Review: The Ashfire King

The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My most anticipated read of the year did not disappoint.

Loved this as much as the first.

All the faves are back, but they're trapped in Djinn land and things are not going to go well for them.

This was super easy to fall back into - there's a wonderful recap at the start, cleverly disguised as one of the many stories told throughout the series, so getting caught up is easy and we can get straight back to the action.

There's further character development of our regulars which is quite rewarding, and there are some fun new faces which will hopefully have some more air time in the third book.

There's plenty of action, magic and storytelling, and the stakes are nice and high. It took a little bit for me to understand what was being asked of Loulie, but it was still easy enough to follow along.

There's a new threat in this story which was fun to follow, and there is a lot of grey in the characters so choosing sides is never easy.

There's also strong friendships and bonds which just make my heart melt. I feel so much for these characters.

Absolutely loved it - just as absorbing as the first with more magic, more action, and more fun.

Very keen for the last book in the series and already hoping there are plenty of spin offs!

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

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Review: Prince of Fortune

Prince of Fortune by Lisa Tirreno
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

DNF @ pg 174 (43%)

This was just really not for me.

It's more romance than fantasy, and it's insta-love to boot. It was too much, too soon and really turned me off reading instantly.

The writing is okay but very 'ye olde English' so it slows down an already slow story.

There's a slight flicker of an interesting magic, but it's heavily overshadowed by the romance between the two main characters.

I gave up because honestly there was just nothing in this first 174 pages that interested me enough to commit when I have so many good books waiting.

Fans of M/M romance should love this, but fantasy fans will need patience to get to the good stuff.

Not for me, but I can see romance lovers enjoying this.

With thanks to the author for an ARC

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Review: Where There's Smoke

Where There's Smoke by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Narrated by Amy Finegan
Presented by Bolinda Audio

Definitely too short, but apparently there's a novel coming soon featuring this character so that would make more sense.

I enjoyed this, but it definitely ended too soon. The focus here is on the consequences of actions, and there's definitely enough to the story that a full length novel could be had from it. Serenity is a psychic, and I liked how it was done. I'd be curious to know more about this character, though admittedly she wasn't particularly likeable.

The narrator did a great job of the characters, though the 'immersive experience' sound effects were hit and miss. Some really added to the listening experience but others - for example, the contrived sound of footsteps - seemed more gimmicky than anything. Still, it was an easy listen and the sound effects gave it something a little different.

Overall, I did enjoy this listen though it wasn't particularly memorable. An easy way to spend an hour or so, though I'd be interested in the follow up novel to add more to this short story.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Trap Line

Trap Line by Timothy Zahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrated by Greg D. Barnett
Presented by Brilliance Publishing

This was too short!

I rather enjoyed this, actually! I liked all of the aliens immediately, and the setting was great.

I actually had no idea this was a short story (sometimes I don't pay attention to those details when I request things on NetGalley) so when it ended I was waiting for it to move on to the next part of the story! There was definitely enough here to build a series out of.

The narration was brilliant, differentiating all the characters, enunciating clearly and keeping the pace nice and even. A very enjoyable listen.

An excellent short story, and as my first experience of Zahn it certainly whet the appetite!

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Lost in Time

Lost in Time by A.G. Riddle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not nearly enough dinosaurs, and a little too heavy-handed on the metaphors.

Aside from that, not too bad a read.

Firstly, let me be clear - Very little time is spent in the age of dinosaurs. That's what drew me to the story, so I was a little peeved by the plot. We're supposed to be getting story about Sam - exiled to the past for a crime he didn't commit - and his daughter in the present, doing all she can to clear his name and bring him home.

But this is mostly Adeline, trying to solve the past. Sam gets a few token chapters in which he is beset by prehistoric trials, but otherwise the Triassic is a massive disappointment.

Now, obviously there's a lot of time-travel shenanigans, but for the most part it comes with rules that are (mostly) easy enough to follow. Some of it was a little too bland for my tastes, but once the mystery-solving began in earnest I did find myself yearning for an answer.

The writing's not great - prepare to be beaten over the head with the metaphors, for example - but the pace is not too bad. It definitely over-sells itself with the blurb, but eventually there's so much going on that you do get swept up in it. The ending was a little too out of place for my liking, and I felt it didn't really suit the whole story at all.

Not particularly memorable, but a fun enough time travel novel that focuses on family and doing everything we can to save them.

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Review: Immortal

Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Firstly, I'd like to thank this book for being a standalone fantasy. They are so rare these days and it's nice to just have the whole story.

The world building in this one was a bit confusing to me, there are a lot of trite messages and the romance is drilled in hard.

Aside from that, I didn't totally hate the characters and there were some interesting moments, so I still enjoyed the read.

Liyen tells the story, and it mostly revolves around her insta-love with the mighty immortal, the God of War. But she's also just become ruler of the moral kingdom of Tianxia, so her duty is to her people first.

There's a clear line between mortal and immortal, and allegedly there's a wall around the city of Tianxia and all in it serve the immortal queen. I found it hard to wrap my head around what this city was actually like, what was outside the wall, why the wall was necessary, etc. Also how big this wall was, and what the contents within were. Plus there's the immortal kingdom - in the sky - and then a Netherworld which seems to actually just be next door? So the scope of this world was very confusing to me. Admittedly, I was kind of bored by the world so that might also be on me for not paying attention.

There are politics at play, but I still didn't fully grasp it. There's mention of other immortal realms, and an Emperor, but the queen seems like the big boss here. I didn't properly understand the hierarchy, nor why there seemed to be only the queen and the God of War that were important? Like, where are all the other important gods please?

So yeah, the world was a bit of a mess to me.

It seems like that was perhaps a consequence of focusing so much on the romance - we get so many declarations of love it gets a little tiresome. He will do anything for her - WE GET IT. So the romance was a bit too full on for me. That said, I was extremely grateful we skipped the explicit sex scenes. Allusions to the deed suit me fine.

The action was decent enough to keep me interested, with plenty of fight scenes and winged devils to mix things up. There's the obligatory training montage, too.

There's also just so much of Liyen being noble to the point of me rolling my eyes. She's called out for judging before knowing, but then calls herself out on it repeatedly going forward, then calls everyone else on it. She's all about equality and giving everyone a fair go - not everyone is evil, not even the evil people. It's a beautiful message for the real world, but in a fantasy novel it makes everything kinda boring. How high can the stakes really be if there's no real evil force to challenge things? So it was a bit mediocre because of that.

As mentioned, there was enough to mostly hold my interest but it was also kind of forgettable. It's a happy lil fantasy romance for those who are into that kind of thing, but there's no spice in any department really.

This was my first by this author, and while I can see the merit of her writing, it wasn't really for me. But fans of fantasy romance should enjoy the love in this one.

With thanks to Harper Collins for an ARC

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Review: Never Lie

Never Lie by Freida McFadden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow this was crazy.

I had so many guesses and still did not see this coming!

In the middle of nowhere is a house once owned by psychologist Adrienne, who went missing three years ago. Now, Tricia and Ethan are caught in a blizzard while visiting the house, and Tricia stumbles across cassette tapes Adrienne made of her patients' sessions. Perhaps on the tapes Tricia will find clues as to what really happened to the Doc.

Another twisty thriller! Ethan is red flags from the start, so I never really liked him, but Tricia is likeable enough as a protagonist. I felt for her often, and was frustrated that Ethan continued doubting her and/or implying she was crazy.

There are so many layers to this mystery that even when you think you know what's happening, you don't. I kept thinking I'd solved something, only to discover I was way off. I loved it - so many books are predictable these days so it's always a delight when one has me completely at a loss!

A satisfying conclusion that absolutely caught me by surprise, and left me reeling.

Highly recommend yet another seriously good Freida McFadden thriller. The woman knows her business, that's for sure!

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