Review: End Game by Adriana Locke

End Game by Adriana Locke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided the audiobook for free via the author, all opinions are my own.

I've had this on my TBR forever, since it was originally published as Lucky Number Eleven in 2017.  I love the rebrand and think the new cover is adorable.  That being said this is not my favorite of Adriana's books.  The audiobooks is well narrated, which is not a surprise as both narrators are very talented.  While I am a huge fan of the author, I'm not a fan of pregnancy tropes in books in general and I probably would have skipped this one had I realized.

I didn't really feel the chemistry between Layla and Branch, it was more insta-lust, also  not my favorite but it can be redeemed.  I prefer more development in the couple's relationship especially when you say they are End Game.  Their story stays more physical and in my opinion never gave me what I wanted from a romance.  If you are here for the spice this might be for you, but this one didn't work for me.  

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Review: Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict

Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC and ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I'm quickly becoming a big fan of Benedict's books about historical female figures in history. This is told in alternating points of view between Lady Evelyn Herbert and the mysterious Egyptian female pharaoh Hatshepsut. Eve's has grown up surrounded by Egyptian artifacts and stories of her father's adventures on digs in Egypt with his colleague Howard. As Eve is coming of age and entering London society, she is desperate to join them on a dig herself and possibly convince them to search for Hatshepsut. As we join Eve and her family in the desert on their digs and learn about the political climate of Egypt at the time in the 1920s, we also travel back in time to ancient Egypt. Hatshepsut herself tells us of her life, her family, and how she game to power over time.

I really enjoyed this. I have long time been a fan of Egyptian history and was lucky enough to visit the King Tut exhibit when it came to Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Museum many years ago. The culture is fascinating. It was nice to see a female ruler like Hatshepsut make her own rules and lead her country into prosperity and then years later someone comes along and is determined to find out what happened to her and why she was erased from history. Make sure you read the author's note about the research put into the book. We still don't really know what happened to Hatshepsut and why she was struck from Egyptian history, but we do know that both of these women did exist. I always appreciate a well researched book, and I love when an author notes what they changed about historical facts to make their novel work and what is actual fact versus what is complete fiction. I found both women's stories compelling and I want to learn more about both of them.

The audio narration was excellent. I think it was smart to have different narrators for each POV, it was nice to have a different voice for Evelyn and Hatshepsut so you knew which woman and time period you were in while listening. If possible I like to read along with the audio, but I can't always read along which is the beauty of audiobooks. Having two different voices makes the transition in a multi-POV book very easy when you are only listening. Both narrators did a wonderful job bringing the story to life with appropriate emotion and pace for the story.

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Review: Show Me by Adriana Locke

Show Me by Adriana Locke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author, all opinions are my own.

This is the third book in the series, however it can be read as a standalone.  I highly recommend reading the previous two books as you will meet Audrey's two best friends Astrid and Gianna and their significant others.  They are mentioned often and are wonderful friends you will want to get to know if you haven't already.

Audrey is in a bit of a funk.  She has always been a bit sweet and innocent, but she wants to walk on the wild side but she isn't quite sure how to tackle being unpredictable and impulsive.  Fortunately for her, Brooks knows all about being impulsive and a bit wild.  He is Gray's childhood best friend and often barges into Astrid and Gray's cabin where Audrey is staying while she is on her self-discovery journey.  He offers to help Audrey with whatever she needs with no strings attached.  They quickly find that they get along easily and they have great chemistry.  There is only one issue, Audrey's brother Drew and Brooks hate each other.  They are both MMA fighters and Drew is not a fan of Audrey's budding relationship.  

I really enjoyed this!  I really liked Audrey's whimsy list and I'm all for female empowerment.  All of her goals were achievable and reasonable.  Everyone has things that they are scared of no matter how silly they seem to other people or things that they want to do but can never bring themselves to do for one reason or another.  I thought she and Brooks had good chemistry and I'm glad that the angst didn't last very long and liked the way the conflict was handled and resolved.  I would have liked if the interaction with Audrey and Drew and her family story arc in general had been explored a bit more, it felt a bit glossed over, but they weren't key to the main romance storyline.  If you are looking for spice this has some great scenes once things heat up.  This was really fun and a great addition to the series overall.  I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, I hope its Hartley!

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Review: Otherworldly by Dwain Worrell

Otherworldly by Dwain Worrell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. In fully transparency, I picked this book as my Amazon Prime First Reads book for February so I also own the ebook version.

This started out really interesting but as the book went on I found it got more confusing. The concept is really interesting. Cleo and her crew are sent to check out a planet and determine it's terraforming capability. Cleo is a bit of a loner making her a perfect candidate for a solo mission to the planet's surface. Upon arrival she find the planet to be strange, and when another crewmate starts to experience similar things she begins to wonder if they aren't actually alone in space. The book just gets weirder from there, and I won't spoil it because it is actually pretty interesting.

I enjoyed Cleo's robot companion Shakes who is only speaks in rhyme, it added a bit of humor to some of the more serious situations, or some poetry to some of the more emotional scenes. As Cleo traverses the planet and the different sphere's the action picks up as she attempts to find the other members of her crew. She also has to deal with the dangers the planet throws at her which is where I found the story to get confusing, I may have to go back and read those parts again because I'm still not sure what was going on. There was alot going on at one point and I lost track of what was happening.

Overall I thought the worldbuilding was well done and the plot was unique. The pacing was good and while I found bit of it a little confusing I think that was more of a me issue than an issue with the writing.

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Review: Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite

Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is the 2nd book in the Dorothy Gentleman novella series and while I feel it would be beneficial for you to start with the first novella, it appears that the mysteries are all independent and can be read as standalones.  

This series takes place aboard the HMS Fairweather, where passengers are crossing space to eventually inhabit and populate a new planet.  Dorothy is a member of what you could equate to the ship's police squad and investigates whatever crimes come up during the ship's passage.  In this installment she has to figure out how a baby, who's existence shouldn't be possible as all the ship's inhabitants have been temporarily made infertile for the journey, came to land on her nephew's doorstep.  

This is a delightful story, solving a mystery in just under 4 hours.  The author does a great job with world-building and character development in the short time we have.  We get to see different sides of Dorothy as she is detective mode, when she is with her nephew Ruthie, and when she is flirting with her crush Violet.  We also get to see more of ship life as we see the different jobs people have and how the baby came to be.  Overall the cozy nature of the mystery stayed interesting while remining low stakes and low action.  This series is fun and has a nice balance of all the things I'm looking for.  I can't wait to see what Dorothy tackles next.

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Review: Midnight on the Celestial by Julia Alexander

Midnight on the Celestial by Julia Alexandra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC and ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I haven't read a good YA novel in a while, and this was a great reminder of how great YA fantasy can be.  This has a unique magic system, some action, some horror, and a bit of romance to balance things out.  

In this world some people have magic, while others do not.  Those with magic, must pass a trial when they come of age to prove that they can control their power and aren't a danger to society.  Our main character Roe has a unique power to call upon spirits, which her family has long used as a party trick to gain favor with those of high society.  When her trial goes horribly wrong she finds herself serving out her time as a concierge onboard the ship Celestial in order to earn a retrial.  Having no training and having never served anyone in her life, she is terrible at her assigned job, but with the help of her crewmates she quickly learns the ropes.  She also comes to find out that the ship is not just a pleasure cruise for the wealthy and a rehab for the failed magic users.  Every day strange things happen that threated all the lives onboard and Roe is determined to figure out what is at the root of it.  She uncovers more than she anticipates and with the help of her new friends she can fight her way out and save those like her.

Like many YA books you fill find familiar tropes of the chosen one, resistance, betrayal and lies.  Some will find this unoriginal, while others will find that these are the things that they love about YA fantasy novels.  If done well with new and original characters and plotlines these familiar tropes become new and exciting again.  I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, the ship itself was well described and the magic elements created while on the ship were well done.  The character development suffered a bit because of all of the plotlines.  The characters in my opinion could have used a bit more flushing out and the relationships could have used a bit more development, things just came together too neatly for Roe and the crew.  Overall I really enjoyed the plotline and the magic.  This was fun and unique and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

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Review: The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was a very unique historical fantasy about the Beast of Gévaudan with some Jehanne d’Arc in the mix as well.  Set in the late 1700s in France, Sebastian Grave sets out to right the wrongs of his past.  

I found this a bit hard to follow at times as it not only follows Sebastian in the past with Antoinne his friend and lover during the initial Red Winter and during the present with Antoinne's son.  There are also a ton of characters, who are not always referred to by the same name from scene to scene.  For example, Sebastian's "guest" Sarmodel is mainly referred to as Sarmodel, but there are a few scenes especially when the archangel Michael is present when he goes by another name.  This is true for several characters, who have a religious name or alias as they are immortal or serve a religious purpose.  As this book is fairly long this can get confusing especially when you are listening to the audiobook, for books like this I prefer to have a print book handy so I can refer back to names and places to keep me from getting confused but that is a personal preference.  The interactions between the characters was great and I enjoyed Livia's POV in between the main story.  She added some humor to a darker story despite her chapters focusing more on Joan of Arc and more of the religious aspects of the book.

I was surprised to find out this was a debut novel as the writing feels like that of a seasoned fantasy novelist.  The storyline was unique, the pacing was good, and while I would have liked more information on certain things that can be true of any book or author.  I would have liked to better understand how Sebastian and Sarmodel were joined, it may have been mentioned, but I clearly missed it.  The two of them together were a great pairing and we get to see them speak to one another often.  There is plenty of action to balance out the character driven parts of the story, and I enjoyed the mix of magic and fantasy elements that were woven into the religious, political, and social aspects of the book.  If you are looking for a book that blends genres this is a good one.

I like the way the footnotes were read in the audiobook, it felt like the characters were trying to break the 4th wall, which is not often done in audio format.  From other reviews of the book I can see that these were the footnotes/endnotes.  The audiobook was fantastic the way it was narrated.  Both of the narrators were excellent and I highly recommend the audio.  I plan on listening to it again to pick up the bits I missed soon.  

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