seem to mind the bushes that are attacking reporters though, as they are hungry for gossip about the city’s most powerful sorcerer and the librarian who stole his heart.

The wards seem to get especially feral though when Elizabeth and Nathaniel start to get close to one another, causing things to come alive in the house, old rooms to appear, with one particularly amusing incident involving one of Nataniel’s relatives cursed knickers. But there are also wild grimoires which Elizabeth takes to task to try and fix and and a garden which makes a special appearance for Elizabeth.

Still with no access to the outside world Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas—along with their new maid Mercy—will all have to work together to find the source of the magic behind their malfunctioning wards. Especially since Nataniel is due to host the Midwinter Ball. Can Elizabeth find all the house’s secrets when all she wants to do is kiss Nathaniel silly? Especially when it’s clear the house requires a price for their closeness, will they break or will they be able to lean on their connection to grow together and take things to the next level.

Review

This book was a delightful little treat. I knew I had to have it the moment I heard it was coming out. These characters were such a treat to experience again. I especially loved that we got to see more background on the Thorns as a family and on Silas. The house itself felt like it was a character the writing felt so alive especially the living wardrobe scene and Silas’ reaction to it. I know this is probably it for these characters but anything more in this universe I’d absolutely love.

Amazon: Mysteries of Thorn Manor

Posted in 5 Star, backlog reviews

Knot My Type

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

Knot My Type was an adventurous yet informative book was book that was one of my favorites from last year. Even though I read it at the end of the the year it still ended up in the the favorite column because it was the first examples I’ve ever seen of well written disabled erotica.

The book follows sexologist Frankie, our heroine who host a podcast called All Access which talks about love, sex, and relationships for the disabled community. Frankie who is a wheelchair user, and her group of friends with different disabilities including blindness and Crohn’s disease usually have the answers for her listeners questions.

But when a question comes up about shibari (rope play) Frankie is coming up blank. Until she finds out one of her close friends associates might be able to help she goes in simply for research but finds herself attracted, too bad Jay doesn’t do dating.

Jay is jaded after an older woman broke his spirit and made him believe he was no good. But he finds himself attracted to Frankie and he also finds her fitting in with his family and bolstering him emotionally. But he has a knot in his heart he doesn’t know if he can untie, will Frankie be the one to set him free from his past pain and give them both a chance at love?

Amazon: Knot My Type

Posted in 4 Star

Workplace Romance: Henrietta and Tyler

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

Negatives

Kelsie Hoss is a good romance author, some of her other piece are great. The romance between Tyler and Henrietta is very sweet. This was the first piece I read by her and probably the only reason I’m not judging it as a great piece is the way her heroine of color is written. There was just a bit to much of food descriptions for eye and skin color.

As for the chemistry between Tyler and Henrietta was very well done. Some of the scenes are very spicy. But the one particular scene where Tyler takes Henrietta’s virginity just reads really weird for several reasons, I get why narratively, but it’s just odd.

Positives

I also like the friendship that developed between Tyler and Henrietta and their friends and families, that seemed to me like the most realistic thing about the book. I especially loved Hen’s grandmother and Tyler’s brother who is supposed to get a story of his own this year.

The subplot of the two of them not being able to date each other and Hen’s jealous boss also added a little flavor. Overall it was a lighthearted and emotional nice comforting read at a good medium pace. Hoss did a good job creating relatable characters and a spicy relationship between the two main leads.

Overall

The book tended to focus more towards characters but not at the expense of the plot which was important loomed big in the characters lives. Hoss wasn’t afraid to show her characters had flaws though and spent the last third of the book showing how they overcome them.

While it followed the formula of the romance novel that’s exactly what I was looking for going in, it was cute, sweet, spicy and despite a few flaws was generally a good book. I’d give this book 4 Stars.

Amazon: Confessions of the Funny Fat Friend

Posted in Uncategorized

The Glass Sentence Review

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

So for Pirateathon we had the size of our the ship we got depended on the length of the book we read. I was going to be happy reading something medium length but at the same time I was looking for a book that featured time travel to fulfil another prompt I missed from Orilium about time travel so I found The Glass Sentence and it ended up being five hundred plus pages so it worked for both this

Photo of the Cover of the Glass Sentence shows a gold compass and shadowed figures holding grappling hooks and a woman holding an orb.

While the main protagonist of the story is Sophia a girl from 1800’s Boston the book comes alive because of its ensemble cast that comes together as Sophia tries to protect the glass map.

The main story focus around Sophia’s uncle Shadrack being kidnapped by at first unknown forces and Sophia going to look for him. Along the way she meets Theo a boy who was in a circus who broke into her house to try to find her uncle. Theo become her traveling partner on her way to the Badlands where she think she can find her Uncle.

The interesting thing about Sophia and Theo’s world is different places are in different time periods ever since something called the Great Disruption. It has made cartography an important art in the world and may have been the reason Shadrack was kidnapped. The Glass Map seems especially important because as Sophia and Theo make their way down the coast from Boston members of a cult called Sandmen seem to be intent on coming after them. These are the same men that are keeping Shadrack along with a mysterious woman. They will all meet in a city where things are not what they seem, but will Sophia be ready for the revelations the Glass Map brings?

Review

I was first reading this book just because I needed a long book. However the story is one of the best constructed I’ve read in a long time. The worldbuilding is amazing and I can’t wait to read the sequel. I also loved the ensemble cast that we say throughout the book they were all interesting and I wanted to know more about each of them.

Amazon: The Glass Sentence

Posted in Uncategorized

Year of the Reaper Review

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

I need to review all the books that I did for Magical Readathon as well as doing a wrapup for that readathon. But I really enjoyed the Year of the Reaper so I wanted to review it first.

Year of the Reaper Cover

Three years ago Lord Cassia was on a mission from the King, until he was ambushed by enemy soldiers and spent three years rotting in prison. Meanwhile a plague sweeps over the land leaving countless dead and deavesting the kingdom. Cas is spared, and finally manages to free himself from his prision.

Now all he wants is is to return to his home in the mountains a forget his time as a prisoner. But with the shadow of the plague hanging over everyone his home is not what he remembers. It has become a refuge for the royal court and they have brought the past and the shadow of the reaper with them.

So when an assassin targets those closest to the Queen, Cas finds himself with a mystery on his hands one that leads him to need the help of brilliant young historian Lena. But Cas and Lena soon realize who is behind the attacks is far less important than why. On the trail of a terrible secret that could threaten newfound peace between two kingdoms and plunge them back into war.

Cas and Lena must solve the mystery save the queen and figure out the secrets of the past before it comes for them.

Review of Year of the Reaper

Cas was a great main character he was well written and believable in his thoughts and fears. Normally I don’t like male MCs but Cas was written very well and had a complex and believable personality so that I made an exception to my rule. I’m also reading more of Lucier’s work and it seems like this ability to make me like her male characters extends to other pieces of fiction so I will give her points for that.

I also loved the mystery it was very well written and it kept me guessing till the end, which is tough for most books to do so I’m happy with that as well. I’d give the book at 5/5 especially for its relevance to modern events.

Amazon: Year of the Reaper

Posted in Uncategorized

Polar Nights: Newest Frozen Novel

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

So were back to the Frozen universe and I couldn’t be happier with Jen Calonita, and Mari Mancusi at the helm I’m never worried about my post Frozen 2 books. Some people may not thinks the post Frozen 2 books are cannon, but they are so wonderful I really don’t care one way or another. They are cannon to me. This book Frozen: Polar Nights was especially good because it was a mystery.

This book start off like most of the other with the characters doing something adorable. This time Sven, Kristoff, Anna, and Elsa and Olaf are on a camping trip and as you do on a camping trip are telling scary stories. They are on this camping trip to give Anna a break from her preparations from the important Polar Night festival in which the sun disappears from the sky for awhile due to Arendelle being in the arctic circle.

As they are telling tales Kristoff tells the tale of two sisters one that wanted the power of the other and pushed the other over a waterfall, now the sister who was wronged has come back as vengeful spirit called a draugr—an undead creature that steals memories in an effort to make others forget the misdeeds it committed when it was alive. And it is supposed to come back if you tell the tale on the night it was wronged exactly what Kristoff is doing.

At first only Olaf is scared but when things start going wrong a people start forgetting Anna and Elsa start trying to get to the bottom of what turns out to be a true story of two princesses much like themselves who their family is tied in with.

I won’t spoil the ending but they find out the truth about the draugr and the two princess, and the darkness in their own past. They are able to make things right for another who they think is an enemy as well. And even though things haven’t been prepared Anna’s first Polar Lights celebration is a memorable one because she has her family with her.

Amazon: Polar Nights

Posted in Orillium Readathon, Recommendations

Just Roll With It :Review

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

So another week in August. I’m working on the readathon slowly but I think I’ll make some real progress this week. I’m doing the quests first and then doing my classes. Not terribly responsible but hey I was responsible in school, and my character was very responsible first equinox.

So Fable focusing on getting guild points and moving up in her guild this semester. This was actually a class read, the first class Fable finished. This book was for where I had to spin a color wheel to get a random color on the cover. I got teal. And this cover fit perfectly. Just Roll with It was the perfect book to get my class reads started and also my required book for.

Spells and Incantations

As for the plot itself it appealed to me for several reason. One I’ve recently gotten big into D&D which the game in the book is clearly based off of. In the book the main character Maggie carries around a D20 which she has to roll to see if she can do things, low rolls mean no, high rolls mean yes. she rolls the D20 for just about everything.

She also has rituals when she comes home. Her parents suspect that she has a mental health issue, however Maggie makes friends and focuses on her grades, but still the gossip of a monster around the school starts to get to her. Her obsessions and compulsions get worse she blows up at her parents when they mention the idea of therapy to her. Her fears show up in her dreams as a great white dragon.

When her school sends her and her friends to the zoo to prove there isn’t a monster she encounters albino animals that remind her of her dragon, but the zookeeper points out that they are in danger in the wild because they are easier to see and more often die because they can’t camouflage themselves. After learning all this Maggie returns to the school with her friends she sees something moving in the grass and even though she rolls a low number she uses a net one of her friends had that the were planning to use to catch the monster.

It turns out to be a baby albino alligator. They get it to the zoo and ignoring that roll inspire Maggie to face down her inner dragon, who turns out just to be a scared version of herself, she goes down to talk to her parents and agrees to therapy the book ends with her talking to her therapist and what her illness means and what it doesn’t and how it will affect her life.

Amazon: Just Roll With It

Posted in Monthly Reads

Slip-A Graphic Novel Review

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

Introduction of Slip

I was recently invited on a blog tour for this book by one of the Publicity Mangers at Algonquin Young Readers. SLIP is a new graphic novel by Marika McCoola and Aatmaja Pandya. SLIP deals with the have crafted a nuanced story about the many ways art can change us forever.

SLIP brings to life both the excitement and heartbreak of being a teenager and the fleeting and beautiful feeling that one summer can hold dozens of exhilarating possibilities. The perfect read for fans of heartfelt stories about personal identity and first love like Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero O’Connell and Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Kevin Ganucheau, SLIP captures both the magic and anguish of growing older and the catharsis that creating art can bring.

Summary

Jade is excited to go to an exclusive summer art intensive, but right before she is about to leave, her best friend Phoebe attempts suicide. How will Jade be able to focus on her artwork during this dream opportunity? But at the Art Farm, Jade discovers artistic possibilities she has been longing to experience her whole life. And as she gets to know her classmates, she begins to fall for whimsical, upbeat, comfortable-in-her-own-skin Mary. Jade knows she needs to keep her focus on her art, but her worry about Phoebe and her budding crush on Mary leave her overwhelmed by conflicting emotions. She channels her stress and insecurities into making ceramic monsters, but when she puts her creatures in the kiln, something unreal happens – they come to life. And they’re taking a stand: if Jade won’t confront her problems, her problems are going to confront her.  Including the one she is desperately trying to avoid: If Jade grows, prospers, and even falls in love this summer, is she abandoning her best friend? Can she discover who she really is without losing Phoebe in the process?

Review of Slip

Jade has problems finding her theme in her art because she won’t face her emotions. I think her main problem though is her codependency with Phoebe. It holds her back nearly the whole piece from embracing her pieces or embracing her relationship with Mary. I think this is a good piece about finding yourself beyond people you may love but who may not be good for you. I love the final pages when Jade makes the piece of Phoebe I think that’s her most interesting piece in the book. This is a great read for Pride Month as Mary really supports Jade through all her issues.

I would give it a CW as there is artistic showing of female genitalia

Check it out on Amazon

About the Author and Illustrator

About Marika McCoola:
Marika McCoola is a writer, illustrator, educator, and the New York Times bestselling author of Baba Yaga’s Assistant. She has spent over a decade working to connect books with readers. She studied illustration, art history, creative writing, and ceramics at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and received her BFA in illustration in 2009.  She lives in Somerville, MA. 

About Aatmaja Pandya
Aatmaja Pandya is a cartoonist and illustrator born and raised in New York. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2014 and has been illustrating professionally ever since. Slip is her first graphic novel. She lives in New York City.

Posted in Desert A Thon, Medieval a Thon

Sorcery of Thorns Review

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

So I’ve been absent. I’ve been dealing with some trauma plus a case of seasonal affective disorder, aka a summer slump. Finally, my hand is recovering from hitting it while skating. I’ll try to be better, I’m doing several read-alongs and while I won’t get all the books done, I’ve gotten a lot of the long ones out of the way on my TBR. The latest one I finished was Sorcery of Thorns.

Summary

Sorcery of Thorns is focused on the Great Libraries and specifically Elisabeth, she’s lived her whole life in the great library at Summershall. She’s grown up with the knowledge that all sorcerers are evil. This knowledge is about to be flipped on its head when everything she’s known is suddenly wrong. She’s facing down monsters and the ones she thought knew everything are now dead. But she’s not only facing down monsters, but she’s also winning?!

Clearly, something is amiss and the Great Libraries send Magister Nathaniel Thorn to check on it. He is of course a sorcerer. But soon he and his demon servant seem to be the only people Elisabeth is able to trust. As the three of them learn of a larger conspiracy will they have the power to bring this evil that is older than they imagined down or can nothing including sorcery and smarts stop this ancient evil?

Review of Sorcery of Thorns

This was a great book it was wonderful to go on an adventure with Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas, not to mention the great libraries there were some triggering scenes for potential assault towards women at several points but the girl always got the upper hand it was just threatened, and the perpetrators were in most cases killed or maimed.

Elisabeth is a great protagonist she’s got spunk and keeps Nathaniel and Silas both on their toes throughout the book.

My one issue is that ending man this book needs a sequel. Oh and Silas, fave character ever.

Amazon: Sorcery of Thorns

Posted in Recommendations, Reviews

Shielded

Posted on by Plaid_Reader

I bought Shielded for the cover because I was doing a challenge with that needed a blue cover but I’m glad I picked it up. It was a great action-adventure, military fantasy.

Shielded

Summary

The kingdom of Hálendi is in trouble. It’s losing the war at its borders, and rumors of a new, deadlier threat on the horizon have surfaced. Princess Jennesara knows her skills on the battlefield would make her an asset and wants to help, but her father has other plans.

As the second-born heir to the throne, Jenna lacks the firstborn’s–her brother’s–magical abilities, so the king promises her hand in marriage to the prince of neighboring Turia in exchange for resources Hálendi needs. Jenna must leave behind everything she has ever known if she is to give her people a chance at peace.

Only, on the journey to reach her betrothed and new home, the royal caravan is ambushed, and Jenna realizes the rumors were wrong–the new threat is worse than anyone imagined. Now Jenna must decide if revealing a dangerous secret is worth the cost before it’s too late–for her and for her entire kingdom.

Review

I really enjoyed this book for several reasons one was a smart female protagonist, sure she has a couple of encounters where she survives on luck, but she’s been trained as a fighter and uses that training to help herself and others when needed. Jenna is also eager to Turian ways once she arrives, something that helps her throughout the novel. I will admit I can appreciate how much time she spends in the library trying to solve the problem.

Her betrothed is also no slouch he’s not some wooden cut out character, and he trains, unknowingly with Jenna and tries to help her solve the problem of the mages that Jenna is spending so much time in the library with. What’s more he trusts Jenna with protecting his sisters, which turns out to be very important, and ends up figuring out just who Jenna is before she reveals it.

Their romance isn’t overly mushy which I respect in a novel, they both consider duty before their love for each other and eventually they come to a sweet conclusion. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

Amazon: Shielded