So this was a cute idea and for what it's doing, it's great! Fun times! It's a bit silly and anachronistic and not meant to be taken seriously. World So this was a cute idea and for what it's doing, it's great! Fun times! It's a bit silly and anachronistic and not meant to be taken seriously. World building is non-existent. The story exists only to ask the question of what happens after the D&D campaign is over and two of your party are in love and one of them accidentally triggers a magical binding to be the new king and has to find his soulmate or die and how can you make a romcom out of it. It's predictable and fun.
It just went on maybe 100 pages too long for how absolutely goddamn OBLIVIOUS the two main characters were. You fucking love each other, just fucking SAY IT and GET TOGETHER ALREADY.
Literally every trope you can think of that would keep apart two characters who totally love each other but think the other DOESN'T love them is utilized. If that's your jam, I am so happy for you. Go forth! Enjoy this book! It just frustrated me to no end and that frustration ultimately took away from the fun time I was having with the rest of it. ...more
I had no idea this series originally wrapped up as a trilogy with this book, but it makes total sense. The stakes for Dina and the Inn and her guests I had no idea this series originally wrapped up as a trilogy with this book, but it makes total sense. The stakes for Dina and the Inn and her guests have grown higher with each installment, but doesn't falls into the power creep trap that lots of Urban Fantasy series tend to do.
Sean and Dina are still a boring couple whose romance makes no sense to me, but whatever. The world building is cool and I love all the side characters, and introducing Maud and Helen was a much needed contrast to Dina.
This was a fitting closure to the trilogy, and I totally would have been happy here....more
This was a fun novella focused on Roman and his backstory (along with a heaping amount of Slavic mythology). The main antagonistic drive of the story This was a fun novella focused on Roman and his backstory (along with a heaping amount of Slavic mythology). The main antagonistic drive of the story fizzled out completely, but Roman's backstory and emotional arc was pretty great to see....more
Oh boy. So I know I can always count on Ilona Andrews to give me some top tier world building and that is not in question here. Magic and Innkeepers? Oh boy. So I know I can always count on Ilona Andrews to give me some top tier world building and that is not in question here. Magic and Innkeepers? Making all the paranormal creatures like vampires and werewolves actually be aliens? Love it.
The character work is where it falters. Dina is fine, if a little lackluster. Sean and Arland, however, are the worst of what Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance as a genre have to offer - big strong alpha men (Sean is literally a special type of Alpha Werewolf, bred to be the biggest and strongest!!) who don't really seem to take Dina at her word when she says NO. Character decisions and backstory are clumsily explained.
Am I still going to continue on? Hell yeah. Everyone is an alien! The Inn is somewhat sentient and Dina is magically connected to it! This world building is fun! Caldenia is my QUEEN....more
I don't know what it is about Ilona Andrews, but they always write great character focused work set against super interesting world building and I eatI don't know what it is about Ilona Andrews, but they always write great character focused work set against super interesting world building and I eat it up every time. This was a great and satisfying ending to Catalina's trilogy. ...more
This novella had NO BUSINESS being this fantastic. What the heck.
Wealthy family messiness, introducing Catalina as a main character and giving her so This novella had NO BUSINESS being this fantastic. What the heck.
Wealthy family messiness, introducing Catalina as a main character and giving her so much depth, viewing Nevada and Rogan from an outside perspective, bridezilla Nevada shenanigans, more adorable Baylor family dynamics, a certain character getting the ending they deserved...this was SO GOOD and fired on all cylinders.
I'm so excited to continue the series with Catalina now. She was so damn great as a POV character in this....more
This first trilogy has been pretty damn solid, with the fun world building I've come to love from Ilona AnThe covers for this series are hot garbage.
This first trilogy has been pretty damn solid, with the fun world building I've come to love from Ilona Andrews. They always pull through with great ideas in a fully fleshed out world, and throw very well developed characters into them.
Rogan absolutely grew on me in book 2, which was exactly what I expected and hoped for, and I loved the way his and Nevada's relationship grew in this one. They had some issues, but nothing super cringe and they always communicated and worked shit out. AND SHE MADE HIM CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!!!
I liked the way this first trilogy wrapped up, giving closure to Nevada/Rogan and opening up a lot of interesting questions and intrigue for Catarina.
Also, Arabella? HELLO???
Loved the epilogue, what a lovely tease for the rest of the series. Onward!...more
Ilona Andrews write urban fantasy like nobody's business, goddamn. Inventive world building, interesting characters, and writing that makes it easy toIlona Andrews write urban fantasy like nobody's business, goddamn. Inventive world building, interesting characters, and writing that makes it easy to eat up like candy.
I'm not sold on Nevada & Rogan, whose relationship I assume will eventually lead to a solidified romance by the end of this trilogy. This is mainly because Rogan is a pretty terrible person and I don't believe there's anything here except extreme horniness, but I'm willing to see where the Andrews take this. They have a looot of heavy lifting to do from here to make me believe in a Nevada & Rogan romance after this first book, though. Especially with Rogan as a character.
This is being marketed as a dark retelling of The Goose Girl fairy tale, and while that is true in some aspeHAPPY PUBLICATION DAY T. KINGFISHER FANS!!
This is being marketed as a dark retelling of The Goose Girl fairy tale, and while that is true in some aspects, it's also very much not. As someone who is completely over retellings as a literary trend, it feels more like The Goose Girl fairy tale was inspiration, and there are some pieces of it still embedded in this to link it to that, but it's also so much more than just a retelling or re-imagining.
This is historical fantasy set in a Regency-esque time. Our main character Cordelia is the daughter of the titular Sorceress, a cruel and narcissistic woman who'll do whatever it takes to improve their standing in society. Cordelia is a beaten down, broken young girl who does whatever her mother tells her to - literally, at times. We do get a second POV from Hester, the sister of the man that the Sorceress has her eyes on. Hester is in her fifties, has a bad knee, and a premonition that Doom has come to call.
A Sorceress Comes to Call is a delightful dark blend of a novel of manners and historical fantasy, of fairy tail whimsy and dark horror. It deals with emotional abuse and narcissism, with complex family relationships and old friendships and romances. All of the character work is a delight, but it's especially wonderful following Cordelia and Hester as they try to figure out how to undo the horrible knot that the Sorceress has tangled them all up in.
T. Kingfisher succeeds yet again with another dark fantasy, which is especially delightful for me as I didn't enjoy Thornhedge much last year.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for the eARC! A Sorceress Comes to Call will be available on August 6th, 2024....more
I really enjoyed Unfamiliar Volume 1, and Volume 2 continues in the same cute, cozy vein.
The strength in this story continues to be the friendships aI really enjoyed Unfamiliar Volume 1, and Volume 2 continues in the same cute, cozy vein.
The strength in this story continues to be the friendships and romances between our main cast, and this volume is strong as it focuses on Sun's curse and her growing relationship with Babs. I enjoyed seeing Sun's journey unfold, though the meandering into the fairy realm felt a little disjointed.
There's also the ongoing mystery/side quest of figuring out why so many ghosts are haunting Planchette's home. The story helping one ghost was super cute, though the reveal of where the ghosts were coming from felt a bit too rushed.
At times it did feel like this volume was juggling a bit too much; the jumps from storyline to storyline made things feel a little too chaotic. It could have been a bit more streamlined.
The art continues to be super cute and stylized, I really enjoy it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this! Unfamiliar, Volume 2 will be released on October 17th....more
An absolutely wonderful story for its target age group, Tidesong tackles anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and what it feels like to live up to larger An absolutely wonderful story for its target age group, Tidesong tackles anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and what it feels like to live up to larger than life ideas and expectations of who you're supposed to be.
Really sweet and simple story telling, with a great message and cute art to back it up. Highly recommended for young readers....more
Devil On Her Shoulder is a nice little story about a young witch who doesn't have magic, and her accidental team up with the Devil as she tries to finDevil On Her Shoulder is a nice little story about a young witch who doesn't have magic, and her accidental team up with the Devil as she tries to find her missing aunt. The story is pretty straightforward, with all sorts of worldbuilding twists and turns; however, the pacing was so fast. New characters and ideas and backstories were being introduced left and right so quickly that I completely lost track of some characters and what they meant to the story overall.
The art here is really lovely, however. It's clean and has great energy, with some lovely color work helping it along. I think part of the issue I had with the pacing came from the choice of storyboarding in the art, however; again, so much was happening on every page that it became very overwhelming at times.
Overall this was a nice read, and while it could have used a about 30 more pages to allow the story room to breathe, it was solid and had some beautiful art.
(Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for this e-ARC.)...more
What an absolutely proper fucking ending for a series filled to the brim with characters I've come to love wholeheartedly. Just so good. So glad thereWhat an absolutely proper fucking ending for a series filled to the brim with characters I've come to love wholeheartedly. Just so good. So glad there are more stories and novellas to continue reading, and a sequel series started this year?? YES. MORE KATE, ALWAYS....more